Best Cities in North Dakota for Schools

Welcome to SchoolDigger, your premier source for city-wide school rankings! Our user-friendly platform focuses on test scores, presenting a transparent, data-driven comparison to help you navigate the educational scene. Explore top-rated cities in North Dakota and make informed decisions for your child's academic future. With our comprehensive database, uncover the best-performing schools within each city, evaluate their performance, and gain valuable insights. Trust SchoolDigger.com to guide you in finding the perfect city for your child's education. Embark on your journey to academic success right here!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish North Dakota test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the test scores by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. The most recent update was on Friday, September 13, 2024.

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Rank (of 30)	City	# Elementary Schools	# Middle Schools	# High Schools	# Private Schools*	Rank score (2024)	Rank (2023)	Rank change from 2023
1^st	Carrington	1	0	1	0	0.92	1
2^nd	Thompson	1	0	1	0	0.88	4	2
3^rd	Burlington	1	0	0	0	0.86	5	2
4^th	Kindred	1	0	1	0	0.8	3	1
5^th	Casselton	1	1	1	0	0.792	2	3
6^th	Bottineau	1	0	1	0	0.74	11	5
7^th	Grand Forks	10	3	3	3	0.669	12	5
8^th	Oakes	1	0	1	0	0.66	6	2
9^th	Hillsboro	1	0	1	0	0.62		(n/a)
10^th	Bismarck	22	4	5	11	0.612	10
11^th	Wahpeton	2	2	1	1	0.609	13	2
12^th	Jamestown	5	1	1	4	0.583	8	4
13^th	Mandan	9	1	4	2	0.519	21	8
14^th	Horace	1	1	1	0	0.519	22	8
15^th	Fargo	20	3	5	9	0.519	14	1
16^th	New Town	1	1	1	0	0.44	26	10
17^th	West Fargo	9	3	4	1	0.437	15	2
18^th	Minot	14	3	5	3	0.394	16	2
19^th	Killdeer	1	0	1	0	0.38	25	6
20^th	Beulah	1	1	1	0	0.375	27	7
21^st	Devils Lake	4	1	1	1	0.342	18	3
22^nd	Lincoln	1	0	0	0	0.32	17	5
23^rd	Rugby	1	0	1	1	0.3	7	16
24^th	Bowman	1	0	1	0	0.28		(n/a)
25^th	Stanley	1	0	1	0	0.18	19	6
26^th	Dickinson	7	1	3	6	0.162	20	6
27^th	Watford City	2	1	2	1	0.128	23	4
28^th	Tioga	1	0	1	0	0.12	29	1
29^th	Grafton	1	1	1	0	0.02	28	1
30^th	Williston	7	1	2	2	0	24	6

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for North Dakota

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About our rankings:

* Private schools are not used in determining city rank.
Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on test scores released by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.
These rankings were last updated on September 13, 2024, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.

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