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

No. Use the Custer 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 Custer 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 Custer County?

Start with the 12 listed public schools and 7 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Custer County Schools & Education

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

Custer County, Montana

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

School Score

60/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

92.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

92.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 83.7%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,567

National avg $13,239

State avg $9,334

School Score

60/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 55/100

State Score Position

#17

of 56 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Custer County

Measured School Summary

Custer County performs at an average level with a school score of 60/100 and a solid graduation rate of 92.0%.

Funding Context

At $7,567 per pupil, Custer County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 10% above the Montana average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 8.3 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 19% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Custer 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

12 public schools and 7 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

60/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #17 of 56 Montana counties with school score data.

Completion

92.0%

8.3 pts above the state average

Funding context

$7,567

$1,767 below the state average

School coverage

7 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

Custer County has 12 public schools across 7 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 Custer 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.

Mixed school landscape

Custer County has enough school-level records to compare the local mix, but no single county metric should be treated as the answer. Use district shape, grade span, and data coverage together.

State position

#17

of 56 Montana counties with school score data. The county score is 5 points above 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.

Miles City Elem

Elementary and middle visible

953 students

Elementary 4Middle 1High 0Other 0

5 listed schools in this county slice.

Custer County H S

High school only in this slice

495 students

Elementary 0Middle 0High 1Other 0

1 listed school in this county slice.

Kircher Elem

Elementary school only in this slice

65 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 0Other 0

1 listed school in this county slice.

Kinsey Elem

Elementary school only in this slice

61 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 0Other 0

1 listed school in this county slice.

District reality check

Miles City Elem is the largest listed district slice, with 5 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 Custer County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Custer 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

Graduation Rates in Custer County Reach 92 Percent

Education data brief for Custer County, Montana.

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

Lead metric:Graduation rate

Custer County reports a high school graduation rate of 92.0%, a figure that stands significantly higher than the Montana state average of 83.7% and the national benchmark of 87.0%. Despite this outcome, per-pupil expenditure is recorded at $7,567, which is lower than the state average of $9,334 and nearly 42% below the national average of $13,000. The county's public education system serves 1,617 students across 12 schools, including two alternative institutions. Miles City Elem is the largest of the seven local districts, enrolling 953 students, followed by Custer County H S with 495 students. The directory data indicates an even split in school locales, with six schools in town settings and six in rural areas. Custer Co District High remains the largest single facility with 495 students. See the NCES Common Core of Data for school-level records.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Custer County

Reported Enrollment

1,617

12 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary8

Middle2

High2

Other0

7 School Districts in Custer County

Miles City Elem

5 schools

953 students

Custer County H S

1 school

495 students

Kircher Elem

1 school

65 students

Kinsey Elem

1 school

61 students

Dept of Corrections-Youth

2 schools

30 students

Trail Creek Elem

1 school

7 students

S Y Elem

1 school

6 students

12 Public Schools in Custer 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 12 of 12 matching schools

Public schools in Custer County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Custer Co District High	Record	Custer County H S	Miles City, 59301Town: Remote	9–12	High	495
Washington Middle School 6-8	Record	Miles City Elem	Miles City, 59301Town: Remote	6–8	Middle	349
Garfield School	Record	Miles City Elem	Miles City, 59301Town: Remote	KG–5	Primary	229
Lincoln School	Record	Miles City Elem	Miles City, 59301Town: Remote	3–5	Primary	154
Highland Park School	Record	Miles City Elem	Miles City, 59301Town: Remote	PK–2	Primary	118
Jefferson School	Record	Miles City Elem	Miles City, 59301Town: Remote	PK–2	Primary	103
Kircher School	Record	Kircher Elem	Miles City, 59301Rural: Fringe	PK–8	Primary	65
Kinsey School	Record	Kinsey Elem	Kinsey, 59338Rural: Remote	PK–6	Primary	61
Pine Hills Youth Corr Facil HS	Record	Dept of Corrections-Youth	Helena, 59620Rural: Fringe	9–12	Alternative	29
Riverview School	Record	Trail Creek Elem	Miles City, 59301Rural: Remote	PK–8	Primary	7
S Y School	Record	S Y Elem	Miles City, 59301Rural: Remote	PK–8	Primary	6
Pine Hills Youth Corr Facil El	Record	Dept of Corrections-Youth	Helena, 59620Rural: Fringe	6–8	Alternative	1

Custer Co District High

Custer County H S