What North Dakota School Districts Spend Per Student
The median North Dakota school district spends $16,922 per student per year, $2,379 above the national median of $14,543, across all 170 districts the state reports. The 166 of them a ZIP code can reach are listed below, and their 116,697 students account for $1.8 billion of current spending in fiscal year 2022.
North Dakota at a Glance
| Median district, per student | $16,922 |
|---|---|
| National median district | $14,543 |
| Districts listed | 166 of 170 |
| Students listed | 116,697 |
| Median district, math | ≈45% |
| Median district, reading | ≈47% |
Every North Dakota District, by Enrollment
Spending is current spending divided by fall membership for fiscal year 2022. Proficiency and graduation rates are school year 2018-19, the last year before the pandemic interrupted state testing, so the money and the results are not from the same year. A figure marked ≈ is one the federal file published as a range rather than a value, so small groups of children stay unidentifiable; it is the middle of that range and within ten points of the real one. A dash means the federal files publish no value under that district's ID. 4 further North Dakota districts are missing because the federal boundary file places them in no ZIP code, which is normal for charter and virtual districts with no attendance area.
| District | Students | Per student | Math | Reading | Graduation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bismarck Public School District 1 | 13,768 | $14,037 | 46% | 48% | 91% |
| West Fargo Public School District 6 | 12,251 | $13,475 | 51% | 52% | 88% |
| Fargo Public School District 1 | 11,331 | $16,941 | 48% | 51% | 84% |
| Minot Public School District 1 | 7,742 | $15,116 | 45% | 47% | 86% |
| Grand Forks Public School District 1 | 7,529 | $14,844 | 45% | 48% | 88% |
| Williston Basin Public School District 7 | 5,143 | $13,430 | — | — | — |
| Mandan Public School District 1 | 4,278 | $13,128 | 46% | 43% | 85% |
| Dickinson Public School District 1 | 3,880 | $14,801 | 47% | 50% | 93% |
| Jamestown Public School District 1 | 2,135 | $13,875 | 54% | 57% | ≈87% |
| McKenzie County Public School District 1 | 1,793 | $15,892 | 30% | 39% | ≈87% |
| Devils Lake Public School District 1 | 1,708 | $14,540 | 46% | 47% | ≈87% |
| Belcourt Public School District 7 | 1,537 | $21,558 | 27% | 31% | ≈77% |
| Wahpeton Public School District 37 | 1,216 | $15,498 | 36% | 40% | ≈92% |
| Valley City Public School District 2 | 1,050 | $13,301 | 57% | 53% | ≈92% |
| Central Cass Public School District 17 | 1,005 | $12,016 | 42% | 50% | ≈98% |
| Grafton Public School District 18 | 967 | $11,631 | — | — | — |
| New Town Public School District 1 | 955 | $19,674 | 10% | 23% | ≈82% |
| Kindred Public School District 2 | 862 | $11,389 | 63% | 60% | ≈95% |
| Stanley Public School District 2 | 751 | $13,437 | 24% | 42% | ≈95% |
| Beulah Public School District 27 | 748 | $13,174 | 44% | 39% | ≈92% |
| United Public School District 7 | 706 | $13,072 | 47% | 53% | ≈95% |
| Northern Cass Public School District 97 | 688 | $12,445 | 38% | 49% | ≈95% |
| Bottineau Public School District 1 | 673 | $15,291 | 46% | 50% | ≈95% |
| Thompson Public School District 61 | 633 | $9,646 | 51% | 60% | ≈95% |
| Killdeer Public School District 16 | 618 | $15,388 | 35% | 36% | ≈85% |
