Schools in Zip Code 38261

ZIP code 38261 is home to 5 schools serving about 2,524 students across grades PK–12, split between the Union City Schools and Obion County Schools districts. Overall, the Union City district schools tend to outperform their Obion County counterparts, with Union City High School leading the area at 87th percentile statewide and Union City Middle School close behind at 78th percentile.

Test results reveal a clear district divide. Union City Middle exceeds state averages in every core subject, including an extraordinary 93.3% proficiency in Algebra I, while Union City Elementary School also beats state averages in math and ELA. On the Obion County side, Lake Road Elementary School and Ridgemont Elementary School post lower overall rankings, though both show dramatic grade-level swings. Ridgemont, for example, has just 9.1% 3rd-grade math proficiency but jumps to 78.6% by 8th grade. Lake Road starts strong in 3rd grade, then drops sharply by 5th grade before recovering somewhat. Union City High School has excellent subject proficiency and an 87th-percentile rank, yet its 81.6% graduation rate and 11.2% dropout rate are both well worse than state averages — a reminder that test scores alone don't tell the whole story.

Chronic absenteeism is below the state average across all five schools, but Ridgemont's rate (16.2%) is more than double Union City High's (7.2%). Spending per student ranges from $13,026 at Lake Road to $14,818 at Ridgemont, yet higher spending does not translate to higher performance — Union City Elementary spends nearly $1,500 less than Ridgemont and outranks it in every subject. For parents, the ZIP code offers a strong choice in the Union City district, especially at the middle and high school levels, while the Obion County elementary schools present more variable outcomes, with notable bright spots in the upper grades.