Every public school, district, and the headline NCES measures for South Dakota - 150 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 691 scored South Dakota schools. Full methodology →
The state in one line
South Dakota runs 698 public schools across 150 districts, with a 13.6:1 average classroom and 28.8% of students on subsidized lunch.
698
public schools
150
school districts
13.6:1
avg student–teacher
28.8%
free/reduced lunch
How South Dakota ranks nationally
Per-pupil spending
$13,985
#39of 51 · highest-spending
Average student-teacher ratio
13.6:1
#16of 51 · lowest ratios
Public schools
698
#40of 51 · most schools
On subsidized lunch
28.8%
#38of 43 · highest share
South Dakota ranks #39 of 51 nationally on per-pupil spending and #16 of 51 on average student-teacher ratio, derived live by comparing it against every other state. Ranked among all 50 states + DC from NCES enrollment/staffing and the F-33 finance survey. Lunch share is an indicator of student need, not of quality.
What the NCES Data Says About South Dakota Schools
South Dakota operates 698 public K-12 schools organised into 150 independent school districts serving 141,122 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Sioux Falls School District 49-5, enrolls 25,123 pupils across 43 schools at $11,456 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 13.6:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 28.8% across South Dakota public schools, a federal indicator of economic need that drives Title I funding allocations. 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.
South Dakota's average student-teacher ratio vs. every US state
Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means more staffing per student)
14Among the lowest ratioslower student-teacher ratio than 65% 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.
Sioux Falls School District 49-5 accounts for 17.8% of all South Dakota K-12 enrollment
That concentration, well above the 8.4% national median for largest-district share, means state-level averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant district. Sioux Falls School District 49-5 operates 43 schools serving 25,123 students, spending $11,456 per pupil. When one district dominates a state's K-12 footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the state's students.
South Dakota per-pupil spending varies 3.6× across districts
Per-pupil spending in South Dakota ranges from $9,313 (lowest district) to $33,455 (highest), a spread of $24,142. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually equalised funding system, most states have wider gaps. 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 South Dakota student-teacher ratio is 13.6:1 - 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.
South Dakota's public schools average a Simpson diversity index of 27.6/100, 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 South Dakota ranks in our national school-diversity analysis.
By total K-12 enrollment, NCES Common Core 2024-25
students
Sioux Falls School District 49-5
25,123
Sioux Falls School District 49-5
25,123 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · 43 schools
Rapid City Area School Distric…
12,747
Rapid City Area School District 51-4
12,747 students
50.7% of the leader · rank #2 · 27 schools
Harrisburg School District 41-2
5,912
Harrisburg School District 41-2
5,912 students
23.5% of the leader · rank #3 · 10 schools
Brandon Valley School District…
4,948
Brandon Valley School District 49-2
4,948 students
19.7% of the leader · rank #4 · 12 schools
Aberdeen School District 06-1
4,326
Aberdeen School District 06-1
4,326 students
17.2% of the leader · rank #5 · 10 schools
Watertown School District 14-4
3,803
Watertown School District 14-4
3,803 students
15.1% of the leader · rank #6 · 10 schools
Brookings School District 05-1
3,431
Brookings School District 05-1
3,431 students
13.7% of the leader · rank #7 · 6 schools
Meade School District 46-1
3,058
Meade School District 46-1
3,058 students
12.2% of the leader · rank #8 · 11 schools
Yankton School District 63-3
3,036
Yankton School District 63-3
3,036 students
12.1% of the leader · rank #9 · 6 schools
Huron School District 02-2
2,906
Huron School District 02-2
2,906 students
11.6% of the leader · rank #10 · 10 schools
What this shows Sioux Falls School District 49-5 is the largest district, with 25,123 students across 43 schools. The full ranked district list follows.
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 South Dakota data
South Dakota's 698 schools sit inside 150 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 South Dakota 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 South Dakota?
South Dakota has 698 public schools across 150 school districts, serving 141,122 students.
What is the average student-teacher ratio in South Dakota?
The average student-teacher ratio in South Dakota public schools is 13.6:1. This varies by district, use the district table below to compare.
What percentage of South Dakota students qualify for free lunch?
28.8% of students in South Dakota qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.
What is the largest school district in South Dakota?
The largest school district in South Dakota is Sioux Falls School District 49-5 with 25,123 students across 43 schools.
Largest K-12 public schools by total students enrolled
students
Central High School - 41
1,998
Central High School - 41
1,998 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · Rapid City, SD
Lincoln High School - 02
1,954
Lincoln High School - 02
1,954 students
97.8% of the leader · rank #2 · Sioux Falls, SD
Jefferson High School …
1,888
Jefferson High School - 67
1,888 students
94.5% of the leader · rank #3 · Sioux Falls, SD
Washington High School…
1,819
Washington High School - 01
1,819 students
91.0% of the leader · rank #4 · Sioux Falls, SD
Harrisburg High School…
1,806
Harrisburg High School - 01
1,806 students
90.4% of the leader · rank #5 · Harrisburg, SD
Roosevelt High School …
1,785
Roosevelt High School - 03
1,785 students
89.3% of the leader · rank #6 · Sioux Falls, SD
Stevens High School - 42
1,771
Stevens High School - 42
1,771 students
88.6% of the leader · rank #7 · Rapid City, SD
Central High School - 01
1,384
Central High School - 01
1,384 students
69.3% of the leader · rank #8 · Aberdeen, SD
What this shows The largest public schools in South Dakota 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.