schoolsbycounty

State district guide

Missouri public school districts

Compare district systems across Missouri by enrollment scale, school count, county context, generated guide coverage, and the parent checks that matter before choosing where to live.

View county rankingsFind a school

Direct answer for parents

What this district ranking can and cannot tell you

If you are searching for the best school districts in Missouri, start with the largest and most data-rich district systems below, then verify the specific school assigned to each address. SchoolsByCounty orders districts by reported enrollment and school count because those fields are consistent in NCES. It does not convert district size into a quality rating.

Start with scale

SPRINGFIELD R-XII

22,937 reported students

Check county context

Caldwell County

72/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in Missouri

The first 60 rows show the largest district systems by reported enrollment. Open district guides where available, or use the county profile when a detailed district page is not generated yet.

565 districts in state file

Missouri public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
SPRINGFIELD R-XII

LEA ID 2928860

Greene County57 schools
22,937
2
ROCKWOOD R-VI

LEA ID 2926850

St. Louis County31 schools
20,563
3
NORTH KANSAS CITY 74

LEA ID 2922800

Clay County34 schools
20,561
4
COLUMBIA 93

LEA ID 2901000

Boone County36 schools
18,800
5
ST. LOUIS CITY

LEA ID 2929280

St. Louis city68 schools
18,321
6
WENTZVILLE R-IV

LEA ID 2931650

St. Charles County22 schools
17,997
7
LEE'S SUMMIT R-VII

LEA ID 2918300

Jackson County29 schools
17,775
8
PARKWAY C-2

LEA ID 2923580

St. Louis County29 schools
17,134
9
FRANCIS HOWELL R-III

LEA ID 2928950

St. Charles County23 schools
17,124
10
FT. ZUMWALT R-II

LEA ID 2908370

St. Charles County27 schools
17,060
11
HAZELWOOD

LEA ID 2913830

St. Louis County33 schools
16,109
12
BLUE SPRINGS R-IV

LEA ID 2905310

Jackson County22 schools
14,595
13
KANSAS CITY 33

LEA ID 2916400

Jackson County35 schools
14,413
14
INDEPENDENCE 30

LEA ID 2915480

Jackson County31 schools
14,406
15
LIBERTY 53

LEA ID 2918540

Clay County20 schools
12,367
16
PARK HILL

LEA ID 2923550

Platte County20 schools
11,976
17
FOX C-6

LEA ID 2912300

Jefferson County18 schools
10,707
18
ST. JOSEPH

LEA ID 2927060

Buchanan County25 schools
10,568
19
MEHLVILLE R-IX

LEA ID 2920670

St. Louis County19 schools
10,076
20
FERGUSON-FLORISSANT R-II

LEA ID 2912010

St. Louis County23 schools
8,759
21
JEFFERSON CITY

LEA ID 2916190

Cole County18 schools
8,683
22
RAYTOWN C-2

LEA ID 2926070

Jackson County20 schools
8,012
23
JOPLIN SCHOOLS

LEA ID 2916350

Jasper County16 schools
7,694
24
LINDBERGH SCHOOLS

LEA ID 2918690

St. Louis County10 schools
7,456
25
TROY R-III

LEA ID 2930450

Lincoln County11 schools
6,974
26
Nixa Public Schools

LEA ID 2922530

Christian County11 schools
6,724
27
RAYMORE-PECULIAR R-II

LEA ID 2923730

Cass County11 schools
6,377
28
KIRKWOOD R-VII

LEA ID 2916770

St. Louis County9 schools
6,175
29
WAYNESVILLE R-VI

LEA ID 2931440

Pulaski County11 schools
6,155
30
PATTONVILLE R-III

LEA ID 2923700

St. Louis County11 schools
6,102
31
OZARK R-VI

LEA ID 2923430

Christian County8 schools
6,052
32
NORTHWEST R-I

LEA ID 2922890

Jefferson County10 schools
5,969
33
JACKSON R-II

LEA ID 2915600

Cape Girardeau County10 schools
5,713
34
RITENOUR

LEA ID 2926640

St. Louis County10 schools
5,628
35
RIVERVIEW GARDENS

LEA ID 2926670

St. Louis County13 schools
5,336
36
REPUBLIC R-III

LEA ID 2926220

Greene County8 schools
5,316
37
POPLAR BLUFF R-I

LEA ID 2925450

Butler County10 schools
5,204
38
HICKMAN MILLS C-1

LEA ID 2914340

Jackson County13 schools
5,121
39
CARTHAGE R-IX

LEA ID 2907460

Jasper County11 schools
5,092
40
SEDALIA 200

LEA ID 2927830

Pettis County9 schools
5,042
41
NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT

