North Dakota · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced School Districts in North Dakota

Top 35 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 26, 2026

The ranking in one line

Jamestown 1 in Jamestown leads North Dakota's districts with an average school quality score of 58.3/100 across 7 schools.

58.3/100
top district score (grade C): 7
schools in Jamestown 1: 2,167
students in the top district: 44/100
average across the top 35

#	District	Grade	Students	Schools	Avg S:T	Per-Pupil $	Avg Quality
1	Jamestown 1Jamestown	C	2,167	7	11.5:1	$13,986	58.3
2	Hillsboro 9Hillsboro	C	508	3	10.3:1	$13,293	56.3
3	Kindred 2Kindred	C	916	2	9.1:1	$11,122	56
4	Northern Cass 97Hunter	C	690	3	13.8:1	$13,433	55.7
5	South Prairie 70Minot	C-	533	2	14.1:1	$12,756	53.5
6	Thompson 61Thompson	C-	656	2	15.3:1	$10,067	52.5
7	Valley City 2Valley City	D	1,036	4	14.5:1	$13,719	48.5
8	Grand Forks 1Grand Forks	D	7,604	18	11.4:1	$15,253	48.2
9	Nedrose 4Minot	D	601	2	11.3:1	$13,298	48
10	Lisbon 19Lisbon	D	628	3	12:1	$13,573	47.7
11	West Fargo 6West Fargo	D	12,680	25	13:1	$13,666	47.5
12	Fargo 1Fargo	D	11,431	25	11.5:1	$17,740	46.4
13	Central Cass 17Casselton	D	1,036	3	16.2:1	$12,242	46
14	Killdeer 16Killdeer	D	646	2	11.8:1	$16,034	46
15	Rugby 5Rugby	D	607	2	12.3:1	$15,723	46
16	May-Port Cg 14Mayville	D	508	3	11.6:1	$13,075	46
17	New Town 1New Town	D	994	3	10.1:1	$17,294	45
18	Bismarck 1Bismarck	D	13,976	26	15.5:1	$14,558	44.8
19	Grafton 18Grafton	D	949	3	10.2:1	$11,865	44
20	Bottineau 1Bottineau	D	660	2	11.4:1	$15,094	44
21	Beulah 27Beulah	D	761	3	13.5:1	$12,708	42
22	Carrington 49Carrington	D	613	2	14.4:1	$12,062	41.5
23	Devils Lake 1Devils Lake	D	1,737	5	14.3:1	$14,196	41.2
24	Minot 1Minot	D	7,715	21	13.5:1	$15,223	41.2
25	Hazen 3Hazen	D	570	3	15.4:1	$13,607	40.7
26	Tioga 15Tioga	D	523	2	14.1:1	$18,145	40
27	Dickinson 1Dickinson	F	3,954	12	20.3:1	$14,504	39.5
28	Mckenzie Co 1Watford City	F	2,004	5	21.5:1	$15,006	39.4
29	United 7Des Lacs	F	704	2	14.1:1	$13,615	39
30	Wahpeton 37Wahpeton	F	1,201	4	16:1	$13,897	37.8
31	Dunseith 1Dunseith	F	548	2	9.3:1	$23,276	35.5
32	Williston Basin 7Williston	F	5,294	13	14.4:1	$13,026	35.1
33	Belcourt 7Belcourt	F	1,588	4	12.8:1	$22,582	34.5
34	Stanley 2Stanley	F	755	2	15.8:1	$13,713	30.5
35	Mandan 1Mandan	F	4,344	11	17.9:1	$14,124	29.6

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in North Dakota? ▼

The top-ranked district in North Dakota is Jamestown 1 in Jamestown with 2,167 students across 7 schools. Average quality score: 58.3/100. 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 North Dakota? ▼

North Dakota has 35+ school districts serving 118,286 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 11.8:1.

Explore More for North Dakota

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.