Name: Montana schools in decline · enrollment loss 2017–2024
Creator: allk12
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: public schools, K-12, enrollment decline, NCES, Montana

Montana schools in decline

Montana public schools with the largest enrollment loss from 2017-18 to 2024-25.

Schools in this report

steepest declines in state

Largest drop

-73%

Washington School

Range

-73% to -19%

2017-18 → 2024-25

TOP 50 MT PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY ENROLLMENT LOSS · 2017-18 → 2024-25

School	City	District	2017-18	2024-25	% change ↑
Washington School	HAMILTON	Hamilton K-12 Schools	236	65	-72.5%
Hellgate Elem Lower Grades	MISSOULA	Hellgate Elem	952	305	-68.0%
West School	LAUREL	Laurel Elem	461	248	-46.2%
Highland Park School	LEWISTOWN	Lewistown Elem	281	159	-43.4%
Heart Butte Elementary	HEART BUTTE	Heart Butte K-12 Schools	103	60	-41.7%
Bozeman High School	BOZEMAN	Bozeman H S	2,157	1,279	-40.7%
Noxon School	NOXON	Noxon Elem	100	62	-38.0%
Irving School	BOZEMAN	Bozeman Elem	272	174	-36.0%
Helena High School	HELENA	Helena H S	1,523	979	-35.7%
Lincoln School	MILES CITY	Miles City Elem	257	166	-35.4%
Charlo Elementary	CHARLO	Charlo Elem	137	89	-35.0%
Hellgate Middle School	MISSOULA	Hellgate Elem	499	326	-34.7%
Napi School	BROWNING	Browning Elem	424	278	-34.4%
Vaughn Elementary	VAUGHN	Vaughn Elem	138	93	-32.6%
Smith School	HELENA	Helena Elem	320	217	-32.2%
Victor High School	VICTOR	Victor K-12 Schools	108	74	-31.5%
East Side School	LIVINGSTON	Livingston Elem	349	249	-28.7%
Bitterroot School	BILLINGS	Billings Elem	369	264	-28.5%
Florence-Carlton El Schl	FLORENCE	Florence-Carlton K-12 Schls	420	301	-28.3%
Meadowlark School	CHINOOK	Chinook Elem	198	144	-27.3%
Laurel Middle School	LAUREL	Laurel Elem	692	506	-26.9%
Medicine Crow Middle School	BILLINGS	Billings Elem	704	517	-26.6%
Elrod School	KALISPELL	Kalispell Elem	320	237	-25.9%
Canyon Creek School	BILLINGS	Canyon Creek Elem	196	147	-25.0%
Blue Creek School	BILLINGS	Blue Creek Elem	193	145	-24.9%
Lillian Peterson School	KALISPELL	Kalispell Elem	457	344	-24.7%
Gallatin Gateway School	GALLATIN GATEWAY	Gallatin Gateway Elem	134	103	-23.1%
Culbertson School	CULBERTSON	Culbertson Elem	161	124	-23.0%
White Sulphur Springs El	WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS	White Sulphur Spgs K-12	118	91	-22.9%
Fairview High School	FAIRVIEW	Fairview H S	119	92	-22.7%
Frenchtown Intermediate School	FRENCHTOWN	Frenchtown K-12 Schools	220	171	-22.3%
Manhattan Elem	MANHATTAN	Manhattan School	333	259	-22.2%
W F Morrison School	TROY	Troy Elem	203	158	-22.2%
West Yellowstone School	WEST YELLOWSTONE	West Yellowstone K-12	163	127	-22.1%
Bigfork Elementary	BIGFORK	Bigfork Elem	440	343	-22.0%
Hardin Middle School	HARDIN	Hardin Elem	459	359	-21.8%
Whittier School	GREAT FALLS	Great Falls Elem	239	187	-21.8%
Poplar School	POPLAR	Poplar Elem	420	329	-21.7%
Rossiter School	HELENA	Helena Elem	471	369	-21.7%
Sleeping Giant Middle Sch	LIVINGSTON	Livingston Elem	331	261	-21.1%
Poplar 5-6 School	POPLAR	Poplar Elem	157	124	-21.0%
Mountain View School	GREAT FALLS	Great Falls Elem	398	315	-20.9%
Arlee Elementary	ARLEE	Arlee Elem	260	206	-20.8%
Fair-Mont-Egan School	KALISPELL	Fair-Mont-Egan Elem	145	115	-20.7%
Cut Bank Middle School	CUT BANK	Cut Bank Elem	182	145	-20.3%
Central Elementary	SIDNEY	Sidney Elem	341	272	-20.2%
Browning Elementary	BROWNING	Browning Elem	322	258	-19.9%
Fort Shaw Elem School	FORT SHAW	Sun River Valley Elem	109	88	-19.3%
Hardin Intermediate	HARDIN	Hardin Elem	359	290	-19.2%
Lewis & Clark School	GREAT FALLS	Great Falls Elem	418	338	-19.1%

50 of 50 rows · Brick-and-mortar only. Virtual, online, and cyber schools excluded. Schools must have had ≥100 students in 2017-18 and be open in both school years.↓ Download schools-in-decline-by-state-mt.csv

How this list was built

Every Montana public school that reported total enrollment in both the NCES SY 2017-18 and SY 2024-25 vintages was scored on percent change in enrollment. Schools needed at least 100 students in 2017-18 to qualify, and must have been open in both school years. Schools that closed entirely are tracked in the separate school closures report. Virtual academies, cyber charters, and online schools are excluded so the list reflects neighborhood schools that families have moved away from rather than program-design changes.

Enrollment loss is not a verdict on a school. Schools shrink because catchment populations shrink, because new schools open nearby, because a magnet program elsewhere pulls transfers, because districts redraw boundaries, or because the building physically aged out. Use this list as a starting point for understanding which Montana schools are operating with substantially fewer students than they were seven years ago.

Source data

NCES Common Core of Data, EDGE_ADMINDATA_PUBLICSCH MapServer, vintages 2017-18 and 2024-25. Refreshed yearly when NCES publishes a new admin-data release. School names, slugs, and current district affiliation come from the 2024-25 snapshot.

HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT

Anyone is welcome to cite or republish these findings. Please credit allk12.com and link back to this page so readers can verify the underlying data.

allk12 (2026). "Montana schools in decline: enrollment loss 2017–2024." Retrieved from https://allk12.com/reports/in-decline/montana

For interview requests or custom data pulls: [email protected]

DATA NOTICE

allk12 is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCES, the US Census Bureau, any state education agency or assessment program, or any other government agency. Source data is compiled from public records and provided "as is," without warranty of accuracy or completeness. You rely on it, and any analysis derived from it, at your own risk. See the full disclaimer.