| Lisbon Public School District 19 | 616 | $13,541 | 44% | 48% | ≈85% |
| Rugby Public School District 5 | 615 | $15,967 | 48% | 53% | ≈95% |
| Nedrose Public School District 4 | 612 | $12,673 | 30% | 34% | ≈90% |
| Dunseith Public School District 1 | 591 | $22,054 | 17% | 19% | ≈85% |
| Hazen Public School District 3 | 577 | $13,059 | 50% | 49% | ≈85% |
| Carrington Public School District 49 | 566 | $12,807 | 60% | 60% | ≈95% |
| Bowman County Public School District 1 | 521 | $15,330 | 39% | 38% | ≈95% |
| South Prairie Public School District 70 | 519 | $13,166 | 45% | 62% | ≈90% |
| Hillsboro Public School District 9 | 515 | $12,322 | 50% | 44% | ≈95% |
| Oakes Public School District 41 | 511 | $11,751 | 59% | 58% | ≈90% |
| May-Port CG Public School District 14 | 503 | $13,133 | 50% | 57% | ≈95% |
| Tioga Public School District 15 | 481 | $18,131 | 28% | 37% | ≈90% |
| Park River Area Public School District 8 | 475 | $11,221 | 48% | 54% | ≈85% |
| Velva Public School District 1 | 451 | $14,559 | 50% | 55% | ≈90% |
| St. John Public School District 3 | 437 | $20,124 | 17% | 31% | ≈95% |
| Lewis and Clark Public School District 161 | 435 | $15,616 | 54% | 60% | ≈90% |
| Surrey Public School District 41 | 435 | $12,055 | 32% | 33% | ≈90% |
| Cavalier Public School District 6 | 412 | $13,388 | 45% | 47% | ≈70% |
| Nesson Public School District 2 | 412 | $15,444 | ≈27% | ≈37% | ≈90% |
| South Heart Public School District 9 | 411 | $14,168 | ≈52% | ≈52% | ≈90% |
| Larimore Public School District 44 | 395 | $13,018 | 57% | 47% | ≈90% |
| Langdon Area Public School District 23 | 388 | $15,253 | 38% | 51% | ≈90% |
| Divide County Public School District 1 | 382 | $18,560 | 30% | 43% | — |
| Kidder County School District 1 | 381 | $15,139 | ≈37% | ≈42% | ≈95% |
| Garrison Public School District 51 | 380 | $17,000 | ≈37% | ≈37% | ≈90% |
| Harvey Public School District 38 | 364 | $16,365 | ≈42% | ≈42% | ≈95% |
| New Salem-Almont School District | 358 | $16,237 | ≈57% | ≈52% | ≈90% |
| New Rockford-Sheyenne Public School District 2 | 349 | $13,132 | ≈52% | ≈52% | ≈90% |
| TGU Public School District 60 | 347 | $18,303 | ≈27% | ≈37% | ≈90% |
| Washburn Public School District 4 | 345 | $14,241 | ≈52% | ≈47% | ≈90% |
| North Border School District 100 | 335 | $19,296 | ≈62% | ≈62% | ≈90% |
| Richardton-Taylor Public School District 34 | 335 | $14,585 | ≈37% | ≈42% | ≈90% |
| Northwood Public School District 129 | 334 | $14,416 | ≈52% | ≈57% | — |
| Eight Mile Public School District 6 | 327 | $15,719 | ≈27% | ≈32% | ≈90% |
| Kenmare Public School District 28 | 323 | $15,759 | ≈42% | ≈47% | ≈90% |
| Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood Public School District 1 | 313 | $16,677 | ≈57% | ≈62% | ≈90% |
| Enderlin Area Public School District 24 | 306 | $18,203 | ≈42% | ≈42% | ≈90% |
| Minto Public School District 20 | 305 | $13,492 | ≈27% | ≈47% | — |
| North Star School District | 301 | $13,960 | ≈42% | ≈37% | — |
| Ellendale Public School District 40 | 298 | $14,544 | ≈57% | ≈57% | ≈90% |
| New England Public School District 9 | 297 | $17,471 | ≈37% | ≈22% | — |
| Dakota Prairie Public School District 1 | 295 | $18,661 | ≈52% | ≈47% | ≈90% |
| Minnewaukan Public School District 5 | 295 | $18,525 | ≈12% | ≈17% | — |
| Parshall Public School District 3 | 288 | $18,427 | ≈12% | ≈22% | ≈70% |
| Hettinger Public School District 13 | 286 | $15,692 | ≈32% | ≈47% | ≈90% |
