Michigan · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced School Districts in Michigan

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 26, 2026

The ranking in one line

Capac Community Schools in Capac leads Michigan's districts with an average school quality score of 52.3/100 across 3 schools.

52.3/100
top district score (grade C-): 3
schools in Capac Community Schools: 744
students in the top district: 44/100
average across the top 50

#	District	Grade	Students	Schools	Avg S:T	Per-Pupil $	Avg Quality
1	Capac Community SchoolsCapac	C-	744	3	12.9:1	$15,511	52.3
2	Merrill Community SchoolsMerrill	C-	522	3	14.6:1	$15,333	50.7
3	Saginaw IsdSaginaw	C-	1,684	4	5:1	-	50.3
4	Black River Public SchoolHolland	C-	941	2	15:1	$11,620	50
5	Northwest Education ServicesTraverse City	C-	903	4	5.4:1	-	50
6	East Jordan Public SchoolsEast Jordan	D	743	3	13.1:1	$18,283	49.7
7	Ingham IsdMason	D	1,295	8	5.7:1	-	49.6
8	Jenison Public SchoolsJenison	D	5,198	11	16.2:1	$15,071	49.5
9	Midland Public SchoolsMidland	D	7,436	13	15.1:1	$14,162	48.7
10	Birmingham Public SchoolsBeverly Hills	D	7,314	13	15.2:1	$20,475	48.7
11	Bullock Creek School DistrictMidland	D	1,697	5	17.3:1	$14,283	48
12	Madison AcademyFlint	D	541	2	10.2:1	$17,963	48
13	New Buffalo Area SchoolsNew Buffalo	D	536	3	10.5:1	$31,373	47.3
14	Muskegon Area IsdMuskegon	D	1,534	2	4.8:1	-	46.5
15	North Muskegon Public SchoolsMuskegon	D	939	3	16.9:1	$13,687	45.3
16	Van Buren IsdLawrence	D	591	3	4.3:1	-	45.3
17	Jackson IsdJackson	D	1,148	3	6.7:1	-	45
18	Calhoun Intermediate School DistrictMarshall	D	981	2	4.3:1	-	45
19	Deckerville Community School DistrictDeckerville	D	545	2	13.8:1	$15,272	45
20	Genesee IsdFlint	D	2,982	5	6.4:1	-	44.6
21	Washtenaw IsdAnn Arbor	D	906	9	11.6:1	-	44.6
22	Kent IsdGrand Rapids	D	3,324	7	4.8:1	-	44.3
23	Berrien ResaBerrien Springs	D	780	3	4.3:1	-	44
24	Clarkston Community School DistrictClarkston	D	7,626	13	14:1	$16,234	43.8
25	Ottawa Area IsdHolland	D	1,331	3	4.1:1	-	43.7
26	Saline Area SchoolsSaline	D	4,870	8	16.9:1	$16,263	43.1
27	Kalamazoo Public SchoolsKalamazoo	D	12,298	26	18.1:1	$16,449	43.1
28	Harbor Springs School DistrictHarbor Springs	D	737	3	14.9:1	$21,114	43
29	Bridge AcademyHamtramck	D	1,328	3	46.2:1	$12,735	42.7
30	Trenton Public SchoolsTrenton	D	2,501	4	17.4:1	$16,764	41.8
31	Kalamazoo ResaPortage	D	1,592	4	5.7:1	-	41.8
32	Suttons Bay Public SchoolsSuttons Bay	D	578	3	17.2:1	$15,718	41.7
33	Leslie Public SchoolsLeslie	D	1,100	4	14.5:1	$13,621	41.3
34	Macomb IsdClinton Township	D	3,882	7	5.6:1	-	41.1
35	Grosse Pointe Public SchoolsGrosse Pointe Woods	D	6,516	12	15.9:1	$18,743	40.9
36	Mattawan Consolidated SchoolMattawan	D	3,610	5	17:1	$13,267	40.6
37	Pewamo-Westphalia Community SchoolsWestphalia	D	658	2	20.1:1	$15,691	40.5
38	Otsego Public SchoolsOtsego	D	2,363	6	18.8:1	$13,794	40.3
39	Spring Lake Public SchoolsSpring Lake	D	2,331	6	15.9:1	$15,521	40.3
40	Harrison Community SchoolsHarrison	D	1,260	4	21:1	$16,375	40.3
41	Martin Public SchoolsMartin	D	614	2	15.3:1	$13,406	40
42	Coopersville Area Public School DistrictCoopersville	F	2,554	6	17.4:1	$14,473	39.7
43	Bay City School DistrictBay City	F	6,385	13	15.7:1	$15,093	39.6
44	Bloomfield Hills SchoolsBloomfield Hills	F	5,143	9	14.7:1	$24,485	39.6
45	Sparta Area SchoolsSparta	F	2,433	4	17.4:1	$14,662	39.5
46	Boyne City Public SchoolsBoyne City	F	1,292	4	16.6:1	$15,521	39.3
47	Novi Community School DistrictNovi	F	6,655	10	15.8:1	$15,072	39.2
48	Mt. Pleasant City School DistrictMount Pleasant	F	3,378	9	14.8:1	$15,449	39.1
49	Bridgman Public SchoolsBridgman	F	849	3	12.6:1	$18,981	39
50	Livonia Public Schools School DistrictLivonia	F	13,228	26	15.1:1	$16,627	38.9

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Michigan? ▼

The top-ranked district in Michigan is Capac Community Schools in Capac with 744 students across 3 schools. Average quality score: 52.3/100. 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 Michigan? ▼

Michigan has 50+ school districts serving 1,376,868 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 17.5:1.

Explore More for Michigan

All Schools → Best Schools → Highest Spending → Funding Equity → Absenteeism Data →

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.