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

No. Use the Butte 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 Butte 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 Butte County?

Start with the 8 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Butte County Schools & Education

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

Butte County, South Dakota

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

School Score

15/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

83.4%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

83.4%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 82.4%

Per-Pupil Spending

$5,831

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,409

School Score

15/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 38/100

State Score Position

#59

of 65 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Butte County

Measured School Summary

Butte County faces educational challenges with a school score of 15/100 and a graduation rate of 83.4%, falling below typical benchmarks.

Funding Context

At $5,831 per pupil, Butte County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 62% below the South Dakota average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 1.0 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 21% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Butte 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

8 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

15/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #59 of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data.

Completion

83.4%

1.0 pts above the state average

Funding context

$5,831

$1,578 below the state average

School coverage

2 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

The county-level signal is lower, so review individual schools and local records before interpreting the score. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Butte County has 8 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 Butte 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

Butte 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

#59

of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data. The county score is 23 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.

Belle Fourche School District 09-1

Elementary to high school visible

1,329 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 2Other 0

5 listed schools in this county slice.

Newell School District 09-2

Elementary to high school visible

289 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Belle Fourche School District 09-1 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 Butte County?

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

What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?

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

Butte County Per-Pupil Spending Among Lowest in South Dakota

Education data brief for Butte County, South Dakota.

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

Lead metric:Per-pupil spending

Butte County records a per-pupil expenditure of $5,831, a figure that is significantly lower than the South Dakota state average of $7,409 and less than half of the national average of $13,000. This low spending level coincides with a composite school score of 14.6, which is well below the state average of 38.3 and the national median of 50.0. The county serves 1,618 students across eight public schools, with the Belle Fourche School District 09-1 being the largest, enrolling 1,329 students. The graduation rate for the county is 83.4%, which is slightly above the state average of 82.4% but below the national rate of 87.0%. The school mix consists of five town-based schools and three rural schools. One alternative school is also operational within the county. Compare district boundaries before drawing conclusions about local school performance.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Butte County

Reported Enrollment

1,618

8 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle2

High3

Other0

2 School Districts in Butte County

Belle Fourche School District 09-1

5 schools

1,329 students

Newell School District 09-2

3 schools

289 students

8 Public Schools in Butte 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 8 of 8 matching schools

Public schools in Butte County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Belle Fourche Middle School - 07	Record	Belle Fourche School District 09-1	Belle Fourche, 57717Town: Remote	5–8	Middle	401
Belle Fourche High School - 01	Record	Belle Fourche School District 09-1	Belle Fourche, 57717Town: Remote	9–12	High	383
South Park Elementary - 03	Record	Belle Fourche School District 09-1	Belle Fourche, 57717Town: Remote	1–4	Primary	382
Newell Elementary - 02	Record	Newell School District 09-2	Newell, 57760Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	152
North Park Elementary - 08	Record	Belle Fourche School District 09-1	Belle Fourche, 57717Town: Remote	KG	Primary	106
Newell High School - 01	Record	Newell School District 09-2	Newell, 57760Rural: Remote	9–12	High	75
Newell Middle School - 04	Record	Newell School District 09-2	Newell, 57760Rural: Remote	6–8	Middle	62
Belle Fourche Education Connection - 09	Record	Belle Fourche School District 09-1	Belle Fourche, 57717Town: Remote	9–12	Alternative	57

Belle Fourche Middle School - 07

Belle Fourche School District 09-1

Belle Fourche, 57717 / Town: Remote

Record5–8Middle401 students

Belle Fourche High School - 01

Belle Fourche School District 09-1

Belle Fourche, 57717 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High383 students

South Park Elementary - 03

Belle Fourche School District 09-1

Belle Fourche, 57717 / Town: Remote

Record1–4Primary382 students

Newell Elementary - 02

Newell School District 09-2

Newell, 57760 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary152 students

North Park Elementary - 08

Belle Fourche School District 09-1

Belle Fourche, 57717 / Town: Remote

RecordKGPrimary106 students

Newell High School - 01

Newell School District 09-2

Newell, 57760 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High75 students

Newell Middle School - 04

Newell School District 09-2

Newell, 57760 / Rural: Remote

Record6–8Middle62 students

Belle Fourche Education Connection - 09

Belle Fourche School District 09-1

Belle Fourche, 57717 / Town: Remote

Record9–12Alternative57 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$5,831

State avg $7,409

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Butte 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 South Dakota counties have the highest graduation rates?

Deuel County (95.0%), Stanley County (95.0%), and Hamlin County (92.8%) currently lead South Dakota 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 South Dakota?

Across South Dakota counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,409. The highest current county values are Ziebach County ($13,420), Corson County ($10,486), and Sully County ($10,373). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Butte County?

Butte County has a school score of 15/100, which is a lower 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 Butte County?

The high school graduation rate in Butte County is 83.4%, 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 Butte County spend per student?

Butte County spends $5,831 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

Beadle County

South Dakota

+0 pts

15/100

School score

Pennington County

South Dakota

+0 pts

15/100

School score

Jerauld County

South Dakota

-1 pts

14/100

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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