| Alexander Public School District 2 | 283 | $16,936 | ≈27% | ≈37% | ≈90% |
| LaMoure Public School District 8 | 276 | $16,909 | ≈52% | ≈52% | ≈90% |
| Richland Public School District 44 | 275 | $15,098 | ≈52% | ≈57% | ≈90% |
| Wilton Public School District 1 | 273 | $14,366 | ≈52% | ≈57% | — |
| Beach Public School District 3 | 269 | $20,476 | ≈42% | ≈42% | ≈90% |
| Glenburn Public School District 26 | 265 | $16,887 | ≈42% | ≈37% | — |
| Griggs County Central School District 18 | 265 | $16,136 | ≈32% | ≈47% | — |
| Flasher Public School District 39 | 263 | $13,650 | ≈57% | ≈57% | ≈90% |
| Mount Pleasant Public School District 4 | 260 | $18,038 | ≈37% | ≈37% | — |
| Wyndmere Public School District 42 | 258 | $14,694 | ≈62% | ≈62% | ≈90% |
| Center-Stanton Public School District 1 | 256 | $16,816 | ≈32% | ≈42% | — |
| Edgeley Public School District 3 | 256 | $15,062 | ≈52% | ≈47% | ≈90% |
| Belfield Public School District 13 | 250 | $15,528 | ≈42% | ≈37% | — |
| Barnes County North Public School District 7 | 242 | $16,223 | ≈57% | ≈52% | ≈90% |
| Hankinson Public School District 8 | 241 | $16,253 | ≈47% | ≈42% | ≈90% |
| Linton Public School District 36 | 241 | $18,755 | ≈57% | ≈62% | ≈90% |
| Maple Valley Public School District 4 | 238 | $16,592 | ≈52% | ≈62% | — |
| Mott-Regent Public School District 1 | 235 | $15,306 | ≈32% | ≈42% | — |
| Underwood Public School District 8 | 235 | $16,060 | ≈42% | ≈57% | — |
| Napoleon Public School District 2 | 229 | $17,114 | ≈52% | ≈42% | ≈90% |
| Solen Public School District 3 | 227 | $19,789 | ≈12% | ≈8% | ≈50% |
| Wishek Public School District 19 | 225 | $16,680 | ≈52% | ≈52% | — |
| Warwick Public School District 29 | 221 | $31,258 | ≈3% | ≈8% | ≈70% |
| Central Valley Public School District 3 | 215 | $14,437 | ≈67% | ≈72% | — |
| Powers Lake Public School District 27 | 212 | $17,670 | ≈47% | ≈57% | — |
| Milnor Public School District 2 | 210 | $18,533 | ≈52% | ≈47% | ≈70% |
| Medina Public School District 3 | 209 | $15,335 | ≈42% | ≈47% | — |
| Fort Totten Public School District 30 | 206 | $19,218 | ≈5% | ≈5% | ≈65% |
| Mapleton Public School District 7 (elementary district) | 198 | $12,848 | ≈55% | ≈65% | — |
| North Sargent Public School District 3 | 198 | $17,611 | ≈27% | ≈52% | ≈90% |
| Mandaree Public School District 36 | 196 | $28,781 | ≈3% | ≈8% | — |
| Midway Public School District 128 | 193 | $19,751 | ≈52% | ≈52% | ≈90% |
| Valley-Edinburg Public School District 118 | 186 | $18,871 | ≈52% | ≈47% | ≈90% |
| Manvel Public School District 125 (elementary district) | 185 | $13,941 | ≈72% | ≈67% | — |
| Sargent Central Public School District 6 | 184 | $21,908 | ≈42% | ≈37% | — |
| Lidgerwood Public School District 28 | 179 | $17,296 | ≈37% | ≈42% | — |
| Midkota Public School District 7 | 179 | $21,682 | ≈22% | ≈27% | — |
| Fessenden-Bowdon Public School District 25 | 178 | $16,781 | ≈47% | ≈52% | — |
| Turtle Lake-Mercer Public School District 72 | 177 | $18,153 | ≈52% | ≈47% | — |
| Max Public School District 50 | 176 | $18,534 | ≈37% | ≈32% | — |
| Lakota Public School District 66 | 175 | $17,897 | ≈57% | ≈52% | — |
| Grenora Public School District 99 | 174 | $25,851 | ≈42% | ≈57% | — |
| White Shield Public School District 85 | 173 | $13,827 | ≈12% | ≈12% | ≈70% |
| Hatton-Eielson Public School District 7 | 171 | $18,988 | ≈47% | ≈52% | — |
