Public + private high schools, every state.
Browse by state: AKALARAZCACOCTDCDEFLGAGUHIIAIDILINKSKYLAMAMDMEMIMNMOMSMTNCNDNENHNJNMNVNYOHOKORPAPRRISCSDTNTXUTVAVIVTWAWIWVWY
219
high schools (public + private)
187
public (164 districts)
32
private (NCES PSS)
10,252
public grade‑12 students (seniors, latest year)

MT public HS enrollment trend

Across the 44,433 students enrolled in MT brick-and-mortar public high schools in 2021, the state contracted -1.2% by 2024 (43,905 students, -528 net). That's the demographic tide every individual school is fighting or riding.

Charter share of public HS enrollment (latest year): 0.0% (0 of 43,905 students). Virtual / nonclassroom-based schools excluded.

State context · NAEP 2024

How does MT compare nationally?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only test given the same way to students in every state — making it the benchmark for state-to-state academic comparison. Below, this state's 8th-grade averages and where it sits on the 50-state distribution.

8th-grade math
280
+7 vs national avg (273)
8th-grade reading
268
+8 vs national avg (260)
national avg MT Math → Reading → 260 290 245 275

Each dot is one state's 2024 NAEP 8th-grade averages. MT is highlighted in gold. Dashed lines mark national averages — being upper-right of both = above national in both subjects. Source: NAEP State Snapshot Reports. NAEP doesn't produce per-school scores — this is state-level context.

Where the students are

Top 10 cities by public-HS enrollment

Billings 6 HS 5,444
Missoula 3 HS 3,775
Kalispell 4 HS 2,976
Great Falls 3 HS 2,975
Bozeman 3 HS 2,790
Helena 3 HS 2,330
Butte 1 HS 1,266
Belgrade 1 HS 958
Columbia Falls 1 HS 691
Browning 1 HS 633

School-size distribution

Public, classroom-based · grades 9–12, latest year

Fastest-growing high schools
public, classroom-based · grade 9–12 · 2021→2024
Lockwood High School
Lockwood K-12
399→552 +38.3%
East Helena High School
East Helena K-12
428→563 +31.5%
Browning High School
Browning H S
553→633 +14.5%
Gallatin High School
Bozeman H S
1,274→1,442 +13.2%
Poplar High School
Poplar H S
243→275 +13.2%
Whitefish High School
Whitefish H S
576→618 +7.3%
Libby High School
Libby K-12 Schools
340→363 +6.8%
Jefferson High School
Jefferson H S
291→306 +5.2%
Beaverhead Co High School
Beaverhead County H S
325→339 +4.3%
Bozeman High School
Bozeman H S
1,228→1,279 +4.2%
Fastest-shrinking high schools
public, classroom-based · grade 9–12 · 2021→2024
Frenchtown High School
Frenchtown K-12 Schools
490→364 -25.7%
Cut Bank High School
Cut Bank H S
240→183 -23.8%
Wolf Point High School
Wolf Point H S
239→200 -16.3%
Hamilton High School
Hamilton K-12 Schools
543→460 -15.3%
Shepherd High School
Shepherd H S
265→225 -15.1%
Corvallis High School
Corvallis K-12 Schools
476→406 -14.7%
Helena High School
Helena H S
1,128→979 -13.2%
Thompson Falls High Schl
Thompson Falls H S
209→183 -12.4%
Florence-Carlton HS
Florence-Carlton K-12 Schls
270→237 -12.2%
Billings Sr High School
Billings H S
1,823→1,629 -10.6%

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