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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 40906

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

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At a glance

Schools

2,976

Students

Districts

5-star school

Top rankedG R Hampton Elementary School40^th of 684 Kentucky elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Jesse D Lay Elementary School up 65 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Knox County Middle School 12.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

2★

6 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

Nine schools serve ZIP code 40906: three elementary schools, one middle school, three high schools and two alternative schools, with grade spans ranging from PK–5 to PK–12 and 6–12. In 2025–26, the 68 reported school-grade-subject results averaged 12 percentage points above state results, and 58 were above the state figure. But individual results vary sharply, so the most important takeaway is that the overall average does not predict what a child will encounter at a particular school or grade.

G R Hampton Elementary School stands out across several elementary results: it led the reported schools in 3rd-grade reading and 5th-grade writing at 77% and 67%, respectively, and SchoolDigger gave it 5 stars and ranked it 40th of 684 Kentucky schools. Central Elementary School had the area’s highest result, 88% in 3rd-grade math, but its 5th-grade writing score was 9%; the 58-point gap from G R Hampton is the widest cited school-to-school difference. Knox County Middle School led reported middle-grade reading results and scored 70% in 8th-grade writing; SchoolDigger gave it 4 stars and ranked it 73rd of 326. Barbourville City School had several strong results, including 74% in 5th-grade reading, but its 8th-grade math result was 19%, compared with 39% for the state.

Recent changes were mixed, with the six schools’ matched results falling an average of 3 percentage points from 2024–25 to 2025–26, while state results were essentially unchanged. Jesse D Lay Elementary School improved an average of 2 points across nine matched results, while Knox County Middle fell 6 points across ten and G R Hampton fell 12 points across five. Barbourville also had both gains and declines, including a 15-point rise in 11th-grade writing and a 24-point drop in 10th-grade math. As context, free/reduced lunch eligible shares in 2024–25 ranged from 57% at Jesse D Lay to 91% at Knox Appalachian School; these figures describe school context but do not explain test results. Results for the three alternative schools are suppressed.

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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)				KSA Mathematics (2026)							KSA Reading (2026)							KSA Science (2026)			KSA Writing (2026)			KSA Social Studies (2026)			KSA Editing and Mechanics (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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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	KSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	KSA Mathematics 4th Grade	KSA Mathematics 5th Grade	KSA Mathematics 6th Grade	KSA Mathematics 7th Grade	KSA Mathematics 8th Grade	KSA Mathematics 10th Grade	KSA Reading 3rd Grade	KSA Reading 4th Grade	KSA Reading 5th Grade	KSA Reading 6th Grade	KSA Reading 7th Grade	KSA Reading 8th Grade	KSA Reading 10th Grade	KSA Science 4th Grade	KSA Science 7th Grade	KSA Science 11th Grade	KSA Writing 5th Grade	KSA Writing 8th Grade	KSA Writing 11th Grade	KSA Social Studies 5th Grade	KSA Social Studies 8th Grade	KSA Social Studies 11th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 5th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 8th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Barbourville City School	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	140 School St	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Barbourville Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 546-3129	755	44	17.1	68.6%	716 (94.8%)	18 (2.4%)	7 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (1.6%)								(n/a)	48.0	50.0	68.0	57.0	52.0	19.0	38.0	70.0	72.0	74.0	65.0	54.0	37.0	64.0	62.0	34.0	33.0	58.0	30.0	71.0	62.0	32.0	56.0	70.0	46.0	51.0	$15,078	$2,184	$11,848
Barbourville Learning Center	Public, Virtual	7-12	140 School Street	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Barbourville Independent	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(606) 546-3120	2	1	2.0	—	2 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Knox County Learning Academy	Public	6-12	135 Wall St	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Knox County	No	No	No	No	(606) 645-2848	52	8	6.4	88.5%	47 (90.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.9%)								(n/a)																											$19,971	$1,135	$17,776
G R Hampton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	60 Ky 3441	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Knox County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 645-2840	244	18	13.8	70.1%	240 (98.4%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	89.9	40^th of 684 public elementary schools	94.2%		96.7	4^th of 685 public elementary schools	99.4%	36	77.0	68.0	62.0					77.0		71.0					68.0			67.0			55.0			57.0			$17,382	$2,150	$13,919
Knox Central High School	Public	9-12	100 Panther Way	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Knox County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 645-2843	720	52	13.7	74.6%	691 (96.0%)	7 (1.0%)	9 (1.3%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.1%)	34.5	174^th of 262 public high schools	33.6%		43	157^th of 254 public high schools	38.2%	17							38.0							52.0			16.0			37.0			27.0			31.0	$17,930	$2,595	$13,635
Jesse D Lay Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	220 N Allison Ave	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Knox County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 645-2849	325	26	12.6	56.9%	307 (94.5%)	5 (1.5%)	9 (2.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	80.3	103^rd of 684 public elementary schools	84.9%		70.5	168^th of 685 public elementary schools	75.5%	65	54.0	63.0	56.0					60.0	63.0	66.0								62.0			68.0			52.0			$16,549	$2,188	$13,114
Knox Appalachian School	Public	5-12	1909 Ky Hwy 3439	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Knox County	No	No	No	No	(606) 645-2842	32	3	10.6	90.6%	27 (84.4%)	1 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (12.5%)								(n/a)																											$14,850	$2,570	$11,220
Knox County Middle School	Public	6-8	311 N Main St	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Knox County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 545-5267	522	43	12.1	76.8%	501 (96.0%)	9 (1.7%)	7 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	70.1	73^rd of 326 public middle schools	77.6%		78	46^th of 320 public middle schools	85.6%	27				40.0	42.0	44.0					67.0	62.0	47.0			38.0			70.0			51.0			52.0		$22,504	$1,967	$14,511
Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 KY 3439d	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Knox County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 645-2832	313	25	12.3	86.3%	287 (91.7%)	2 (0.6%)	10 (3.2%)	6 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.6%)	75.6	128^th of 684 public elementary schools	81.3%		84.5	76^th of 685 public elementary schools	88.9%	52	88.0	56.0	56.0						63.0	58.0					61.0			9.0			76.0			64.0			$16,987	$2,346	$13,371
Knox Inspire Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	200 Daniel Boone Drive	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Knox County	No	No	Yes	No	(606) 645-2830	11	1	11.0	72.7%	11 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																											$4,483	$763	$2,660
Knox County Career and Technical Center	Public	9-12	210 Wall Street	Barbourville	40906	Knox County	Knox County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(606) 645-2856	0	8	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Cities Near Zip Code 40906

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Barbourville	0.04 mi	11	58^th
Girdler	5.78 mi	1	62^nd
Flat Lick	6.39 mi	2	80^th
Fourmile	9.6 mi	1	79^th
Corbin	9.78 mi	14	89^th

See the top KY Kentucky cities

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