Iowa · NCES CCD 2024-25
Best-Resourced School Districts in Iowa Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.
Compiled by PlainSchools , Education-data publisher · August 11, 2026
50 Districts ranked
41,518 Students enrolled
56/100 Avg quality score
C+ Top grade The ranking in one line
Janesville Consolidated School District in Janesville leads Iowa's districts with an average school quality score of 61/100 across 2 schools.
61/100 top district score (grade C+)
2 schools in Janesville Consolidated School District
504 students in the top district
56/100 average across the top 50
# District Grade Students Schools Avg S:T Per-Pupil $ Avg Quality 1 Janesville Consolidated School District Janesville C+ 504 2 19.5:1 $10,558 61 2 St Ansgar Comm School District St. Ansgar C+ 608 3 17.2:1 $12,762 60.7 3 Colfax-Mingo Comm School District Colfax C+ 724 2 12.2:1 $13,637 60.5 4 Grundy Center Comm School District Grundy Center C+ 773 3 13.2:1 $12,215 60.3 5 Bedford Comm School District Bedford C 535 2 13.3:1 $12,690 59 6 South Winneshiek Comm School District Calmar C 549 3 14.5:1 $13,368 58.3 7 Cam Comm School District Anita C 1,441 7 35.4:1 $7,413 58.1 8 Iowa Valley Comm School District Marengo C 547 2 14.3:1 $12,214 58 9 West Hancock Comm School District Britt C 599 3 14.6:1 $12,275 57.7 10 Rock Valley Comm School District Rock Valley C 976 3 17.5:1 $12,017 57.3 11 Highland Comm School District Riverside C 565 3 13:1 $12,598 57.3 12 Aplington-Parkersburg Comm School District Parkersburg C 876 4 13.3:1 $12,131 57 13 Wayne Comm School District Corydon C 625 2 12.6:1 $12,872 57 14 Lenox Comm School District Lenox C 520 2 13.2:1 $13,496 57 15 Treynor Comm School District Treynor C 795 3 18.8:1 $11,104 56.7 16 Akron Westfield Comm School District Akron C 608 3 14.3:1 $14,145 56.7 17 Alta-Aurelia Comm School District Alta C 837 4 13.4:1 $12,724 56.5 18 Emmetsburg Comm School District Emmetsburg C 790 3 14.7:1 $12,867 56.3 19 Logan-Magnolia Comm School District Logan C 725 2 15.3:1 $10,742 56 20 Madrid Comm School District Madrid C 684 4 12.2:1 $12,694 56 21 Hinton Comm School District Hinton C 842 3 16.4:1 $11,633 55.7 22 Ikm-Manning Comm School District Manning C 710 3 14.5:1 $14,038 55.7 23 South O'brien Comm School District Paullina C 576 2 13.2:1 $13,648 55.5 24 Cardinal Comm School District Eldon C 1,074 3 14.7:1 $12,118 55.3 25 Tri-Center Comm School District Neola C 724 3 15.9:1 $11,880 55.3 26 Sumner-Fredericksburg Comm School District Sumner C 809 4 13.6:1 $13,082 55 27 Sibley-Ocheyedan Comm School District Sibley C 729 3 12.4:1 $13,690 55 28 Lynnville-Sully Comm School District Sully C 546 3 14.1:1 $11,749 55 29 Underwood Comm School District Underwood C- 833 3 15.8:1 $12,420 54.7 30 Alburnett Comm School District Alburnett C- 810 3 15.2:1 $11,010 54.7 31 West Fork Comm School District Rockwell C- 776 3 13:1 $12,657 54.7 32 Panorama Comm School District Panora C- 691 3 13.7:1 $13,861 54.7 33 Clarinda Comm School District Clarinda C- 1,062 2 14.8:1 $12,124 54.5 34 Odebolt Arthur Battle Creek Ida Grove Comm School District Ida Grove C- 960 4 21.6:1 $13,452 54.3 35 Williamsburg Comm School District Williamsburg C- 1,269 3 13.4:1 $12,320 54 36 Pcm Comm School District Prairie City C- 1,130 4 13.7:1 $11,871 54 37 Nodaway Valley Comm School District Greenfield C- 621 3 13.6:1 $13,118 54 38 Solon Comm School District Solon C- 1,523 4 16.3:1 $10,891 53.8 39 West Branch Comm School District West Branch C- 871 3 14.9:1 $12,125 53.7 40 Ahstw Comm School District Avoca C- 776 3 14.6:1 $12,863 53.7 41 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Comm School District Hartley C- 663 3 11.8:1 $12,707 53.7 42 Northwood-Kensett Comm School District Northwood C- 594 2 13.4:1 $12,357 53.5 43 Eldora-New Providence Comm School District Eldora C- 540 2 11.6:1 $15,117 53.5 44 Edgewood-Colesburg Comm School District Edgewood C- 516 2 11.6:1 $12,795 53.5 45 North Scott Comm School District Eldridge C- 3,463 7 14.4:1 $11,388 53.1 46 Denver Comm School District Denver C- 995 4 17.2:1 $10,741 53 47 Waco Comm School District Wayland C- 505 2 13.6:1 $12,226 53 48 West Sioux Comm School District Hawarden C- 779 4 12.3:1 $13,842 52.8 49 Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Comm School District Clarion C- 1,071 3 14.8:1 $13,007 52.7 50 Pleasantville Comm School District Pleasantville C- 779 3 16.9:1 $11,675 52.7
Frequently Asked Questions What are the best school districts in Iowa? ▼ The top-ranked district in Iowa is Janesville Consolidated School District in Janesville with 504 students across 2 schools. Average quality score: 61/100. 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 14.8:1.
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.