| Hope-Page Public School District 85 | 170 | $23,041 | — | — | — |
| Glen Ullin Public School District 48 | 169 | $18,497 | ≈52% | ≈47% | — |
| Elgin-New Leipzig Public School District 49 | 168 | $19,030 | ≈47% | ≈62% | — |
| Pingree-Buchanan Public School District 10 | 162 | $15,673 | ≈42% | ≈47% | — |
| Hebron Public School District 13 | 159 | $19,717 | ≈57% | ≈57% | — |
| Drayton Public School District 19 | 157 | $22,701 | ≈37% | ≈37% | — |
| Westhope Public School District 17 | 152 | $20,414 | ≈37% | ≈47% | — |
| Ashley Public School District 9 | 149 | $17,826 | ≈62% | ≈47% | — |
| Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock Public School District 6 | 145 | $18,276 | ≈32% | ≈57% | — |
| Litchville-Marion Public School District 46 | 144 | $20,875 | ≈35% | ≈55% | — |
| Rolette Public School District 29 | 144 | $23,194 | ≈37% | ≈42% | — |
| Leeds Public School District 6 | 135 | $17,844 | ≈47% | ≈52% | — |
| Maddock Public School District 9 | 134 | $17,522 | ≈52% | ≈57% | — |
| Scranton Public School District 33 | 134 | $18,694 | ≈65% | ≈75% | — |
| Strasburg Public School District 15 | 125 | $18,096 | ≈67% | ≈77% | — |
| Fairmount Public School District 18 | 122 | $15,623 | ≈45% | ≈45% | — |
| Kulm Public School District 7 | 121 | $21,339 | ≈37% | ≈32% | — |
| Montpelier Public School District 14 | 119 | $16,336 | ≈45% | ≈45% | — |
| Billings County Public School District 1 (elementary district) | 114 | $24,325 | ≈65% | ≈65% | — |
| Burke Central Public School District 36 | 99 | $22,657 | ≈45% | ≈45% | — |
| Emerado Public School District 127 (elementary district) | 99 | $17,172 | ≈15% | ≈25% | — |
| Gackle-Streeter Public School District 56 | 96 | $24,688 | ≈25% | ≈55% | — |
| Finley-Sharon Public School District 19 | 88 | $26,989 | ≈55% | ≈65% | — |
| Selfridge Public School District 8 | 88 | $27,216 | ≈15% | ≈25% | — |
| Apple Creek Public School District 39 (elementary district) | 85 | $9,471 | ≈50% | ≈50% | — |
| Munich Public School District 19 | 79 | $30,430 | ≈55% | ≈45% | — |
| Newburg United Public School District 54 | 79 | $27,418 | ≈45% | ≈65% | — |
| Fort Yates Public School District 4 (elementary district) | 78 | $46,295 | ≈3% | ≈12% | — |
| Anamoose Public School District 14 (elementary district) | 74 | $25,419 | ≈35% | ≈55% | — |
| Bowbells Public School District 14 | 73 | $28,534 | ≈35% | ≈45% | — |
| Drake Public School District 57 (high school district) | 72 | $28,389 | ≈15% | ≈35% | — |
| Wing Public School District 28 | 72 | $24,833 | ≈35% | ≈35% | — |
| Yellowstone Public School District 14 (elementary district) | 68 | $27,103 | ≈85% | ≈85% | — |
| Roosevelt Public School District 18 (elementary district) | 59 | $22,864 | ≈50% | ≈50% | — |
| Sawyer Public School District 16 | 57 | $31,789 | ≈50% | ≈50% | — |
| Menoken Public School District 33 (elementary district) | 55 | $12,109 | ≈50% | ≈70% | — |
| Oberon Public School District 16 (elementary district) | 55 | $28,782 | ≈15% | ≈5% | — |
| Fordville-Lankin Public School District 5 | 52 | $21,385 | ≈30% | ≈30% | — |
| Twin Buttes Public School District 37 (elementary district) | 51 | $18,471 | ≈10% | ≈30% | — |
| Starkweather Public School District 44 | 50 | $29,880 | ≈45% | ≈45% | — |
| Kensal Public School District 19 | 40 | $20,175 | — | — | — |
| Lone Tree Public School District 6 (elementary district) | 37 | $24,892 | ≈50% | ≈50% | — |
