Kentucky · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best School Districts in Kentucky

Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

50
Districts ranked
175,437
Students enrolled
50/100
Avg quality score
C
Top grade

The ranking in one line

Fulton County in Hickman leads Kentucky's districts with an average school quality score of 57.7/100 across 3 schools.

57.7/100
top district score (grade C)
3
schools in Fulton County
640
students in the top district
50/100
average across the top 50
# District GradeAvg Quality
1 Fulton County Hickman C 57.7
2 Hancock County Hawesville C 57.2
3 Mclean County Calhoun C 56.2
4 Hickman County Clinton C 56
5 Carlisle County Bardwell C 55
6 Elizabethtown Independent Elizabethtown C- 53.4
7 Crittenden County Marion C- 53.3
8 Fort Thomas Independent Fort Thomas C- 53.2
9 Bowling Green Independent Bowling Green C- 52.8
10 Bellevue Independent Bellevue C- 52.5
11 Marshall County Benton C- 52.5
12 Harrison County Cynthiana C- 52.4
13 Campbell County Alexandria C- 52.4
14 Murray Independent Murray C- 52.3
15 Erlanger-Elsmere Independent Erlanger C- 52
16 Boone County Florence C- 51.5
17 Graves County Mayfield C- 51.4
18 Woodford County Versailles C- 51.3
19 Boyle County Danville C- 50.8
20 Barren County Glasgow C- 50.7
21 Beechwood Independent Fort Mitchell C- 50.3
22 Newport Independent Newport C- 50.2
23 Danville Independent Danville C- 50
24 Oldham County Buckner D 49.8
25 Franklin County Frankfort D 49.6
26 Hart County Munfordville D 49.3
27 Paducah Independent Paducah D 49.3
28 Henry County New Castle D 49.2
29 Lincoln County Stanford D 49
30 Monroe County Tompkinsville D 49
31 Lyon County Eddyville D 49
32 Caverna Independent Cave City D 49
33 Owensboro Independent Owensboro D 48.9
34 Kenton County Fort Wright D 48.7
35 Casey County Liberty D 48.6
36 Livingston County Smithland D 48.5
37 Logan County Russellville D 48.3
38 Henderson County Henderson D 48.2
39 Trigg County Cadiz D 48.2
40 Raceland-Worthington Independent Raceland D 48.2
41 Breckinridge County Hardinsburg D 48.2
42 Fleming County Flemingsburg D 48.2
43 Union County Morganfield D 47.9
44 Butler County Morgantown D 47.8
45 Daviess County Owensboro D 47.6
46 Greenup County Greenup D 46.7
47 Dayton Independent Dayton D 46.5
48 Larue County Hodgenville D 46.3
49 Covington Independent Covington D 46.3
50 Edmonson County Brownsville D 46.2

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Kentucky? ▼

The top-ranked district in Kentucky is Fulton County in Hickman with 640 students across 3 schools. Average quality score: 57.7/100. Rankings are based on average school quality scores from NCES data.

How are district rankings calculated? ▼

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be ranked.

How many school districts are in Kentucky? ▼

Kentucky has 50+ school districts serving 651,902 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 15.6:1.

Explore More for Kentucky

All Schools → Best Schools → Highest Spending → Funding Equity → Absenteeism Data →

Methodology

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be included. This measures school-level resources, not test scores. Higher average scores indicate districts where schools generally have smaller classes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.