South Dakota · NCES CCD 2024-25
Best-Resourced 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.
Compiled by PlainSchools , Education-data publisher · August 11, 2026
49 Districts ranked
113,240 Students enrolled
42/100 Avg quality score
C- Top grade The ranking in one line
Custer School District 16-1 in Custer leads South Dakota's districts with an average school quality score of 52.8/100 across 4 schools.
52.8/100 top district score (grade C-)
4 schools in Custer School District 16-1
911 students in the top district
42/100 average across the top 49
# District Grade Students Schools Avg S:T Per-Pupil $ Avg Quality 1 Custer School District 16-1 Custer C- 911 4 11.3:1 $14,663 52.8 2 Parkston School District 33-3 Parkston C- 562 6 12.4:1 $11,975 52.3 3 Dell Rapids School District 49-3 Dell Rapids C- 982 3 14.4:1 $10,960 51.7 4 Meade School District 46-1 Sturgis C- 3,058 11 12.9:1 $9,885 51.5 5 Baltic School District 49-1 Baltic D 608 3 15.2:1 $9,313 49.7 6 Platte - Geddes School District 11-5 Platte D 512 5 12.6:1 $11,895 49 7 Sioux Falls School District 49-5 Sioux Falls D 25,123 42 14.2:1 $11,456 48.4 8 Deuel School District 19-4 Clear Lake D 544 3 15.2:1 $11,450 47.7 9 Dakota Valley School District 61-8 North Sioux City D 1,387 4 15.2:1 $11,120 47.5 10 Chester Area School District 39-1 Chester D 576 7 15.7:1 $10,311 47.1 11 Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1 Lead D 736 4 8.4:1 $18,954 47 12 Redfield School District 56-4 Redfield D 555 5 9.8:1 $12,962 46.8 13 Elk Point-Jefferson School District 61-7 Elk Point D 688 3 15.6:1 $11,520 46.7 14 Groton Area School District 06-6 Groton D 597 3 14.1:1 $12,132 46.7 15 Harrisburg School District 41-2 Harrisburg D 5,912 10 13.5:1 $11,031 46.3 16 Mobridge-Pollock 62-6 Mobridge D 571 4 12.7:1 $12,998 46.3 17 Bon Homme School District 04-2 Tyndall D 589 8 14.3:1 $12,156 46.1 18 Tri-Valley School District 49-6 Colton D 945 3 12:1 $12,004 46 19 Canton School District 41-1 Canton D 874 3 14.1:1 $11,514 45 20 Flandreau School District 50-3 Flandreau D 694 4 11.6:1 $12,654 43.3 21 Yankton School District 63-3 Yankton D 3,036 6 17.2:1 $10,904 43.2 22 Aberdeen School District 06-1 Aberdeen D 4,326 10 13.2:1 $10,673 43.1 23 Watertown School District 14-4 Watertown D 3,803 10 15.8:1 $10,402 42.9 24 West Central School District 49-7 Hartford D 1,412 6 16:1 $10,992 42.7 25 Spearfish School District 40-2 Spearfish D 2,423 7 12.7:1 $9,680 42.1 26 Sioux Valley School District 05-5 Volga D 739 3 15.8:1 $9,934 42 27 Brandon Valley School District 49-2 Brandon D 4,948 12 17.6:1 $10,306 41.3 28 Madison Central School District 39-2 Madison D 1,147 3 14.1:1 $10,867 40.7 29 Todd County School District 66-1 Mission D 2,047 12 11.9:1 $16,807 40.2 30 Brookings School District 05-1 Brookings F 3,431 6 14.7:1 $11,811 39.7 31 Hamlin School District 28-3 Hayti F 870 3 16.5:1 $9,580 39.7 32 Milbank School District 25-4 Milbank F 1,033 4 12.7:1 $12,156 39.5 33 Lennox School District 41-4 Lennox F 1,211 5 16.4:1 $10,690 39.2 34 Wagner Community School District 11-4 Wagner F 905 4 12.2:1 $15,825 38.5 35 Vermillion School District 13-1 Vermillion F 1,436 4 15.1:1 $11,110 37 36 Beresford School District 61-2 Beresford F 708 3 13.9:1 $11,801 37 37 Belle Fourche School District 09-1 Belle Fourche F 1,329 5 13.7:1 $10,737 36.6 38 Tea Area School District 41-5 Tea F 2,361 6 27.2:1 $9,842 36.5 39 Huron School District 02-2 Huron F 2,906 9 15.7:1 $12,082 36.2 40 Chamberlain School District 07-1 Chamberlain F 851 3 11.3:1 $14,079 36 41 Mitchell School District 17-2 Mitchell F 2,722 9 14.1:1 $10,795 35.3 42 Webster Area 18-5 Webster F 551 3 14.4:1 $10,579 35.3 43 Winner School District 59-2 Winner F 814 3 15.7:1 $10,722 35 44 Rapid City Area School District 51-4 Rapid City F 12,747 27 17.1:1 $10,377 33.5 45 Hot Springs School District 23-2 Hot Springs F 772 3 12.3:1 $10,609 31.3 46 Oglala Lakota County 65-1 Batesland F 1,797 6 15:1 $23,662 31.2 47 Pierre School District 32-2 Pierre F 2,762 5 15.8:1 $10,579 30.6 48 Douglas School District 51-1 Box Elder F 2,750 4 15.7:1 $11,597 27.8 49 Sisseton School District 54-2 Sisseton F 979 3 14.4:1 $13,105 27
Frequently Asked Questions What are the best school districts in South Dakota? ▼ The top-ranked district in South Dakota is Custer School District 16-1 in Custer with 911 students across 4 schools. Average quality score: 52.8/100. 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 13.6:1.
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.