Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Central City High School

Q: Is Central City High School a good school?

Central City High School ranks 216 th of 340 Iowa high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-12

216^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 340 Iowa High Schools

Better than 36% of Iowa high schools

Summary

Central City High School is a public high school serving grades 6-12 in Central City, Iowa, with a total enrollment of 225 students. The school is part of the Central City Community School District, which is ranked 229 out of 313 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Central City High School has had a relatively stable four-year graduation rate, ranging from 83.9% to 90.3% over the past few years, which is generally on par with or slightly above the state average. However, the school has experienced higher chronic absenteeism rates compared to the state average, ranging from 17.0% to 23.4% in recent years. In academics, students generally perform better than the state average on the ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress) in English Language Arts, but their Mathematics proficiency rates are more mixed, with some grades performing below the state average.

When compared to nearby schools, Metro High School and George Washington High School in the Cedar Rapids Community School District generally perform worse than Central City High School in both academic achievement and graduation rates. However, Central City High School lags behind higher-performing schools like Center Point-Urbana High School, Linn-Mar High School, and North-Linn Senior High School. Additionally, Central City High School's statewide ranking has fluctuated over the years, suggesting its performance may be declining relative to other schools in Iowa.

200

Students ?

9.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,375

Per pupil spending ?

37%

Free/discounted lunch ?

400 Barber Street
Central City, IA 52214

(319) 438-6182

District: Central City Community School District

Feeder schools for Central City High School:

Elementary:

Central City Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

92.0%

African American:

3.0%

Two or more races:

2.5%

See top rated Iowa high schools

Compare Central City High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 14th percentile in 2019 → 36th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 36th (2025) from a 14th-percentile low (2019)

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Iowa average (66% vs 72% meeting standards)

!Science scores 18 pts below the Iowa average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school66%

District avg66%

Iowa avg72%

Middle school

272^nd of 344

Iowa public middle schools ?

Bottom 21%▼ down 19 pts since 2019

From bottom 40% (2019) to bottom 21% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

216^th of 340

Iowa public high schools ?

Bottom 36%▼ down 29 pts since 2015

From top 35% (2015) to bottom 36% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

229^th of 313Central City Community School District among Iowa districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Iowa percentile	Rating
2025	30.4	272 of 344	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.2	287 of 337	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.6	286 of 334	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	38.3	236 of 337	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	44.3	206 of 324	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	47.1	206 of 342	39.8%	★★☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Iowa percentile	Rating
2025	45.5	216 of 340	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.7	269 of 338	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	50.3	186 of 336	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.6	270 of 332	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.8	266 of 327	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.4	281 of 327	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	51.7	186 of 320	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2017	61.5	141 of 325	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2016	59.8	136 of 320	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2015	67.9	112 of 324	65.4%	★★★☆☆
2014	75.5	66 of 322	79.5%	★★★★☆
2013	60.1	156 of 351	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2012	69.3	100 of 351	71.5%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts77%~ state avg

Mathematics60%-9 vs state

Science51%-18 vs state

★

No ratings yet

Be the first to rate Central City High School and help other families decide.

