Montana · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best 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
38/100
Avg quality score
D
Top grade

The ranking in one line

Monforton Elem in Bozeman leads Montana's districts with an average school quality score of 49.3/100 across 3 schools.

49.3/100
top district score (grade D)
3
schools in Monforton Elem
669
students in the top district
38/100
average across the top 50
# District GradeAvg Quality
1 Monforton Elem Bozeman D 49.3
2 Three Forks Elem Three Forks D 49
3 Malta K-12 Schools Malta D 46.8
4 Cut Bank Elem Cut Bank D 46.4
5 Bozeman H S Bozeman D 46
6 Bozeman Elem Bozeman D 43.9
7 Corvallis K-12 Schools Corvallis D 42.8
8 Browning Elem Browning D 42.1
9 Laurel Elem Laurel D 41
10 Lolo Elem Lolo D 41
11 Helena H S Helena D 40.5
12 Sidney Elem Sidney D 40.3
13 Missoula Elem Missoula D 40.1
14 Glendive Elem Glendive D 40
15 Huntley Project K-12 Schools Worden D 40
16 Poplar Elem Poplar F 39.7
17 Livingston Elem Livingston F 39.3
18 Evergreen Elem Kalispell F 39
19 Target Range Elem Missoula F 39
20 Shepherd Elem Shepherd F 39
21 Frenchtown K-12 Schools Frenchtown F 38.8
22 Polson Elem Polson F 38.7
23 Anaconda Elem Anaconda F 38.3
24 Lockwood K-12 Lockwood F 38
25 Whitefish Elem Whitefish F 38
26 Libby K-12 Schools Libby F 38
27 Dillon Elem Dillon F 38
28 Glasgow K-12 Schools Glasgow F 37.7
29 Helena Elem Helena F 37.5
30 Havre Elem Havre F 37.5
31 Wolf Point Elem Wolf Point F 37.3
32 Missoula H S Missoula F 37.3
33 Billings Elem Billings F 37
34 Great Falls H S Great Falls F 36.5
35 Miles City Elem Miles City F 35.8
36 Great Falls Elem Great Falls F 35.5
37 Townsend K-12 Schools Townsend F 35
38 Elder Grove Elem Billings F 34.5
39 Billings H S Billings F 34.3
40 Florence-Carlton K-12 Schls Florence F 34.3
41 Hellgate Elem Missoula F 34
42 Hardin Elem Hardin F 33.8
43 Hamilton K-12 Schools Hamilton F 33.8
44 West Valley Elem Kalispell F 33.5
45 Somers Elem Somers F 33.5
46 Columbia Falls Elem Columbia Falls F 33
47 Lewistown Elem Lewistown F 31.8
48 East Helena K-12 East Helena F 31.4
49 Ronan Elem Ronan F 28.7
50 Belgrade Elem Belgrade F 28

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Montana? ▼

The top-ranked district in Montana is Monforton Elem in Bozeman with 669 students across 3 schools. Average quality score: 49.3/100. 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 12.1:1.

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.