NCES CCD 2024-25 22 schools MT

Best-Resourced Schools in Bozeman, MT

22 public K-12 schools in Bozeman from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

22
Schools
8,401
Students
45.5/100
Avg Resource Index
14.6:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Middle-of-corpus city profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Bozeman has more public-school enrollment than 75% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Bozeman sits in the broad middle of the national city distribution rather than at a single obvious extreme. Its scale, average Resource Investment Index, and staffing position need to be read together: a middle placement on one measure does not cancel a stronger or weaker result on another. The percentile panel makes those dimensions explicit, and the school table shows where the city aggregate breaks into materially different campus profiles.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

13 of Bozeman's 22 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.

Campus spread matters more than the city mean

The 27-point gap between Anderson 7-8 and Malmborg School shows the range hidden by Bozeman's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.

City enrollment
Top 25%
School count
Top 13%
Resource Index average
72nd percentile
Teacher staffing
60th percentile

Gallatin High School accounts for 17.2% of all Bozeman public-school enrollment

That concentration means Bozeman-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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Bozeman school enrollment varies 180× across entities

Bozeman school enrollment ranges from 8 students (lowest) to 1,442 students (highest), a spread of 1,434 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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Bozeman operates 7 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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Bozeman student-teacher ratio is 14.6:1 — 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 Bozeman is typically wider than the Bozeman-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. Anderson 7-8 60
2. Bozeman Online Charter School 57
3. Cottonwood School 56
4. Monforton School 55
5. Longfellow School 52
6. Bozeman High School 49
7. Anderson School 48
8. Emily Dickinson School 47
9. Monforton 6-8 47
10. Lamotte 6-8 47
11. Meadowlark Elementary 46
12. Irving School 46
13. Chief Joseph Middle School 45
14. Monforton Primary 45
15. Gallatin High School 42
16. Sacajawea Middle School 40
17. Hawthorne School 40
18. Whittier School 40
19. Lamotte School 39
20. Hyalite Elementary 34
21. Morning Star School 34
22. Malmborg School 33

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Bozeman

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.

  1. 1 Irving School 59.2/100
  2. 2 Hyalite Elementary 51.1/100
  3. 3 Whittier School 42.9/100
  4. 4 Emily Dickinson School 37.1/100
  5. 5 Meadowlark Elementary 35.7/100

What do families ask about schools in Bozeman?

Which Bozeman school has the highest Resource Investment Index?

Anderson 7-8 has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Bozeman schools in this federal-data comparison at 60/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Bozeman, MT?

Bozeman has 22 public schools with a total enrollment of 8,401 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 14.6:1.

Other Cities in Montana

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Montana →

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.