Enrollment
487
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Miles City, MT
Custer Co District High
Federal NCES profile for Custer Co District High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 300793000226
👥 S:T ratio 39
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 68
📋 Attendance 8
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Custer Co District High earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 78% of Montana schools.
- #7 of 11
- public schools in Miles City · Resource Index
- 31
- Resource Index · Lower
- 15.2:1
- large classes for Montana
- 487
- students enrolled
Custer Co District High has class sizes larger than 78% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Custer Co District High ranks #7 of 11 public schools in Miles City, MT.
School address
District: Custer County H S · Montana
NCES ID 300793000226 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.2:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
+29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Custer Co District High compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Custer Co District High
Custer Co District High is a large high school in Miles City, Montana, enrolling 487 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15.2:1 puts it in the larger third of Montana schools by student-teacher ratio.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Montana, bigger than 93% of state schools at 487 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 22/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 162 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 36.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Custer County H S spends $11,996 per pupil, 38% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Among Miles City's high schools, it stands alongside Pine Hills Youth Corr Facil Hs (27 students): Custer Co District High is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (15.2:1 vs 4.5:1).
Custer County H S operates only this one school, so Custer Co District High has no district-mates to compare against locally.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Custer Co District High compares
Custer Co District High on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Montana | Montana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.2:1 | ▲ 29% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 487 | top 7% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.2:1
Leaner classes than 45% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
487
Bigger than 60% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
15.2:1
students per teacher
- 29% above state mean
Top 78% in Montana - lower ratio than 22% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
36.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,996
per pupil, district-wide
- below Montana avg of $19,282
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 162 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 32 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 87.9%
Hispanic or Latino 4.9%
Two or More 2.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.5%
African American 1.4%
Asian 0.6%
Largest group: White at 87.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 22.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 22.3, Custer Co District High is about as mixed as the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Custer County H S, which includes Custer Co District High.
$11,996
Per student
-38%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 47.4%
State 51.9%
Federal 0.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Similar high schools in Miles City
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Montana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~487 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Custer Co District High's federal record.
- Compare Custer Co District High against another school. Compare schools
- Custer County H S's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Custer Co District High
How many students attend Custer Co District High?
Custer Co District High has 487 students enrolled. It is a high school in Miles City, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Custer Co District High?
The student-teacher ratio at Custer Co District High is 15.2:1, which is 29% higher than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Custer Co District High?
The largest demographic group at Custer Co District High is White at 87.9% of enrollment, in Miles City, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Custer Co District High?
Custer Co District High has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Custer Co District High rank among public schools in Miles City?
By Resource Investment Index, Custer Co District High ranks #7 of 11 public schools in Miles City, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Miles City on the city page.
Is Custer Co District High a good school?
Custer Co District High earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 78% of Montana schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Custer County H S?
None reported; Custer County H S operates only Custer Co District High as a public school district in NCES's records.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.