Every public school, district, and the headline NCES measures for Montana - 398 districts, drawn straight from federal records.
Compiled by PlainSchools, Education-data publisher
Scored 0-100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores - the same index shown on every school page, averaged across 826 scored Montana schools. Full methodology →
The state in one line
Montana runs 826 public schools across 398 districts, with a 11.8:1 average classroom and - of students on subsidized lunch.
826
public schools
398
school districts
11.8:1
avg student–teacher
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free/reduced lunch
What the NCES Data Says About Montana Schools
Montana operates 826 public K-12 schools organised into 398 independent school districts serving 146,015 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Billings Elem, enrolls 10,988 pupils across 28 schools at $12,015 per student, while smaller rural districts can run fewer than a dozen campuses. This fragmentation, inherited from century-old township governance patterns in many states, is why per-pupil spending, class sizes, and programme availability vary dramatically inside a single state boundary.
Statewide, the average student-teacher ratio is 11.8:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. The district table below is sortable by enrollment, school count, and per-pupil expenditure, the three fields that best predict a district's financial and demographic profile. For schools specifically, use the rankings links above to view per-category leaderboards covering spending, student-teacher ratio, best schools by composite quality score, chronic absenteeism, and funding-equity distribution within the state.
Every district figure here pulls from two distinct federal surveys: enrollment and demographic data come from the NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (school membership and directory), while per-pupil spending, teacher salaries, and federal/state/local revenue shares originate in the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey (FY 2022-23). Civil-rights indicators, gifted enrollment, AP course counts, counselor staffing, chronic absenteeism, in- and out-of-school suspensions, come from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Cross-referencing these three sources is what lets PlainSchools produce composite scores and equity rankings that single-source tools cannot.
Montana's average student-teacher ratio vs. every US state
Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means more staffing per student)
12Among the lowest ratioslower student-teacher ratio than 86% of 51 US states
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
Federal data, transparent formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal survey data - enrollment, staffing, finance, and demographics from NCES. The diversity index and composite quality scores referenced on this page are PlainSchools' own transparent derived indices (not an official NCES rating), computed directly from those datasets with the exact formula disclosed on our methodology page; every input number traces to a cited source. These figures describe reported resource allocation across a large, varied state - a starting point for comparing districts and schools, not a substitute for reviewing a specific school's own record.
Montana per-pupil spending varies 11.7× across districts
Per-pupil spending in Montana ranges from $7,849 (lowest district) to $91,500 (highest), a spread of $83,651. That ratio is among the widest in the country and predicts large gaps in class size, programme availability, and counselor:student ratios that compound across a 12-year K-12 career. High-spending districts typically draw on higher property tax bases, a structural feature of state education finance under the federal Title I framework that sets the floor but not the ceiling.
Average Montana student-teacher ratio is 11.8:1 - low (typically associated with smaller schools or state-funded class-size reduction)
Student-teacher ratio is the simplest staffing metric reported on NCES Common Core of Data, but it does not capture push-in specialists, intervention staff, English Language Learner aides, special education co-teachers, or counseling and support staff. Lower ratios in this state often correlate with smaller per-school enrollments and rural geography rather than higher staffing budgets per se. Class-load comparisons are most meaningful at the district or school level, not the state aggregate.
Montana's public schools average a Simpson diversity index of 23.6/100, below the national average of 43.5. The index runs 0-100 from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality. See where Montana ranks in our national school-diversity analysis.
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25, NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
Using the Montana data
Montana's 826 schools sit inside 398 districts - compare at the district level first.
District boundaries decide enrollment: shortlist 2-3 districts on spending, ratio, and size before comparing individual schools. Compare districts →
Check how Montana distributes money across its districts, funding equity varies more within states than between them. Funding equity →
Verify any school's federal record (enrollment, staffing, CRDC flags) before a visit or enrollment decision. Look up a school →
Figures are the federal record (CCD 2024-25, F-33 FY 2022-23, CRDC 2021-22) - they lag the current school year. PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score used in our rankings is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many public schools are in Montana?
Montana has 826 public schools across 398 school districts, serving 146,015 students.
What is the average student-teacher ratio in Montana?
The average student-teacher ratio in Montana public schools is 11.8:1. This varies by district, use the district table below to compare.
What is the largest school district in Montana?
The largest school district in Montana is Billings Elem with 10,988 students across 28 schools.
Why does per-pupil spending vary so much across Montana districts?
Montana districts spend between $7,849 and $91,500 per pupil, a 11.7× range. This is a wide spread, well above the typical U.S. state range. Most U.S. states fund schools through a mix of state aid (typically 40-60%), local property tax (30-50%), and federal Title I (5-15%); districts in higher property-value areas raise more per pupil from local taxes, while state aid rarely closes the full gap. The federal F-33 finance survey reports actual current expenditures including instructional and support services.
Largest K-12 public schools by total students enrolled
students
Billings West High Sch…
2,115
Billings West High School
2,115 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · Billings, MT
Billings Sr High School
1,629
Billings Sr High School
1,629 students
77.0% of the leader · rank #2 · Billings, MT
Great Falls High School
1,548
Great Falls High School
1,548 students
73.2% of the leader · rank #3 · Great Falls, MT
Skyview High School
1,542
Skyview High School
1,542 students
72.9% of the leader · rank #4 · Billings, MT
Flathead High School
1,541
Flathead High School
1,541 students
72.9% of the leader · rank #5 · Kalispell, MT
Gallatin High School
1,442
Gallatin High School
1,442 students
68.2% of the leader · rank #6 · Bozeman, MT
C M Russell High School
1,412
C M Russell High School
1,412 students
66.8% of the leader · rank #7 · Great Falls, MT
Glacier High School
1,402
Glacier High School
1,402 students
66.3% of the leader · rank #8 · Kalispell, MT
What this shows The largest public schools in Montana by enrollment, often statewide virtual academies or large consolidated campuses, so size here reflects reach, not quality.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD) - Public school universe · 2023-2024 Public K-12 school enrollment, demographics, and operational data; collected annually by NCES from state education agencies.