Total enrollment
16,461
-346 (-2%) vs SY 2020-21
21 schools in RIO RANCHO
New Mexico · 16,461 students · 1 city
In New Mexico's RIO RANCHO, public K-12 schools total 21 and serve approximately 16,461 students (an average of 784 per school).
4-year change in RIO RANCHO
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
20
0 (0%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How RIO RANCHO ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In New Mexico | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 16,461 | #3 of 50 | #497 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 20 | #8 of 50 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.0:1 | #48 of 49 | #7,733 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 99.9% | #19 of 49 | #161 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.3% | #9 of 37 | #2,155 of 6,853 |
Districts need at least 2 schools and 500 students to be ranked. Test proficiency is ranked within the state only, since each state gives a different test. Each rank links to the full list.
Inside RIO RANCHO
State test results across the district's 8 scored schools run from RIO RANCHO MIDDLE SCHOOL at 50.9% proficient to COLINAS DEL NORTE ELEMENTARY at 25.8%, a gap of 25.1 points. That is the 15th widest gap among 28 New Mexico districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 19 district schools that reported both years went from 17,561 to 15,887 students (down 10%) and from 1,016 to 884 full-time teachers (down 13%), as of 2024-25.
Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across each school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25; schools with fewer than 100 students and schools serving specialized populations are left out. Staffing figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data and count only schools that reported students and teachers in both years.
About RIO RANCHO
As a moderately sized district in New Mexico, RIO RANCHO instructs 16,461 students across 21 schools.
For a sense of the school types, RIO RANCHO is built around 13 elementary, 4 middle, and 4 high schools.
Per-school enrollment averages around 784 in this district, noticeably above the New Mexico typical of 343.
Five-year track record. Across the same 4-year window, public-school enrollment held roughly steady: 16,807 students in SY 2020-21 versus 16,461 in SY 2024-25.
In the discussion threads here, the community for RIO RANCHO discusses sports rivalries, cross-district programs, and shared facilities. Discussions cut across districts, schools, and grade levels.