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MTMontana rankings

Towns with the best public schools in Montana

Ranked by how far each town's public schools score above or below the Montana average in math and reading proficiency, weighted by enrollment. 40 towns with 2,500+ residents.

U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-yearTest scores SY2020–21

Dillon
Montana · Best schools

Where Dillon lands: #6 of 40

+9.7 pts vs. the MT average in math + reading · Visit Dillon →

Map of Four Corners 1 Four Corners +26.2 pts Math 63.9% · Reading 69% Map of Montana City 2 Montana City +19.2 pts Math 52% · Reading 67% Bozeman 3 Bozeman +18.9 pts Math 51.6% · Reading 66.9%
#Townvs. state averageMathReading
1 Map of Four Corners Four CornersMonforton Elem +26.2 pts 63.9% 69%
2 Map of Montana City Montana CityMontana City Elem +19.2 pts 52% 67%
3 Bozeman BozemanBozeman Elem +18.9 pts 51.6% 66.9%
4 Whitefish WhitefishWhitefish Elem +14.1 pts 47.1% 61.7%
5 Map of Orchard Homes Orchard HomesTarget Range Elem +11.2 pts 44.3% 58.8%
6 Dillon DillonDillon Elem +9.7 pts 42.5% 57.6%
7 Missoula MissoulaMissoula Elem +6.9 pts 38.4% 56.1%
8 Map of Helena Valley Northeast Helena Valley NortheastHelena Elem +6.7 pts 42% 52%
9 Map of Kalispell KalispellKalispell Elem +6.4 pts 37.9% 55.5%
10 Red Lodge Red LodgeRed Lodge Elem +3.6 pts 36.3% 51.4%
11 Helena HelenaHelena Elem +3.2 pts 35.2% 51.7%
12 BelgradeBelgrade Elem +1.6 pts 33.8% 50%
13 Libby LibbyLibby K-12 Schools +1.5 pts 37.4% 46.1%
14 Bigfork BigforkBigfork Elem +1.0 pts 28.1% 54.5%
15 Lolo LoloLolo Elem +0.1 pts 34.2% 46.5%
16 Conrad ConradConrad Elem −0.2 pts 36.8% 43.4%
17 Billings BillingsBillings Elem −0.3 pts 35.7% 44.2%
18 Lewistown LewistownLewistown Elem −0.4 pts 35% 44.8%
19 Great Falls Great FallsGreat Falls Elem −1.1 pts 34.2% 44.1%
20 Hamilton HamiltonHamilton K-12 Schools −1.3 pts 32.9% 45.2%
21 Map of Helena Valley West Central Helena Valley West CentralHelena Elem −2.3 pts 27% 49%
22 Butte-Silver Bow Butte-Silver BowButte Elem −3.2 pts 29.4% 44.9%
23 Shelby ShelbyShelby Elem −3.2 pts 29.9% 44.3%
24 Livingston LivingstonLivingston Elem −3.4 pts 28.5% 45.2%
25 Glasgow GlasgowGlasgow K-12 Schools −3.4 pts 32.3% 41.4%
26 Map of Havre HavreHavre Elem −4.0 pts 31.4% 41.3%
27 Columbia Falls Columbia FallsColumbia Falls Elem −4.6 pts 29.5% 42%
28 Map of Helena Valley Northwest Helena Valley NorthwestHelena Elem −4.8 pts 26% 45%
29 Map of Evergreen EvergreenEvergreen Elem −7.0 pts 27% 39.7%
30 Deer Lodge Deer LodgeDeer Lodge Elem −7.0 pts 23.4% 43.3%
31 Sidney SidneySidney Elem −7.5 pts 26.7% 38.8%
32 Polson PolsonPolson Elem −8.2 pts 26.9% 37.4%
33 Laurel LaurelLaurel Elem −9.5 pts 25.3% 36.2%
34 Glendive GlendiveGlendive Elem −11.0 pts 18.9% 39.7%
35 Miles City Miles CityMiles City Elem −11.5 pts 23% 34.6%
36 Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Anaconda-Deer Lodge CountyAnaconda Elem −12.0 pts 22.3% 34.3%
37 Map of Cut Bank Cut BankCut Bank Elem −12.2 pts 24.7% 31.4%
38 Lockwood LockwoodLockwood K-12 −13.1 pts 21.4% 33.1%
39 Wolf Point Wolf PointWolf Point Elem −26.6 pts 8.7% 18.6%
40 Hardin HardinHardin Elem −30.8 pts 6.1% 13%

How this ranking works

For every public school in a town we take its latest math and reading proficiency and subtract the Montana average for the same test. The town’s score is the average of those gaps, weighted by each school’s enrollment, so a big high school counts more than a small annex. Private schools aren’t included.

Each state writes its own tests, so these scores compare towns within Montana only. We don’t rank a town unless at least 150 students in its schools were tested. Test data: EDFacts via Urban Institute Education Data Portal (SY2020-21).

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

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