Iowa · NCES CCD 2024-25
Best School Districts in Iowa Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.
50 Districts ranked
43,013 Students enrolled
55/100 Avg quality score
C+ Top grade The ranking in one line
St Ansgar Comm School District in St. Ansgar leads Iowa's districts with an average school quality score of 62.7/100 across 3 schools.
62.7/100 top district score (grade C+)
3 schools in St Ansgar Comm School District
608 students in the top district
55/100 average across the top 50 # District Grade Students Schools Avg S:T Per-Pupil $ Avg Quality 1 St Ansgar Comm School District St. Ansgar C+ 608 3 15.9:1 $12,691 62.7 2 Janesville Consolidated School District Janesville C+ 504 2 19.1:1 $10,471 61.5 3 Grundy Center Comm School District Grundy Center C+ 773 3 12.8:1 $12,085 60.7 4 Colfax-Mingo Comm School District Colfax C+ 724 2 12.9:1 $13,084 60 5 South Winneshiek Comm School District Calmar C 549 3 14.6:1 $13,205 58.7 6 Bedford Comm School District Bedford C 535 2 13.9:1 $13,178 58.5 7 West Hancock Comm School District Britt C 599 3 13.9:1 $11,698 58.3 8 Cam Comm School District Anita C 1,441 7 33.5:1 $9,304 57.7 9 Iowa Valley Comm School District Marengo C 547 2 14.4:1 $11,232 57.5 10 Madrid Comm School District Madrid C 684 4 11.9:1 $12,493 57.3 11 Treynor Comm School District Treynor C 795 3 18.9:1 $10,777 57 12 Lenox Comm School District Lenox C 520 2 13:1 $12,247 57 13 Highland Comm School District Riverside C 565 3 13.8:1 $12,824 56.3 14 Aplington-Parkersburg Comm School District Parkersburg C 876 4 13.9:1 $11,443 56.3 15 Wayne Comm School District Corydon C 625 2 13.3:1 $11,912 56 16 Alta-Aurelia Comm School District Alta C 837 4 13.7:1 $12,205 55.8 17 Cardinal Comm School District Eldon C 1,074 3 14.4:1 $11,378 55.7 18 Hinton Comm School District Hinton C 842 3 16:1 $10,894 55.7 19 Ikm-Manning Comm School District Manning C 710 3 14.5:1 $12,880 55.7 20 Akron Westfield Comm School District Akron C 608 3 14.8:1 $13,039 55.7 21 Rock Valley Comm School District Rock Valley C 976 3 18.1:1 $11,468 55.3 22 Underwood Comm School District Underwood C 833 3 15.7:1 $11,339 55.3 23 Clarinda Comm School District Clarinda C 1,062 2 14.5:1 $11,079 55 24 Emmetsburg Comm School District Emmetsburg C 790 3 15.7:1 $11,661 55 25 Nodaway Valley Comm School District Greenfield C 621 3 13.2:1 $12,777 55 26 South O'brien Comm School District Paullina C 576 2 13.3:1 $14,327 55 27 Sumner-Fredericksburg Comm School District Sumner C- 809 4 14:1 $12,219 54.8 28 Alburnett Comm School District Alburnett C- 810 3 14.8:1 $11,536 54.7 29 Tri-Center Comm School District Neola C- 724 3 17:1 $11,402 54.7 30 Lynnville-Sully Comm School District Sully C- 546 3 14.4:1 $11,370 54.7 31 Panorama Comm School District Panora C- 691 3 14.3:1 $12,568 54.3 32 Williamsburg Comm School District Williamsburg C- 1,269 3 13.4:1 $12,066 54 33 Pleasantville Comm School District Pleasantville C- 779 3 15.8:1 $11,432 54 34 West Fork Comm School District Rockwell C- 776 3 13.5:1 $12,004 54 35 Sibley-Ocheyedan Comm School District Sibley C- 729 3 13.3:1 $13,096 54 36 Waco Comm School District Wayland C- 505 2 12.3:1 $12,951 54 37 Central Lee Comm School District Donnellson C- 1,250 3 16.9:1 $10,698 53.7 38 New Hampton Comm School District New Hampton C- 1,038 3 13.8:1 $12,598 53.7 39 Pcm Comm School District Prairie City C- 1,130 4 14.1:1 $11,882 53.5 40 Denver Comm School District Denver C- 995 4 16.4:1 $10,638 53.5 41 Odebolt Arthur Battle Creek Ida Grove Comm School District Ida Grove C- 960 4 22.4:1 $12,064 53.5 42 West Branch Comm School District West Branch C- 871 3 15:1 $11,971 53.3 43 Ahstw Comm School District Avoca C- 776 3 14.9:1 $12,442 53.3 44 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Comm School District Hartley C- 663 3 12.1:1 $13,570 53.3 45 North Linn Comm School District Troy Mills C- 535 3 12.7:1 $11,838 53 46 Edgewood-Colesburg Comm School District Edgewood C- 516 2 12.2:1 $12,301 53 47 Solon Comm School District Solon C- 1,523 4 17:1 $10,585 52.8 48 Sioux Central Comm School District Sioux Rapids C- 656 3 16.2:1 $13,197 52.7 49 North Scott Comm School District Eldridge C- 3,463 7 15:1 $10,919 52.6 50 Sioux Center Comm School District Sioux Center C- 1,725 4 14.6:1 $11,579 52.5
Frequently Asked Questions What are the best school districts in Iowa? ▼ The top-ranked district in Iowa is St Ansgar Comm School District in St. Ansgar with 608 students across 3 schools. Average quality score: 62.7/100. Rankings are based on average school quality scores from NCES data.
How are district rankings calculated? ▼ Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be ranked.
How many school districts are in Iowa? ▼ Iowa has 50+ school districts serving 497,853 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 15:1.
Methodology
Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100)
are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio,
school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates.
Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be included. This measures
school-level resources, not test scores. Higher average scores indicate districts where
schools generally have smaller classes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.
Read our methodology
— how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.