Simms H S, MT - District Data

Original Research by School Decision on Simms H S

Simms H S is a Montana district that serves only high school grades, and it operates as a single-school district centered on Simms High School. The school is small, with an enrollment that fits a tight-knit rural setting. The district covers a broad area of small towns and unincorporated communities in Cascade County, including places like Cascade, Fort Shaw, Power, Fairfield, and Sun River, each with its own character but sharing a common connection to this one high school.

State testing results are not available for this district. The data is suppressed, a common occurrence when student counts are too small to report without risking individual identification. This means a parent cannot draw a direct picture of academic proficiency from state assessments. The district does not appear to serve grades that participate in the state’s elementary and middle school testing, and the high school itself may have too few test-takers in each grade for the state to publish results. Without that information, families will want to discuss academic performance directly with the school. The district’s graduation rate is also absent from the available data, so that measure of completion is another gap best filled by a conversation with the school.

The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of students who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic, or two or more races. The district does not report the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, nor does it provide counts of students with disabilities or English learners. Those are meaningful gaps for a family trying to understand the range of support services available. Chronic absenteeism, however, is reported, and it sits above the midpoint among Cascade County’s districts. That means a higher-than-average share of students miss a significant number of school days, a factor that can affect academic continuity and peer engagement. A parent may want to ask the school what attendance supports are in place.

On the financial side, the district’s per-pupil current spending is in the upper range among the county’s districts. This suggests that the school invests relatively heavily in its students, though without course offerings or staffing data it is not clear exactly where that money goes. The district’s small size may mean that each student gets more individual attention, but the high spending could also reflect the fixed costs of running a standalone high school for a low number of students.

The housing market across the towns that feed into this district is notably above the national median home value and slightly above the state median. Average rents are also elevated. This is a part of Montana where home prices have risen, making it a more expensive area to buy into relative to some other parts of the state. For families considering a move, the cost of housing is a factor to weigh against the rural setting and the limited school options available in this single-high-school district.

The district’s recent history shows no major curriculum changes, referendums, or property tax shifts that would be relevant to parents. It is a stable entity in terms of governance, but the lack of program offerings data means a family will need to investigate what courses, electives, and extracurriculars are actually available. This is a school that likely offers a close community experience, where teachers know students well, but the academic pathway is less transparent from the outside. Families who value a small, rural high school environment and are willing to gather information directly from the school may find it a good fit. Those who want to compare test scores, graduation rates, or program breadth will find little to work with in the public data.

See more original research from School Decision →

District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

101

Grades

09–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 4%

White 84%

Two+ 8%

Am. Indian / AK Native 4%

Schools in this District

1 schools are officially reported under this district.

Simms High School

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$427,570

Year-over-year change+4.6%

Range across 9 ZIP codes$369K to $487K

vs. state typical0.91x

vs. national typical1.16x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (9 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
59468	Power	$482K	+5.9%	20.5%
59477	Fairfield	$369K	+4.1%	19.0%
59483	Sun River	$443K	+3.3%	16.6%
59443	Fort Shaw	$487K	+3.1%	15.7%
59487	Vaughn	$369K	+6.1%	14.5%
59421	Cascade	$400K	+5.0%	8.3%
59404	Great Falls	$390K	+4.2%	3.9%
59485	Cascade	$449K	+6.7%	1.3%
59436	Choteau	$419K	+7.4%	0.3%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$1,774/mo

Year-over-year change+13.3%

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (1 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
59404	Great Falls	$1,774	+13.3%	3.9%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$2,158/mo

Home price / national median income5.1x

Annual rent / national median income25.4%

Est. mortgage exceeds rent by$384/mo

Comparison

State typical home value$467,919 (+1.3% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Academic Performance
Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.