Lincoln High School

Lincoln High School is one of the sizable secondary schools in Des Moines, Iowa, run under Des Moines Independent Comm School District, with 2,364 students on its rolls from grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 405% above the state mean of about 468.

Des Moines Independent Comm School District comprises 59 schools with combined enrollment of 29,676 students; Lincoln High School is among them.

On the student-mix side, Lincoln High School records that the largest single group is Hispanic at 38%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school lists 30% White, 17% Black, 8% Asian, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Polk County as a whole is about 10% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Lincoln High School lists 94 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 25.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.3:1, putting Lincoln High School higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 75% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Polk County (around 49%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Lincoln High School is in the bottom 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 54.5%; Lincoln High School posts 41.1%, -13.4 points below that line.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Polk County put the typical household earns roughly $83,576 per year, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Lincoln High School is one of 137 public schools in Polk County (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students).

The closest other public school is Park Ave Elementary School, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Lincoln High School ranks 8th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 48.7%.

Lincoln High School operates from a metropolitan location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Lincoln High School has held roughly steady, going from 2,350 students in 2018 to 2,364 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 49% to 30% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 23.1:1 in 2018 to 25.2:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.