LEA ID 2921810

Newton County10 schools
4,897
42
FORT OSAGE R-I

LEA ID 2912290

Jackson County11 schools
4,846
43
ST. CHARLES R-VI

LEA ID 2928920

St. Charles County12 schools
4,836
44
WILLARD R-II

LEA ID 2932010

Greene County9 schools
4,732
45
WEBB CITY R-VII

LEA ID 2931500

Jasper County11 schools
4,621
46
BRANSON R-IV

LEA ID 2905760

Taney County7 schools
4,560
47
GRAIN VALLEY R-V

LEA ID 2913080

Jackson County8 schools
4,506
48
LEBANON R-III

LEA ID 2918270

Laclede County7 schools
4,480
49
LADUE

LEA ID 2917820

St. Louis County8 schools
4,442
50
WEBSTER GROVES

LEA ID 2931530

St. Louis County9 schools
4,407
51
CAPE GIRARDEAU 63

LEA ID 2907120

Cape Girardeau County9 schools
4,380
52
BELTON 124

LEA ID 2904620

Cass County8 schools
4,342
53
PLATTE CO. R-III

LEA ID 2925230

Platte County7 schools
4,283
54
ROLLA 31

LEA ID 2926890

Phelps County8 schools
4,161
55
SPECL. SCH. DST. ST. LOUIS CO.

LEA ID 2926760

St. Louis County10 schools
4,148
56
FARMINGTON R-VII

LEA ID 2911910

St. Francois County8 schools
3,925
57
CAMDENTON R-III

LEA ID 2906990

Camden County9 schools
3,910
58
WASHINGTON

LEA ID 2931110

Franklin County11 schools
3,720
59
GRANDVIEW C-4

LEA ID 2913140

Jackson County9 schools
3,689
60
KEARNEY R-I

LEA ID 2916450

Clay County9 schools
3,561

— = enrollment not reported in the district record. District rows are informational and must be paired with local assignment tools before a housing decision.

Methodology

How to use district rankings without overreading them

District-level data is useful because it shows the operating system around a public school search: how many schools exist, which county record anchors the district, how much enrollment is reported, and whether a detailed district guide is available. It is not enough to decide where a student should enroll.

Ranking basis

Rows are ordered by reported enrollment, then school count. The method favors broad, data-rich systems because those are the districts parents most often need to research before relocation.

County context

Each district is attached to a primary county record when available. County school scores are context signals, not district ratings, and nearby counties can still matter for commute and housing decisions.

Grade pathway

Elementary, middle, and high school counts help parents spot whether a district looks like a full K-12 pathway or a narrower operating unit. Feeder patterns still require local verification.

Address verification

The final decision happens at the address level. Confirm attendance zones, open-enrollment rules, magnet admissions, charter lotteries, and transfer windows with official district sources.

County context

Districts anchored in higher-scoring county contexts

These rows pair district records with the county-level SchoolsByCounty score. Treat this as a shortlist for deeper research, not a district quality ranking.

HAMILTON R-II

Caldwell County

72

Students
641
Schools
3

POLO R-VII

Caldwell County

72

Students
405
Schools
3

BRAYMER C-4

Caldwell County

72

Students
251
Schools
2

BRECKENRIDGE R-I

Caldwell County

72

Students
59
Schools
2

COWGILL R-VI

Caldwell County

72

Students
45
Schools
1

MIRABILE C-1

Caldwell County

72

Students
39
Schools
1

Parent checklist before relying on a district ranking

Use this page to narrow the field, then answer these local questions before treating any district as a fit for a specific home.

Which school does this address actually feed into?

Use the district address lookup and confirm edge cases near attendance-zone borders.

What happens at transition grades?

A strong elementary fit can split into several middle or high school paths.

Are choice programs realistic for this student?

Magnet, charter, virtual, and transfer options can involve lotteries, applications, or deadlines.

Is the county context aligned with housing tradeoffs?

Pair school research with taxes, commute, home prices, and safety before choosing where to live.

Frequently Asked Questions About Missouri School Districts

What are the best school districts in Missouri?
SPRINGFIELD R-XII, ROCKWOOD R-VI, NORTH KANSAS CITY 74 are the largest Missouri district systems by reported enrollment in the NCES file. SchoolsByCounty does not call them the best districts; use this page to find data-rich district systems, then verify assigned schools, program rules, and local fit.
How are Missouri districts ranked here?
Districts are ordered by reported student enrollment, then school count, using NCES public school district records. This is a research-priority ranking, not a quality rating.
Why do only 65 Missouri districts have district guide links?
SchoolsByCounty statically generates detailed district guides for the largest district systems nationally so the pages stay fast and substantive. Districts without guide links remain represented through county and state context pages.
Do these district pages show attendance boundaries?
No. Attendance zones, transfer rules, magnet eligibility, charter admission, transportation, and program availability must be verified with official district or local assignment tools before choosing a home.
Does a large district mean better schools?
No. Larger districts usually have more school options and more public data, but enrollment size is not a school-quality measure. Compare school-level records and official local sources before treating a district as a fit.
How many districts are included for Missouri?
This page includes 565 Missouri public school districts from the current NCES district file, alongside county context and generated district-guide availability where available.
By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished

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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