North Iowa Reporter

There were 4,988 students enrolled in Cerro Gordo County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 1.5% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed at the time, 50.8% identified as male, 48.9% as female, and 0.3% identified themselves as non-binary or did not specify their gender.

Data also showed that white students made up 75.4% of the student body, the largest percentage in Cerro Gordo County schools, followed by Hispanic students with 10.5%, 5.2% Black, 4.3% multiracial, 3% Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1.1% Asian and 0.6% Native American.

Mason City High School had the highest enrollment among Cerro Gordo County’s 13 schools in the 2023-24 school year, welcoming 967 students.

Public school enrollment in Iowa remained relatively stable in the 2024-25 school year, with 480,665 students, a slight decrease of 0.63% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, enrollment in accredited nonpublic schools grew by nearly 10%, reaching 39,356 students, up from 36,195. This increase was partially driven by the Students First Education Savings (ESA) program, with 27,866 students utilizing ESAs at nonpublic schools.

Rank	School name	School district	Total enrollment in 2022-23	Total enrollment in 2023-24	% change
1	Mason City High School	Mason City Comm	956	967	1.2%
2	Clear Creek Elementary School	Clear Lake Comm	610	610	0%
3	Lincoln Intermediate School	Mason City Comm	468	488	4.3%
4	John Adams Middle School	Mason City Comm	480	463	-3.5%
5	Clear Lake High School	Clear Lake Comm	458	458	0%
6	Roosevelt Elementary School	Mason City Comm	357	365	2.2%
7	Clear Lake Middle School	Clear Lake Comm	334	326	-2.4%
8	West Fork Elementary at Rockwell	West Fork Comm	341	322	-5.6%
9	Jefferson Elementary School	Mason City Comm	317	307	-3.2%
10	Hoover Elementary School	Mason City Comm	278	264	-5%
11	Harding Elementary School	Mason City Comm	271	244	-10%
12	Alternative School	Mason City Comm	94	92	-2.1%
13	Mason City Virtual Academy	Mason City Comm	99	82	-17.2%