Best Public Schools in Bluffton, SC

Summary:

The city of Bluffton, South Carolina, is home to 10 schools, including 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 2 high schools. The schools in this area serve a diverse student population and showcase a range of academic performance, with some standout institutions leading the way.

Among the top-performing schools in Bluffton is River Ridge Academy, a public magnet school serving grades PK-8. This school consistently ranks in the top 20% of South Carolina elementary schools, with particularly strong proficiency rates in math and Algebra 1. Other high-achieving elementary schools in the area include Pritchardville Elementary and Okatie Elementary, both of which rank in the top 20-25% of South Carolina elementary schools and demonstrate strong performance in English Language Arts and Mathematics.

At the high school level, Bluffton High and May River High both rank in the top 30% of South Carolina high schools, with 4-star ratings from SchoolDigger. These schools boast high graduation rates around 85% and low dropout rates around 2-3%. However, the Beaufort 01 district as a whole is ranked 28 out of 75 districts in South Carolina and is rated 3 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger, indicating room for improvement across the district.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SC READY English Language Arts (2025)						SC READY Mathematics (2025)						SC READY Science (2025)		EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2025)	EOCEP English 1 (2025)	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution (2025)	EOCEP English 2 (2025)	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 (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	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 4th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	EOCEP English 1 End of Course	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution End of Course	EOCEP English 2 End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Michael C. Riley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	200 Burnt Church Road	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 706-8300	704	74	9.5		168 (23.9%)	54 (7.7%)	461 (65.5%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.4%)	21.7	515^th of 640 public elementary schools	19.5%		22.8	498^th of 638 public elementary schools	21.9%	17	43.9	43.9	46.8				47.0	33.3	31.5				35.0						$21,179	$953	$585	$1,538	$16,383	$3,258	$19,641
Bluffton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	160 H.E. McCracken Circle	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 706-8500	709	68	10.4		270 (38.1%)	69 (9.7%)	310 (43.7%)	19 (2.7%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	39 (5.5%)	65.8	220^th of 640 public elementary schools	65.6%		67.1	205^th of 638 public elementary schools	67.9%	15	56.2	70.4	68.4				54.3	63.8	63.1				54.3						$19,492	$938	$521	$1,460	$15,033	$2,999	$18,032
H. E. McCracken Middle	Public	6-8	250 H. E. McCracken Circle	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 706-8700	846	68	12.4		408 (48.2%)	79 (9.3%)	290 (34.3%)	18 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	50 (5.9%)	59.8	112^th of 320 public middle schools	65.0%		62	112^th of 325 public middle schools	65.5%					60.9	55.9	57.8				43.1	37.2	32.6		50.7	100.0				$15,619	$393	$353	$747	$12,483	$2,389	$14,872
Okatie Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	53 Cherry Point Road	Bluffton	29909	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 322-7700	648	49	13.3		360 (55.6%)	52 (8.0%)	192 (29.6%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (5.7%)	79.1	125^th of 640 public elementary schools	80.5%		79.7	124^th of 638 public elementary schools	80.6%	1	76.1	70.0	74.4				78.1	59.2	70.0				59.1						$17,061	$546	$376	$921	$13,779	$2,360	$16,140
Bluffton High	Public	9-12	12 H. E. McCracken Circle	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 706-8800	1,375	92	14.9		475 (34.5%)	168 (12.2%)	661 (48.1%)	26 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (3.3%)	63	69^th of 235 public high schools	70.6%		74.6	38^th of 235 public high schools	83.8%	31															74.9	78.7	73.3	83.9	$14,631	$529	$329	$858	$11,321	$2,452	$13,773
Red Cedar Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	10 Box Elder Street	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 707-0600	636	59	10.7		270 (42.5%)	57 (9.0%)	275 (43.2%)	7 (1.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (3.9%)	79.5	119^th of 640 public elementary schools	81.4%		73.9	160^th of 638 public elementary schools	74.9%	41	72.6	71.4	70.4				72.7	72.3	57.1				64.3						$19,657	$1,505	$567	$2,072	$15,273	$2,312	$17,585
Pritchardville Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	9447 Evan Way	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	Yes	No	No	(843) 707-0500	887	79	11.2		455 (51.3%)	66 (7.4%)	300 (33.8%)	8 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	56 (6.3%)	78.9	128^th of 640 public elementary schools	80.0%		85.1	84^th of 638 public elementary schools	86.8%	44	72.2	70.8	74.8				69.9	58.4	75.5				61.1						$14,671	$537	$450	$987	$11,630	$2,053	$13,683
Bluffton Middle	Public	6-8	30 New Mustang Road	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 707-0700	921	65	14.1		370 (40.2%)	96 (10.4%)	413 (44.8%)	10 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (3.5%)	68.8	88^th of 320 public middle schools	72.5%		68.7	80^th of 325 public middle schools	75.4%	8				63.5	59.8	57.4				55.0	39.1	37.9		60.5	100.0				$13,949	$457	$367	$824	$10,942	$2,183	$13,125
River Ridge Academy	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-8	3050 River Ridge Drive	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	Yes	No	No	(843) 836-4600	1,134	85	13.3		655 (57.8%)	74 (6.5%)	303 (26.7%)	38 (3.4%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	61 (5.4%)	80	114^th of 640 public elementary schools	82.2%		80.3	119^th of 638 public elementary schools	81.3%	5	73.5	79.8	71.8	66.7	68.4	61.7	76.8	66.0	60.5	44.0	40.0	46.1	60.4	66.0	100.0				$14,899	$353	$378	$731	$11,884	$2,284	$14,168
May River High	Public	9-12	601 New Riverside Road	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 836-4900	1,731	112	15.5		918 (53.0%)	151 (8.7%)	552 (31.9%)	29 (1.7%)	3 (0.2%)	3 (0.2%)	75 (4.3%)	51.9	102^nd of 235 public high schools	56.6%		73.8	40^th of 235 public high schools	83.0%	62															61.0	59.9	71.4	88.3	$13,762	$544	$284	$828	$10,413	$2,520	$12,934

Cities Near Bluffton

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Ridgeland	7.05 mi	6	211^th
Hilton Head Island	8.34 mi	5	89^th
Hardeeville	11.12 mi	4	147^th
Beaufort	11.21 mi	16	94^th
Port Royal	13.02 mi	1	111^th

See the top SC South Carolina cities

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