SE Twin Cities

There were 7,921 students enrolled in Rice County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 0.4% more than the previous year, according to reports from the Minnesota Department of Education.

In terms of gender distribution, the student body in Rice County comprised 51.6% boys, with girls representing the remaining 48.4%.

Data also showed that white students made up 59.1% of the student body, the largest percentage in Rice County schools, followed by Hispanic students with 22.8%, 10.6% Black students, 4.5% multiracial students, 1.6% Asian students, 1.4% American Indian students, 0.1% Other Indigenous Peoples students and less than 0.1% Hawaiian Pacific Islander students.

Northfield Senior High had the highest enrollment among Rice County's 22 schools in the 2024-25 school year, welcoming 1,283 students.

With more than 870,000 students enrolled, Minnesota's public school system is the 10th-largest in the United States. As of 2025 the student-to-teacher ratio in the state’s public schools is 15 to 1, on par with the national average. 

School name	Total enrollment in 2023-24	Total enrollment in 2024-25	% change
Northfield Senior High	1,295	1,283	-0.9%
Faribault Senior High	961	956	-0.5%
Northfield Middle	850	845	-0.6%
Faribault Middle	636	594	-6.6%
Bridgewater Elementary	563	564	0.2%
Greenvale Park Elementary	482	488	1.2%
Roosevelt Elementary	418	473	13.2%
Spring Creek Elementary	462	445	-3.7%
Lincoln Elementary	423	391	-7.6%
Jefferson Elementary	395	389	-1.5%
Lonsdale Pre K-6	305	331	8.5%
Cannon River STEM School	234	224	-4.3%
Faribault Area Learning Center	99	118	19.2%
Northfield Community Education Center	92	117	27.2%
Arcadia Charter School	100	116	16%
Morristown Elementary	118	115	-2.5%
Northfield Area Learning Center	131	107	-18.3%
Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Jr.	113	105	-7.1%
Nerstrand Charter School	98	102	4.1%
Surad Academy	66	77	16.7%
Discovery Public School of Faribault	48	45	-6.3%
McKinley PreK	--	36	--