Name: Montana schools on the rise · enrollment growth 2017–2024
Creator: allk12
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: public schools, K-12, enrollment growth, NCES, Montana

Montana schools on the rise

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

Schools in this report

top growth in state

Top growth

+84%

West Valley Middle School

Range

+15% to +84%

2017-18 → 2024-25

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

School	City	District	2017-18	2024-25	% change ↓
West Valley Middle School	KALISPELL	West Valley Elem	202	372	84.2%
Bigfork 6-8	BIGFORK	Bigfork Elem	134	236	76.1%
Manhattan 6-8	MANHATTAN	Manhattan School	123	189	53.7%
Frenchtown 6-8	FRENCHTOWN	Frenchtown K-12 Schools	203	311	53.2%
Lewis & Clark School	LEWISTOWN	Lewistown Elem	190	276	45.3%
Washington Middle School 6-8	MILES CITY	Miles City Elem	226	326	44.2%
Choteau School	CHOTEAU	Choteau Elem	176	252	43.2%
Meadowlark School	BILLINGS	Billings Elem	493	691	40.2%
Lone Rock School	STEVENSVILLE	Lone Rock Elem	149	203	36.2%
Boulder Elementary School	BOULDER	Boulder Elem	122	166	36.1%
Browning Middle School	BROWNING	Browning Elem	272	368	35.3%
Lodge Pole School	HAYS	Hays-Lodge Pole K-12 Schls	109	144	32.1%
Sunnyside School	HAVRE	Havre Elem	268	354	32.1%
Cayuse Prairie School	KALISPELL	Cayuse Prairie Elem	193	254	31.6%
Lodge Grass High School	LODGE GRASS	Lodge Grass H S	133	174	30.8%
Daly School	HAMILTON	Hamilton K-12 Schools	415	539	29.9%
McKinley School	BILLINGS	Billings Elem	263	339	28.9%
Three Forks High School	THREE FORKS	Three Forks H S	195	251	28.7%
Somers Middle School	SOMERS	Somers Elem	180	231	28.3%
Fairfield Elementary School	FAIRFIELD	Fairfield Elem	135	173	28.1%
Hamilton Middle School	HAMILTON	Hamilton K-12 Schools	359	460	28.1%
Lewistown 7-8	LEWISTOWN	Lewistown Elem	155	198	27.7%
Harlem High School	HARLEM	Harlem H S	137	175	27.7%
Whitefish High School	WHITEFISH	Whitefish H S	484	618	27.7%
Victor School	VICTOR	Victor K-12 Schools	104	132	26.9%
Florence-Carlton 6-8	FLORENCE	Florence-Carlton K-12 Schls	143	180	25.9%
Bryant School	HELENA	Helena Elem	230	288	25.2%
Elder Grove 7-8	BILLINGS	Elder Grove Elem	200	248	24.0%
Lowell School	MISSOULA	Missoula Elem	287	354	23.3%
Poplar High School	POPLAR	Poplar H S	223	275	23.3%
Helena Flats School	KALISPELL	Helena Flats Elem	206	253	22.8%
Eureka Middle School 5-8	EUREKA	Eureka Elem	207	254	22.7%
Cut Bank High School	CUT BANK	Cut Bank H S	150	183	22.0%
Ennis High School	ENNIS	Ennis K-12 Schools	110	134	21.8%
Miles Avenue School	BILLINGS	Billings Elem	267	325	21.7%
Will James Middle School	BILLINGS	Billings Elem	522	634	21.5%
Eureka Elementary School	EUREKA	Eureka Elem	227	274	20.7%
Cecelia Hazelton School	TOWNSEND	Townsend K-12 Schools	352	423	20.2%
Shelby High School	SHELBY	Shelby H S	119	143	20.2%
Ennis School	ENNIS	Ennis K-12 Schools	204	244	19.6%
Castle Rock Middle School	BILLINGS	Billings Elem	582	691	18.7%
Eagle Cliffs Elementary	BILLINGS	Billings Elem	374	443	18.4%
Whitehall High School	WHITEHALL	Whitehall H S	136	161	18.4%
Jefferson High School	BOULDER	Jefferson H S	261	306	17.2%
Elder Grove School	BILLINGS	Elder Grove Elem	397	465	17.1%
Whitefish Middle 5-8	WHITEFISH	Whitefish Elem	563	657	16.7%
Billings West High School	BILLINGS	Billings H S	1,815	2,115	16.5%
Lone Peak High School	GALLATIN GATEWAY	Big Sky School K-12	101	117	15.8%
Boulder School	BILLINGS	Billings Elem	428	495	15.7%
Three Forks Elem School	THREE FORKS	Three Forks Elem	313	361	15.3%

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-on-the-rise-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, which filters out small specialty programs whose percentage swings are dominated by noise. Brick-and-mortar only: virtual academies, cyber charters, and online schools are excluded by name pattern and by NCES is_virtual flag. Those schools dominate raw growth numbers but rarely represent a school families are choosing for their neighborhood.

Enrollment growth is a leading indicator, not a quality measure. Schools grow because catchment areas shift, because districts consolidate, because a magnet program opens, or because reputation pulls in transfers. A school on this list is one that more Montanafamilies are sending their kids to in 2024-25 than in 2017-18, for whatever reason. Pair this with the school's page on allk12 for test scores, demographics, and discussion.

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 on the rise: enrollment growth 2017–2024." Retrieved from https://allk12.com/reports/on-the-rise/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.