South Dakota · NCES CCD 2024-25
Best School Districts in South Dakota Top 49 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.
49 Districts ranked
113,240 Students enrolled
41/100 Avg quality score
C- Top grade The ranking in one line
Meade School District 46-1 in Sturgis leads South Dakota's districts with an average school quality score of 52.2/100 across 11 schools.
52.2/100 top district score (grade C-)
11 schools in Meade School District 46-1
3,058 students in the top district
41/100 average across the top 49 # District Grade Students Schools Avg S:T Per-Pupil $ Avg Quality 1 Meade School District 46-1 Sturgis C- 3,058 11 12.2:1 $9,446 52.2 2 Custer School District 16-1 Custer C- 911 4 12.3:1 $13,911 51.8 3 Dell Rapids School District 49-3 Dell Rapids C- 982 3 14.5:1 $10,597 51.7 4 Parkston School District 33-3 Parkston C- 562 6 12.7:1 $11,231 51.7 5 Platte - Geddes School District 11-5 Platte D 512 5 12.6:1 $12,846 48.8 6 Baltic School District 49-1 Baltic D 608 3 16.6:1 $9,550 48.3 7 Sioux Falls School District 49-5 Sioux Falls D 25,123 42 14.1:1 $10,788 48.1 8 Deuel School District 19-4 Clear Lake D 544 3 15.7:1 $10,946 47.3 9 Chester Area School District 39-1 Chester D 576 7 15.7:1 $9,721 47.3 10 Mobridge-Pollock 62-6 Mobridge D 571 4 12.3:1 $11,177 46.8 11 Spearfish School District 40-2 Spearfish D 2,423 7 11.1:1 $9,880 46.7 12 Elk Point-Jefferson School District 61-7 Elk Point D 688 3 15.6:1 $11,110 46.7 13 Dakota Valley School District 61-8 North Sioux City D 1,387 4 16:1 $10,430 46.5 14 Watertown School District 14-4 Watertown D 3,803 10 14.4:1 $9,475 46.4 15 Bon Homme School District 04-2 Tyndall D 589 8 14.8:1 $11,544 46.4 16 Groton Area School District 06-6 Groton D 597 3 14.4:1 $11,736 46.3 17 Harrisburg School District 41-2 Harrisburg D 5,912 10 13.9:1 $10,402 46.1 18 Redfield School District 56-4 Redfield D 555 5 10.6:1 $10,294 46 19 Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1 Lead D 736 4 9.4:1 $17,339 45.8 20 Canton School District 41-1 Canton D 874 3 14:1 $11,924 45 21 Flandreau School District 50-3 Flandreau D 694 4 11.1:1 $12,104 44.3 22 Tri-Valley School District 49-6 Colton D 945 3 14.3:1 $11,057 44 23 Yankton School District 63-3 Yankton D 3,036 6 17.2:1 $10,365 43.2 24 Aberdeen School District 06-1 Aberdeen D 4,326 10 13.4:1 $9,917 43.1 25 Brandon Valley School District 49-2 Brandon D 4,948 12 16.6:1 $9,822 42.3 26 Sioux Valley School District 05-5 Volga D 739 3 16:1 $10,296 41.7 27 West Central School District 49-7 Hartford D 1,412 6 16:1 $9,843 41 28 Madison Central School District 39-2 Madison D 1,147 3 13.8:1 $10,513 41 29 Brookings School District 05-1 Brookings D 3,431 6 14.4:1 $11,042 40 30 Milbank School District 25-4 Milbank D 1,033 4 12.8:1 $12,179 40 31 Hamlin School District 28-3 Hayti F 870 3 16:1 $9,103 39.7 32 Lennox School District 41-4 Lennox F 1,211 5 16.7:1 $10,086 38.8 33 Wagner Community School District 11-4 Wagner F 905 4 12.2:1 $14,978 38 34 Tea Area School District 41-5 Tea F 2,361 6 25.8:1 $8,726 37.5 35 Huron School District 02-2 Huron F 2,906 9 14.6:1 $11,193 37.3 36 Vermillion School District 13-1 Vermillion F 1,436 4 15:1 $9,973 37 37 Chamberlain School District 07-1 Chamberlain F 851 3 11.2:1 $13,938 36.7 38 Todd County School District 66-1 Mission F 2,047 12 13:1 $16,334 36.6 39 Belle Fourche School District 09-1 Belle Fourche F 1,329 5 14.3:1 $10,486 36 40 Beresford School District 61-2 Beresford F 708 3 15.1:1 $11,271 36 41 Webster Area 18-5 Webster F 551 3 14.9:1 $10,803 35.3 42 Winner School District 59-2 Winner F 814 3 15.7:1 $11,049 35 43 Rapid City Area School District 51-4 Rapid City F 12,747 27 16.5:1 $11,191 32.7 44 Mitchell School District 17-2 Mitchell F 2,722 9 16:1 $10,109 32.3 45 Hot Springs School District 23-2 Hot Springs F 772 3 13.3:1 $9,971 30.7 46 Pierre School District 32-2 Pierre F 2,762 5 15.9:1 $9,982 30.6 47 Douglas School District 51-1 Box Elder F 2,750 4 15.4:1 $12,366 28 48 Sisseton School District 54-2 Sisseton F 979 3 14.5:1 $12,465 27.3 49 Oglala Lakota County 65-1 Batesland F 1,797 6 15.8:1 $21,648 26.2
Frequently Asked Questions What are the best school districts in South Dakota? ▼ The top-ranked district in South Dakota is Meade School District 46-1 in Sturgis with 3,058 students across 11 schools. Average quality score: 52.2/100. 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 South Dakota? ▼ South Dakota has 49+ school districts serving 141,122 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 13.5:1.
Explore More for South Dakota 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.