Enrollment
429
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Paynesville, MN
Paynesville Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Paynesville Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 272814001240
👥 S:T ratio 39
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 70
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Paynesville Elementary earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median.
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.3:1
- students per teacher
- 21.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 429
- students enrolled
Paynesville Elementary has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Paynesville Public School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 272814001240 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.0%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Paynesville Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Paynesville Elementary
Paynesville Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Paynesville, Minnesota, enrolling 429 students.
At 15.3:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Minnesota median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 21.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 429 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 401 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #116.
Its student body is predominantly White (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 18/100).
12.1% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district, Paynesville Public School District, also runs Paynesville Area High School (465 students).
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Paynesville Elementary compares
Paynesville Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.3:1 | ▼ 3% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.0% | ▼ 51% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 429 | top 33% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.3:1
Leaner classes than 44% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
429
Bigger than 52% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
21.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher
- 3% below state mean
Top 57% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 43% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
12.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$13,290
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 90.4%
Hispanic or Latino 5.1%
Two or More 2.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Asian 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 90.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 17.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 17.9, Paynesville Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Paynesville Public School District, which includes Paynesville Elementary.
$13,290
Per student
-13%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 28.6%
State 61.2%
Federal 10.3%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Paynesville Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paynesville Area High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Paynesville Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 465
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Minnesota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~429 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Paynesville Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Paynesville Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Paynesville Public School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Paynesville Elementary
How many students attend Paynesville Elementary?
Paynesville Elementary has 429 students enrolled. It is a public school in Paynesville, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Paynesville Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Paynesville Elementary is 15.3:1, which is 3% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Paynesville Elementary?
21.0% of students at Paynesville Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Paynesville Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Paynesville Elementary is White at 90.4% of enrollment, in Paynesville, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Paynesville Elementary?
Paynesville Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Paynesville Elementary a good school?
Paynesville Elementary earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Paynesville Public School District?
Besides Paynesville Elementary, Paynesville Public School District also operates Paynesville Area High School (465 students). See the Paynesville Public School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.