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Billings, Montana - 28 schools
An equity score of 33/100 ranks Billings Elem #81 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,537 per pupil, Billings Elem ranks #298 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
10,988
Total Enrollment
28
Schools
$12,537
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Billings Elem operates 28 public schools serving 10,988 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 22 combined, 6 middle schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Yellowstone County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,537 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Montana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 36.9% local, 42.0% state, and 21.1% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 33/100, ranked #81 of 141 in Montana against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 344.6:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 42.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 68.1% White, 11.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Orchard School, with a diversity index of 70.7/100.
Its largest campus is Lewis & Clark Middle School, enrolling 741 students (7% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Washington School, at 246 students, a 3x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Billings Elem school enrollment varies 3.0× across entities
Billings Elem school enrollment ranges from 246 students (lowest) to 741 students (highest), a spread of 495 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Billings Elem student-counselor ratio is 345:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Variation between sub-units within Billings Elem is typically wider than the Billings Elem-aggregate figure suggests.
Billings Elem chronic absenteeism rate is 42.5% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.