| Zeeland Public School District 4 | 34 | $39,618 | ≈50% | ≈50% | — |
| Edmore Public School District 2 | 29 | $51,207 | ≈70% | ≈90% | — |
| Little Heart Public School District 4 (elementary district) | 27 | $13,815 | — | — | — |
| Sweet Briar Public School District 17 (elementary district) | 24 | $10,500 | — | — | — |
| Fort Ransom Public School District 6 (elementary district) | 23 | $21,565 | — | — | — |
| Marmarth Public School District 12 (elementary district) | 23 | $17,043 | — | — | — |
| Naughton Public School District 25 (elementary district) | 20 | $18,400 | — | — | — |
| Manning Public School District 45 (elementary district) | 19 | $18,368 | — | — | — |
| Horse Creek Public School District 32 (elementary district) | 12 | $13,500 | — | — | — |
| Sterling Public School District 35 (elementary district) | 11 | $37,091 | — | — | — |
Sources
Spending and enrollment come from the NCES School District Finance Survey (F-33) for fiscal year 2022. Proficiency and graduation rates come from EDFacts for school year 2018-19. Districts are matched to ZIP codes through the NCES EDGE geographic relationship file. Nothing on this page is estimated or modelled: a figure is read from a federal source file or it is left blank.
Questions About North Dakota School Spending
How much does the average North Dakota school district spend per student?
The middle, or median, North Dakota district spent $16,922 per student in fiscal year 2022, $2,379 above the national median of $14,543. The median is the better summary here: a few very small districts spend several times what a large one does, and an average would follow them. That median covers all 170 districts the state reports. Across the 166 a ZIP code can reach, which are the ones listed on this page, 116,697 students account for $1.8 billion of current spending.
Which North Dakota districts spend the most and least per student?
Edmore Public School District 2 reports the highest figure in the table at $51,207 per student for 29 students, and Apple Creek Public School District 39 the lowest at $9,471 for 85 students. Enrollment is the denominator, so a small district with one building and one bus route honestly produces a high figure; read the two columns together.
Why are some North Dakota districts missing from this table?
North Dakota has 170 districts with federal finance data and 166 of them appear here. The rest are placed in no ZIP code by the federal boundary file, which is normal for charter and virtual school districts that have no attendance area, so there is no ZIP code a reader could use to find them.
Does this money follow a child who is homeschooled?
No. The figure is what the district spends on a seat in its own schools, funded from local property tax, state formula aid and federal programs. Withdrawing a child removes the child from the count rather than sending the money home. TheHomeschoolingCompany is $1,788 for one student for a school year by comparison, less for each child after the first.
Look Up Your Own District
Enter a ZIP code and the calculator returns the district that serves it, what it spends per student, how its students score, and what the same school year costs at home.
School district cost per student by ZIP codeEstimate your own homeschool budgetHomeschooling in North DakotaPlans and pricing
Spending Per Student in Other States
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