Mississippi · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced School Districts in Mississippi

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

The ranking in one line

Newton Municipal School District in Newton leads Mississippi's districts with an average school quality score of 59/100 across 3 schools.

59/100
top district score (grade C): 3
schools in Newton Municipal School District: 816
students in the top district: 48/100
average across the top 50

#	District	Grade	Students	Schools	Avg S:T	Per-Pupil $	Avg Quality
1	Newton Municipal School DistrictNewton	C	816	3	9.6:1	$13,799	59
2	East Jasper Consolidated Sch DistHeidelberg	C	755	3	10:1	$16,940	58
3	Wayne Co School DistWaynesboro	C	2,900	6	13.3:1	$12,582	57.3
4	Leland School DistLeland	C	700	3	11.1:1	$17,804	57.3
5	Choctaw Co School DistAckerman	C-	1,230	4	11:1	$16,120	54
6	Franklin Co School DistMeadville	C-	1,211	4	12.3:1	$13,050	54
7	Calhoun Co School DistPittsboro	C-	2,080	6	10.2:1	$13,180	53.5
8	West Jasper Consolidated SchoolsBay Springs	C-	1,411	4	13.3:1	$12,184	52.3
9	Natchez-Adams School DistrictNatchez	C-	2,842	6	13.6:1	$14,859	51.7
10	Okolona Separate School DistOkolona	C-	511	3	10.9:1	$15,278	51.7
11	Perry Co School DistNew Augusta	C-	933	4	10.6:1	$15,310	51.3
12	Madison Co School DistRidgeland	C-	13,162	21	12:1	$12,248	51.1
13	Pass Christian Public School DistPass Christian	C-	1,944	4	11.7:1	$14,145	50.5
14	Coahoma County School DistrictClarksdale	C-	988	4	10.5:1	$16,320	50.5
15	Nettleton School DistNettleton	D	1,112	3	8.2:1	$10,989	49.7
16	Cleveland School DistCleveland	D	2,818	8	13.4:1	$12,775	49.4
17	Chickasaw Co School DistHouston	D	2,214	5	12.7:1	$11,195	49.2
18	Pascagoula-Gautier School DistrictPascagoula	D	6,565	17	12.3:1	$15,771	49.1
19	Jefferson Co School DistFayette	D	1,063	4	14.8:1	$15,061	49
20	Wilkinson Co School DistWoodville	D	891	4	14.8:1	$13,714	47.3
21	Greene County School DistrictLeakesville	D	1,640	5	13.5:1	$12,818	47.2
22	Meridian Public SchoolsMeridian	D	4,614	9	14.1:1	$14,308	46.9
23	Attala Co School DistKosciusko	D	1,004	4	10.1:1	$15,916	46.8
24	Forrest County School DistrictHattiesburg	D	2,129	6	10.3:1	$14,536	46.2
25	Hattiesburg Public School DistHattiesburg	D	3,667	8	13.7:1	$14,215	46.1
26	Union Co School DistNew Albany	D	2,980	4	14.1:1	$10,322	46
27	Quitman Co School DistMarks	D	852	3	12.9:1	$14,846	46
28	Greenville Public SchoolsGreenville	D	3,542	11	13.9:1	$12,612	45.5
29	Jackson Public School DistrictJackson	D	18,710	48	14.6:1	$13,713	45.5
30	Rankin Co School DistBrandon	D	18,720	27	13:1	$11,323	45.5
31	Tunica County School DistrictTunica	D	1,671	5	11.7:1	$16,676	45.4
32	Prentiss Co School DistBooneville	D	2,278	6	11:1	$11,568	45.3
33	Hollandale School DistHollandale	D	548	3	11.9:1	$19,027	45.3
34	Itawamba County School DistFulton	D	3,375	6	12.1:1	$11,183	45.2
35	Alcorn School DistCorinth	D	3,188	8	13.2:1	$11,280	44.6
36	Kemper Co School DistDekalb	D	884	4	10.8:1	$20,206	44.5
37	Lawrence Co School DistMonticello	D	1,696	5	12.1:1	$12,783	44.4
38	North Bolivar Cons School DistMound Bayou	D	780	3	12.1:1	$15,277	44.3
39	Lee County School DistrictTupelo	D	6,303	13	12.7:1	$11,383	44.3
40	Bay St Louis Waveland School DistBay St. Louis	D	1,672	4	12.4:1	$16,298	44.3
41	Kosciusko School DistrictKosciusko	D	2,123	5	11.7:1	$13,195	44.2
42	Carroll County School DistCarrollton	D	805	2	11.9:1	$12,897	44
43	South Delta School DistrictRolling Fork	D	604	3	11.7:1	$16,904	44
44	Walthall Co School DistTylertown	D	1,684	5	12.2:1	$12,756	43.8
45	Lamar County School DistrictPurvis	D	10,276	15	12.8:1	$11,188	43.7
46	Columbus Municipal School DistColumbus	D	3,090	7	13:1	$13,944	43.6
47	Booneville School DistBooneville	D	1,321	3	15.3:1	$10,327	43.3
48	East Tallahatchie Consol Sch DistCharleston	D	853	3	13.1:1	$13,925	43.3
49	Smith Co School DistRaleigh	D	2,443	4	14.9:1	$10,642	43.3
50	North Pike School DistSummit	D	2,245	4	14.3:1	$11,238	43.3

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Mississippi? ▼

The top-ranked district in Mississippi is Newton Municipal School District in Newton with 816 students across 3 schools. Average quality score: 59/100. 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 Mississippi? ▼

Mississippi has 50+ school districts serving 436,122 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 13.3:1.

Explore More for Mississippi

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.