Rate Central City High School

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near Central City High School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ISASP English Language Arts (2025)						ISASP Mathematics (2025)						ISASP Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
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 (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISASP English Language Arts 6th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 7th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 8th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 9th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 10th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 11th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 6th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 7th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 8th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 9th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 10th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 11th Grade	ISASP Science 8th Grade	ISASP Science 10th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central City High School	Public	6-12	400 Barber Street	Central City	52214	Linn County	Central City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 438-6182	200	20	9.9	37.0%	184 (92.0%)	6 (3.0%)	4 (2.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.5%)	45.5	216^th of 340 public high schools	36.5%		29.7	269^th of 338 public high schools	20.4%	53	92.3	72.0	71.9	81.8	81.0	65.2	73.1	64.0	43.8	54.5	61.9	69.6	43.8	61.9	$15,375	$264	$15,111
Alburnett Senior High School	Public	9-12	131 Roosevelt Street	Alburnett	52202	Linn County	Alburnett Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 842-2263	293	19	15.6	7.5%	278 (94.9%)	5 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.1%)	74.4	62^nd of 340 public high schools	81.8%		78	41^st of 338 public high schools	87.9%	21				86.5	83.8	83.8				74.3	75.7	88.2		72.6	$15,024	$123	$14,901
North-Linn Senior High School	Public	9-12	3033 Lynx Drive	Troy Mills	52344	Linn County	North Linn Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 224-3291	158	13	11.8	24.7%	151 (95.6%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.2%)	72.6	72^nd of 340 public high schools	78.8%		71.1	86^th of 338 public high schools	74.6%	14				97.4	91.4	78.0				86.8	82.9	61.0		65.7	$13,474	$183	$13,291
Linn-Mar High School	Public	9-12	3111 N 10th St	Marion	52302	Linn County	Linn-Mar Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 447-3040	2,229	130	17.1	23.1%	1,657 (74.3%)	151 (6.8%)	136 (6.1%)	130 (5.8%)	4 (0.2%)	5 (0.2%)	129 (5.8%)	61.6	145^th of 340 public high schools	57.4%		66.5	109^th of 338 public high schools	67.8%	36				81.6	77.7	70.8				73.2	76.7	68.8		73.5	$13,871	$299	$13,571
Springville Secondary School	Public	7-12	400 Academy St	Springville	52336	Linn County	Springville Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 854-6196	184	16	11.7	23.9%	169 (91.8%)	1 (0.5%)	5 (2.7%)	2 (1.1%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.3%)	64.3	125^th of 340 public high schools	63.2%		73.3	70^th of 338 public high schools	79.3%	55		92.3	93.8	82.8	84.8	83.3		88.5	75.0	48.3	72.7	73.3	78.1	81.8	$16,663	$277	$16,386
Marion High School	Public	9-12	675 S 15th St	Marion	52302	Linn County	Marion Independent School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 377-9891	735	45	16.2	27.2%	605 (82.3%)	32 (4.4%)	42 (5.7%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	50 (6.8%)	51.6	193^rd of 340 public high schools	43.2%		42	233^rd of 338 public high schools	31.1%	40				82.1	72.9	75.4				66.1	63.7	63.7		69.9	$13,802	$140	$13,663
Center Point-Urbana High School	Public	9-12	145 Iowa Street	Center Point	52213	Linn County	Center Point-Urbana Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 849-1102	440	28	15.7	14.5%	410 (93.2%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.9%)	82.6	22^nd of 340 public high schools	93.5%		80.3	31^st of 338 public high schools	90.8%	9				90.5	93.6	83.3				77.6	85.5	77.1		81.8	$12,937	$145	$12,792
Anamosa High School	Public	9-12	209 Sadie St	Anamosa	52205	Jones County	Anamosa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 462-3594	381	25	15.2	30.7%	348 (91.3%)	5 (1.3%)	12 (3.1%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.1%)	40.6	240^th of 340 public high schools	29.4%		25.4	280^th of 338 public high schools	17.2%	40				73.2	70.9	51.0				66.0	70.9	59.4		72.1	$15,007	$308	$14,699
John F Kennedy High School	Public	9-12	4545 Wenig RD NE	Cedar Rapids	52405	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 558-2251	1,648	93	17.7	36.0%	1,174 (71.2%)	159 (9.6%)	126 (7.6%)	46 (2.8%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	132 (8.0%)	47.9	205^th of 340 public high schools	39.7%		53.3	176^th of 338 public high schools	47.9%	29				79.0	74.7	68.3				67.1	67.6	65.1		62.4	$14,742	$564	$14,177
George Washington High School	Public	9-12	2205 Forest DR SE	Cedar Rapids	52403	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 558-2161	1,182	77	15.2	54.7%	636 (53.8%)	294 (24.9%)	100 (8.5%)	16 (1.4%)	1 (0.1%)	4 (0.3%)	122 (10.3%)	32.8	267^th of 340 public high schools	21.5%		24.2	283^rd of 338 public high schools	16.3%	16				67.5	73.7	65.6				49.6	62.5	60.0		62.0	$16,333	$764	$15,569

Frequently Asked Questions about Central City High School

What is the racial makeup of Central City High School?

Students at Central City High School are 92% White, 3% African American, 3% Two or more races, 2% Hispanic.

What district is Central City High School in?

Central City Community School District

What schools feed into Central City High School?

Central City High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Central City Elementary School

Is Central City High School a good school?

Central City High School ranks 216^th of 340 Iowa high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Central City High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 200 students attended Central City High School.

Rate Central City High School!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

IAIowa High School Rankings

IAIowa District Rankings

Schools in Central City, IA

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Central City High School!

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