Can I use Clearwater County's school score to choose a house?

No. Use the Clearwater County school score as a first-pass county screen, then verify the exact district, attendance boundary, transfer rules, and grade pathway for any address you are considering.

Does SchoolsByCounty confirm school attendance boundaries in Clearwater County?

No. SchoolsByCounty publishes NCES and Census-backed public-school records. Attendance zones, magnet eligibility, charter lotteries, transportation, and transfer rules must be confirmed with local districts.

How should parents compare public schools in Clearwater County?

Start with the 5 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Clearwater County Schools & Education

Name: Clearwater County, Minnesota Education Data
Creator: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Clearwater County, Minnesota

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

School Score

45/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

85.9%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

85.9%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 86.6%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,952

National avg $13,239

State avg $8,463

School Score

45/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 55/100

State Score Position

#66

of 87 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Clearwater County

Measured School Summary

Clearwater County performs at an average level with a school score of 45/100 and a solid graduation rate of 85.9%.

Funding Context

At $7,952 per pupil, Clearwater County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 18% below the Minnesota average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 0.7 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 6% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Clearwater County before comparing districts

County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.

Local context that changes the interpretation

5 public schools and 2 districts are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.

Overall screen

45/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #66 of 87 Minnesota counties with school score data.

Completion

85.9%

0.7 pts below the state average

Funding context

$7,952

$511 below the state average

School coverage

2 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

This county needs a closer look at district mix, school level, and local context. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Clearwater County has 5 public schools across 2 districts, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.

Verify local rules

Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.

View Public Schools Compare Counties

Parent decision brief

What Clearwater County school data means before you move

County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.

Small-system county

Clearwater County has a compact public-school footprint. A single school change, boundary rule, or district update can move the lived experience more than the county score suggests.

State position

#66

of 87 Minnesota counties with school score data. The county score is 10 points below the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.

K-12 continuity check

These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.

BAGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Elementary and high visible

946 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 2Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

CLEARBROOK-GONVICK SCHOOL DISTRICT

Elementary and high visible

469 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

BAGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT is the largest listed district slice, with 3 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.

What the data cannot tell you

NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.

Questions to ask before choosing an address

Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Clearwater County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Clearwater County district systems?

Where do students transition after the visible grade band, and is that next school inside the same district path?

If we need a program not visible in the NCES flags, which district office can confirm current offerings?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Data Story

Clearwater County Operates Entirely Rural Five-School Educational System

Education data brief for Clearwater County, Minnesota.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Lead metric:District structure

Clearwater County’s educational system is distinguished by a highly rural and consolidated structure, consisting of only five public schools across two districts. All five schools are classified as rural, serving a total enrollment of 1,415 students with an average school size of 283. The Bagley Public School District is the larger of the two, managing 946 students across three schools. The county’s graduation rate is 85.9%, slightly below the Minnesota state average of 86.6% and the national average of 87.0%. Per-pupil expenditure is $7,952, which is lower than the state average of $8,463 and significantly less than the national average of $13,000. The composite school score for the county is 44.9, trailing the state average of 54.9 and the national median of 50.0. There are no charter schools in Clearwater County, and Bagley Elementary is the largest individual school with 520 students. Review the NCES directory for specific locale-based school classifications.

Sources

NCES Common Core of Data
U.S. Census Bureau ACS

School Overview

Total Schools

in Clearwater County

Reported Enrollment

1,415

5 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary2

Middle0

High3

Other0

2 School Districts in Clearwater County

BAGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

3 schools

946 students

CLEARBROOK-GONVICK SCHOOL DISTRICT

2 schools

469 students

5 Public Schools in Clearwater County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Every NCES public school remains listed here; no school-level profile pages are included in the current generated coverage for this county.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Search schools

Level

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Showing 5 of 5 matching schools

Public schools in Clearwater County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
BAGLEY ELEMENTARY	Record	BAGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT	BAGLEY, 56621Rural: Remote	PK–6	Primary	520
BAGLEY SECONDARY	Record	BAGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT	BAGLEY, 56621Rural: Remote	7–12	High	424
CLEARBROOK-GONVICK ELEMENTARY	Record	CLEARBROOK-GONVICK SCHOOL DISTRICT	CLEARBROOK, 56634Rural: Remote	PK–6	Primary	273
CLEARBROOK-GONVICK SECONDARY	Record	CLEARBROOK-GONVICK SCHOOL DISTRICT	CLEARBROOK, 56634Rural: Remote	7–12	High	196
BAGLEY ALP	Record	BAGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT	BAGLEY, 56621Rural: Remote	9–12	Alternative	2

BAGLEY ELEMENTARY

BAGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

BAGLEY, 56621 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–6Primary520 students

BAGLEY SECONDARY

BAGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

BAGLEY, 56621 / Rural: Remote

Record7–12High424 students

CLEARBROOK-GONVICK ELEMENTARY

CLEARBROOK-GONVICK SCHOOL DISTRICT

CLEARBROOK, 56634 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–6Primary273 students

CLEARBROOK-GONVICK SECONDARY

CLEARBROOK-GONVICK SCHOOL DISTRICT

CLEARBROOK, 56634 / Rural: Remote

Record7–12High196 students

BAGLEY ALP

BAGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

BAGLEY, 56621 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12Alternative2 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,952

State avg $8,463

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Clearwater County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.

Open Compare

Browse Public Schools

See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.

View Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Minnesota counties have the highest graduation rates?

Jackson County (95.7%), Cottonwood County (95.3%), and Cook County (95.0%) currently lead Minnesota among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in Minnesota?

Across Minnesota counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $8,463. The highest current county values are Cook County ($12,089), Kittson County ($10,301), and Beltrami County ($10,167). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Clearwater County?

Clearwater County has a school score of 45/100, which is a midrange measured signal in this county-level index. This score is calculated from available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data, with school-level records shown separately below.

What is the graduation rate in Clearwater County?

The high school graduation rate in Clearwater County is 85.9%, which is below the national average of 87.5%. This figure is based on NCES district-level data for public high schools in the county.

How much does Clearwater County spend per student?

Clearwater County spends $7,952 per pupil annually on public education, based on NCES district finance data. Current operating spending per fall enrollment, including instruction, support services, administration, transportation, and operations. It excludes capital outlays and debt service in the SchoolsByCounty methodology.

Counties with Similar School Profile

Kanabec County

Minnesota

-0 pts

45/100

School score

Beltrami County

Minnesota

-0 pts

45/100

School score

Chippewa County

Minnesota

-0 pts

45/100

School score

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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