Missouri · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced School Districts in Missouri

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

Osage Co. R-Iii in Westphalia leads Missouri's districts with an average school quality score of 64.5/100 across 2 schools.

64.5/100
top district score (grade C+): 2
schools in Osage Co. R-Iii: 758
students in the top district: 57/100
average across the top 50

#	District	Grade	Students	Schools	Avg S:T	Per-Pupil $	Avg Quality
1	Osage Co. R-IiiWestphalia	C+	758	2	11.4:1	$12,294	64.5
2	West Platte Co. R-IiWeston	C+	739	3	12.2:1	$15,246	62.7
3	Bernie R-XiiiBernie	C+	508	2	11.9:1	$11,583	62.5
4	Trenton R-IxTrenton	C+	1,105	3	10.6:1	$11,798	62.3
5	Scott City R-IScott City	C+	755	3	11.8:1	$12,401	62.3
6	East Buchanan Co. C-1Gower	C+	723	3	13.1:1	$12,853	60.3
7	Gainesville R-VGainesville	C+	654	3	13:1	$10,748	60.3
8	WashingtonWashington	C	3,720	10	12.3:1	$13,537	59.9
9	Osage Co. R-IiLinn	C	636	2	11.9:1	$11,039	59.5
10	Ash Grove R-IvAsh Grove	C	732	3	13.8:1	$11,723	59.3
11	Putnam Co. R-IUnionville	C	654	3	12.2:1	$13,330	59.3
12	Macon Co. R-IMacon	C	1,210	3	12.5:1	$11,776	58.7
13	ClaytonClayton	C	2,351	5	10.4:1	$23,526	58.4
14	South Callaway Co. R-IiMokane	C	752	4	11.3:1	$14,098	58.3
15	Southern Boone Co. R-IAshland	C	2,006	4	12.4:1	$10,613	58
16	Blair Oaks R-IiJefferson City	C	1,194	4	14.4:1	$11,333	58
17	Sarcoxie R-IiSarcoxie	C	686	2	12.9:1	$13,809	58
18	Bowling Green R-IBowling Green	C	1,331	4	12.8:1	$12,383	57.5
19	Monroe City R-IMonroe City	C	764	3	12.3:1	$12,834	57.3
20	Pierce City R-ViPierce City	C	679	3	15.1:1	$10,878	57.3
21	Ralls Co. R-IiCenter	C	834	3	14:1	$10,693	57
22	Valley ParkValley Park	C	803	3	10.6:1	$15,748	57
23	Lebanon R-IiiLebanon	C	4,480	5	13.6:1	$11,731	56.8
24	Maries Co. R-IiBelle	C	730	3	11.3:1	$10,771	56.7
25	Francis Howell R-IiiO'fallon	C	17,124	21	14.9:1	$12,462	56.6
26	Center 58Kansas City	C	2,558	7	11.2:1	$16,423	56.6
27	Parkway C-2Chesterfield	C	17,134	29	13.7:1	$13,983	56.5
28	Lewis Co. C-1Lewistown	C	914	2	12.7:1	$11,465	56.5
29	Maplewood-Richmond HeightsMaplewood	C	1,510	4	11.8:1	$16,179	56.3
30	Crystal City 47Crystal City	C	542	2	13.3:1	$11,404	56
31	Chillicothe R-IiChillicothe	C	1,809	5	15:1	$11,446	55.8
32	Dallas Co. R-IBuffalo	C	1,782	3	13:1	$11,875	55.7
33	Palmyra R-IPalmyra	C	1,156	3	12.5:1	$10,275	55.7
34	Ste. Genevieve Co. R-IiSte Genevieve	C	1,815	4	12.6:1	$15,034	55.5
35	Shelby Co. R-IvShelbina	C	693	3	10.6:1	$13,742	55.3
36	Adrian R-IiiAdrian	C	730	2	12.8:1	$10,290	55
37	North Callaway Co. R-IKingdom City	C-	1,013	4	11.2:1	$11,709	54.5
38	Crocker R-IiCrocker	C-	564	2	12.6:1	$12,101	54.5
39	Bismarck R-VBismarck	C-	504	2	11.8:1	$11,815	54.5
40	Camdenton R-IiiCamdenton	C-	3,910	8	12.1:1	$13,296	54.3
41	Webster GrovesWebster Groves	C-	4,407	9	14:1	$13,734	54
42	Thayer R-IiThayer	C-	762	2	13.1:1	$9,622	54
43	Knob Noster R-ViiiKnob Noster	C-	1,905	4	16.6:1	$11,236	53.8
44	Kingston K-14Cadet	C-	833	4	12.8:1	$11,481	53.5
45	BrentwoodBrentwood	C-	775	5	12.3:1	$22,646	53.4
46	Willard R-IiWillard	C-	4,732	9	12.6:1	$10,953	53.3
47	Republic R-IiiRepublic	C-	5,316	8	14.3:1	$10,667	53.1
48	St. Charles R-ViSt Charles	C-	4,836	11	10.1:1	$18,445	53
49	Monett R-IMonett	C-	2,314	5	13:1	$13,631	53
50	Scott Co. R-IvBenton	C-	923	3	13:1	$10,798	53

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Missouri? ▼

The top-ranked district in Missouri is Osage Co. R-Iii in Westphalia with 758 students across 2 schools. Average quality score: 64.5/100. 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 Missouri? ▼

Missouri has 50+ school districts serving 887,264 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 12.8:1.

Explore More for Missouri

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.