Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools.
20 public K-12 schools in Bemidji from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Bemidji has more public-school enrollment than 58% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Bemidji's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.
Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio
10 of Bemidji's 20 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.
Governance mix is central to a fair comparison
6 of 20 listed Bemidji campuses are reported as charters, so district-run and charter records occupy substantial shares of the same city view. They may follow different governance, enrollment, and program structures even when their mailing city matches. The 69-point gap between Paul Bunyan Center and Bemidji Senior Lumberjack Alc should be read within that context, not as a single-system league table. Check charter status and district affiliation before comparing two nearby schools, and verify current admissions rules with the operator.
City enrollment
Top 42%
School count
Top 15%
Resource Index average
22nd percentile
Teacher staffing
44th percentile
Bemidji Senior High accounts for 28.7% of all Bemidji public-school enrollment
That dominant concentration means Bemidji-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: High. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.
Bemidji school enrollment varies 384× across entities
Bemidji school enrollment ranges from 4 students (lowest) to 1,537 students (highest), a spread of 1,533 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.
Bemidji operates 6 school districts — among the most fragmented governance structures in the country
Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.
Bemidji student-teacher ratio is 15.9:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Bemidji is typically wider than the Bemidji-aggregate figure suggests.
30% of the city's listed public-school campuses are reported as charter schools in NCES CCD. Charter status identifies a different governance arrangement; it does not establish admissions availability, academic quality, or the share of city students enrolled in those campuses. Open each school record to compare enrollment and staffing directly.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Bemidji
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
Which Bemidji school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼
Paul Bunyan Center has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Bemidji schools in this federal-data comparison at 84/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.
How many schools are in Bemidji, MN? ▼
Bemidji has 20 public schools with a total enrollment of 5,360 students. 6 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 15.9:1.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes:
verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.
