Minnesota · NCES CCD 2024-25
Best School Districts in Minnesota Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.
50 Districts ranked
219,394 Students enrolled
47/100 Avg quality score
C+ Top grade The ranking in one line
Ada-Borup-West Public Schools in Ada leads Minnesota's districts with an average school quality score of 62.5/100 across 2 schools.
62.5/100 top district score (grade C+)
2 schools in Ada-Borup-West Public Schools
685 students in the top district
47/100 average across the top 50 # District Grade Students Schools Avg S:T Per-Pupil $ Avg Quality 1 Ada-Borup-West Public Schools Ada C+ 685 2 15.3:1 $13,423 62.5 2 Edina Public School District Edina C 8,610 13 13.2:1 $14,558 57.4 3 New Century School Saint Paul C- 514 2 10.6:1 $16,316 54 4 Moose Lake Public School District Moose Lake C- 600 2 15.1:1 $12,585 51 5 Nashwauk-Keewatin School District Nashwauk C- 581 2 15.3:1 $14,783 51 6 Anoka-Hennepin School District Anoka C- 38,590 50 13.9:1 $14,265 50.9 7 Seven Hills Preparatory Academy Bloomington C- 1,149 3 11.2:1 $11,754 50 8 Royalton Public School District Royalton D 954 3 16.6:1 $11,220 49 9 Caledonia Public School District Caledonia D 730 3 13.9:1 $12,750 49 10 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa School Dist Belgrade D 645 2 14.6:1 $12,714 49 11 Le Sueur-Henderson School District Le Sueur D 911 5 12.7:1 $12,894 48.6 12 Zumbrota-Mazeppa School District Zumbrota D 1,249 4 15:1 $13,519 48 13 Jackson County Central School Dist. Jackson D 1,107 4 17.6:1 $13,593 48 14 South Washington County Schools Cottage Grove D 19,159 27 24.1:1 $13,382 48 15 Minnetonka Public School District Minnetonka D 11,248 13 13.5:1 $14,080 47.6 16 Randolph Public School District Randolph D 842 2 17.7:1 $11,782 47.5 17 Madelia Public School District Madelia D 620 2 13.5:1 $14,097 47.5 18 Orono Public School District Long Lake D 2,887 5 16.7:1 $14,971 47.4 19 Grand Rapids Public School District Grand Rapids D 4,023 11 17.5:1 $14,334 47.3 20 Albany Public School District Albany D 1,788 4 19.4:1 $12,934 47 21 Fertile-Beltrami School District Fertile D 504 2 15.5:1 $13,287 47 22 Alexandria Public School District Alexandria D 4,046 9 13.3:1 $14,182 46.9 23 Winona Area Public School District Winona D 2,455 7 12.2:1 $16,550 46.7 24 Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Rosemount D 29,221 39 15.2:1 $14,314 46.5 25 Murray County Central Schools Slayton D 721 2 15.6:1 $14,623 46.5 26 Mahtomedi Public School District Mahtomedi D 3,176 6 17.9:1 $13,346 46.2 27 Stillwater Area Public Schools Stillwater D 8,285 15 20.4:1 $14,073 46.1 28 Eden Prairie Public School District Eden Prairie D 8,939 12 14:1 $14,759 45.8 29 Tri-City United School District Montgomery D 1,960 4 16.4:1 $12,197 45.8 30 Burnsville-Eagan-Savage Schools Burnsville D 7,822 18 12.4:1 $17,149 45.6 31 Owatonna Public School District Owatonna D 4,926 11 14.8:1 $13,242 45.5 32 Holdingford Public School District Holdingford D 1,082 2 20.5:1 $11,960 45.5 33 Blackduck Public School District Blackduck D 712 2 17.6:1 $14,087 45.5 34 Wayzata Public School District Plymouth D 12,318 18 20.1:1 $14,506 45.3 35 Intermediate School District 287 Plymouth D 853 17 9.3:1 — 45.3 36 West Central Area Barrett D 779 4 12.6:1 $14,876 45.3 37 West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan Mendota Heights D 5,116 11 12.7:1 $16,628 45.2 38 New London-Spicer School District New London D 1,548 5 14:1 $12,686 45 39 Osakis Public School District Osakis D 842 2 15.1:1 $11,278 45 40 Cleveland Public School District Cleveland D 608 2 16.3:1 $12,506 45 41 Mounds View Public School District Shoreview D 11,792 25 11.9:1 $14,447 44.9 42 Rushford-Peterson Public Schools Rushford D 639 3 15.4:1 $13,221 44.7 43 Menahga Public School District Menahga D 964 2 17.2:1 $11,485 44.5 44 Barnesville Public School Dist. Barnesville D 912 2 17.6:1 $12,781 44.5 45 Sleepy Eye Public School District Sleepy Eye D 589 2 12.4:1 $13,316 44.5 46 Spring Lake Park Public Schools Spring Lake Park D 6,143 11 15.2:1 $12,167 44.4 47 Parnassus Preparatory Charter Sch Maple Grove D 1,384 3 17.1:1 $9,765 44.3 48 La Crescent-Hokah School District La Crescent D 1,028 3 13:1 $13,417 44.3 49 Foley Public School District Foley D 1,925 3 23.9:1 $12,454 44 50 St. Croix Preparatory Academy Stillwater D 1,213 3 22.9:1 $10,553 44
Frequently Asked Questions What are the best school districts in Minnesota? ▼ The top-ranked district in Minnesota is Ada-Borup-West Public Schools in Ada with 685 students across 2 schools. Average quality score: 62.5/100. 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 Minnesota? ▼ Minnesota has 50+ school districts serving 872,336 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 15.9:1.
Explore More for Minnesota 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.