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Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 31503

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Georgia rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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Test scores delayed: 2026 rankings for Georgia do not yet include English Language Arts scores, which will not be released by the Georgia Department of Education until winter 2026.

At a glance

Schools

2,023

Students

Top rankedRuskin Elementary School295^th of 1,219 Georgia elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Ruskin Elementary School up 142 spots statewide this year

See the top-ranked Georgia schools →

Summary:

Zip code 31503 in Waycross, Georgia, is home to four elementary schools within the Ware County school district, serving approximately 2,023 students across grades PK-5 in a high-poverty area where free/reduced lunch rates range from 82% to 100%.

For parents, the standout choice in this area is Ruskin Elementary School, which ranks 295th statewide (76th percentile, 4 stars) and has shown remarkable improvement, jumping from 500th place two years ago. Despite serving a 100% free/reduced lunch population, Ruskin leads the group in 5th grade math (57.6% proficient) and science (62.1% proficient), both well above state averages. Waresboro Elementary School is a close second (334th statewide, 73rd percentile, 4 stars) and achieves strong results with the lowest per-student spending ($14,764) and lowest poverty rate (81.82%), making it a model of efficiency. Memorial Drive Elementary School sits in the middle (484th statewide, 60th percentile, 3 stars) with solid but unspectacular scores. Wacona Elementary School ranks last (687th statewide, 44th percentile, 2 stars) despite having the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (13.2%) and a lower poverty rate than Ruskin, suggesting that factors beyond demographics—such as instructional quality or school culture—are driving outcomes.

One of the most striking findings is that poverty does not predict performance here. Ruskin, with 100% poverty, outperforms Wacona, which has 86.44% poverty. Additionally, Ware County appears to direct more resources to its highest-need schools: Ruskin and Memorial Drive have the highest spending per student ($17,519 and $16,914) and lowest student-teacher ratios (11.8 and 10.8), while Wacona has the highest ratio (18.8) and second-lowest spending. Science proficiency shows the widest variation among schools (38.5% to 62.1%), making it a strong differentiator of instructional quality. Chronic absenteeism also does not align with performance—Waresboro has the highest rate (23.2%) yet ranks second academically. Overall, parents should consider Ruskin and Waresboro as the top performers, with Ruskin's rapid improvement and Waresboro's cost-effectiveness being particularly noteworthy.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Milestones Assessment Mathematics (2026)			Milestones Assessment Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Ruskin Elementary School	Public	K-5	3550 Valdosta Hwy	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2325	363	31	11.8	100.0%	157 (43.3%)	119 (32.8%)	62 (17.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (6.3%)	72.6	295^th of 1219 public elementary schools	75.8%		59.7	437^th of 1238 public elementary schools	64.7%	142	50.0	54.4	57.6	62.1	$17,519	$2,696	$14,823
Wacona Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3101 State St	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2362	885	47	18.8	86.4%	510 (57.6%)	240 (27.1%)	78 (8.8%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	51 (5.8%)	38.9	687^th of 1219 public elementary schools	43.6%		41.6	664^th of 1238 public elementary schools	46.4%	23	24.0	52.1	36.5	38.5	$15,307	$1,411	$13,896
Waresboro Elementary School	Public	K-5	3379 W Church St	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2393	429	35	12.4	81.8%	242 (56.4%)	104 (24.2%)	48 (11.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (7.5%)	69	334^th of 1219 public elementary schools	72.6%		58.3	459^th of 1238 public elementary schools	62.9%	125	49.4	57.5	54.8	56.4	$14,764	$1,297	$13,467
Memorial Drive Elementary School	Public	K-5	2580 Ambrose St	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2327	346	32	10.8	100.0%	166 (48.0%)	125 (36.1%)	16 (4.6%)	10 (2.9%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (7.5%)	55.8	484^th of 1219 public elementary schools	60.3%		51.6	545^th of 1238 public elementary schools	56.0%	61	43.4	46.0	49.2	49.2	$16,914	$2,249	$14,666

Cities Near Zip Code 31503

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Waycross	0.84 mi	11	179^th
Blackshear	6.82 mi	4	22^nd
Hoboken	14.55 mi	1	26^th
Patterson	17.57 mi	1	20^th
Nahunta	20.41 mi	4	102^nd

See the top GA Georgia cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Georgia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.