NCES CCD 2024-25 23 schools MT

Best-Resourced Schools in Missoula, MT

Compiled from official source data by .

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

PlainSchools home → About this data
23
Schools
11,100
Students
38.9/100
Avg Resource Index
14.6:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Middle-of-corpus city profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Missoula has more public-school enrollment than 83% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Missoula 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

12 of Missoula's 23 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 13-point gap between Chief Charlo School and Hellgate Elem Lower Grades shows the range hidden by Missoula'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 17%
School count
Top 12%
Resource Index average
41st percentile
Teacher staffing
60th percentile

Missoula school enrollment varies 37× across entities

Missoula school enrollment ranges from 37 students (lowest) to 1,365 students (highest), a spread of 1,328 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme heterogeneity inside a single city, with small specialty programs listed alongside large comprehensive campuses. 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

Missoula operates 5 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

Missoula 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 Missoula is typically wider than the Missoula-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. Chief Charlo School 46
2. Desmet 6-8 44
3. Meadow Hill Middle School 43
4. Target Range School 42
5. Franklin School 42
6. Big Sky High School 40
7. Jeannette Rankin El 40
8. Paxson School 40
9. Rattlesnake Elementary School 40
10. Russell School 40
11. Lowell School 40
12. Desmet School 40
13. Lewis & Clark School 39
14. Hellgate High School 38
15. Washington Middle School 38
16. Porter Middle School 38
17. Hellgate El Primary Grades 37
18. Target Range 7-8 37
19. Hawthorne School 36
20. Sentinel High School 34
21. Hellgate El Intermediate 34
22. Hellgate Middle School 34
23. Hellgate Elem Lower Grades 33

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Missoula

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 Franklin School 46.2/100
  2. 2 Hellgate El Primary Grades 43.2/100
  3. 3 Paxson School 40.4/100
  4. 4 Hellgate Elem Lower Grades 39.6/100
  5. 5 Russell School 38.8/100

What do families ask about schools in Missoula?

Which Missoula school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Chief Charlo School has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Missoula schools in this federal-data comparison at 46/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Missoula, MT? ▼

Missoula has 23 public schools with a total enrollment of 11,100 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 14.6:1.

Other Cities in Montana

Billings
43 schools
Bozeman
22 schools
Great Falls
22 schools
Kalispell
22 schools
Helena
15 schools
Cut Bank
11 schools

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.