Montana · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced School Districts in Montana

Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

50
Districts ranked
90,866
Students enrolled
39/100
Avg quality score
D
Top grade

The ranking in one line

Browning Elem in Browning leads Montana's districts with an average school quality score of 49/100 across 7 schools.

49/100
top district score (grade D)
7
schools in Browning Elem
1,266
students in the top district
39/100
average across the top 50
# District GradeAvg Quality
1 Browning Elem Browning D 49
2 Monforton Elem Bozeman D 49
3 Three Forks Elem Three Forks D 49
4 Malta K-12 Schools Malta D 46
5 Cut Bank Elem Cut Bank D 45.7
6 Bozeman H S Bozeman D 45.5
7 Poplar Elem Poplar D 45
8 Bozeman Elem Bozeman D 43.7
9 Corvallis K-12 Schools Corvallis D 43.5
10 Laurel Elem Laurel D 42
11 Helena H S Helena D 41.5
12 Lolo Elem Lolo D 40.5
13 Sidney Elem Sidney D 40.3
14 Glendive Elem Glendive D 40.3
15 Huntley Project K-12 Schools Worden D 40.3
16 Frenchtown K-12 Schools Frenchtown D 40.3
17 Missoula Elem Missoula D 40.2
18 Polson Elem Polson D 40
19 Livingston Elem Livingston D 40
20 Shepherd Elem Shepherd D 40
21 Lockwood K-12 Lockwood F 39.5
22 Target Range Elem Missoula F 39.5
23 Anaconda Elem Anaconda F 39
24 Evergreen Elem Kalispell F 39
25 Helena Elem Helena F 38.6
26 Dillon Elem Dillon F 38.5
27 Libby K-12 Schools Libby F 38.3
28 Missoula H S Missoula F 38
29 Whitefish Elem Whitefish F 38
30 Wolf Point Elem Wolf Point F 38
31 Glasgow K-12 Schools Glasgow F 37.7
32 Great Falls H S Great Falls F 37.5
33 Great Falls Elem Great Falls F 36.9
34 Billings Elem Billings F 36.5
35 Hardin Elem Hardin F 36.4
36 Havre Elem Havre F 36.3
37 Florence-Carlton K-12 Schls Florence F 35.7
38 Miles City Elem Miles City F 35.6
39 Hamilton K-12 Schools Hamilton F 35.5
40 Billings H S Billings F 35.3
41 Townsend K-12 Schools Townsend F 34.7
42 Hellgate Elem Missoula F 34.5
43 Somers Elem Somers F 34
44 Elder Grove Elem Billings F 33.5
45 Columbia Falls Elem Columbia Falls F 33.3
46 West Valley Elem Kalispell F 32.5
47 Lewistown Elem Lewistown F 32.3
48 East Helena K-12 East Helena F 32.2
49 Ronan Elem Ronan F 29.3
50 Belgrade Elem Belgrade F 28.3

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Montana? ▼

The top-ranked district in Montana is Browning Elem in Browning with 1,266 students across 7 schools. Average quality score: 49/100. 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 Montana? ▼

Montana has 50+ school districts serving 146,015 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 11.8:1.

Explore More for Montana

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.