There were 6,581 students enrolled in Benton County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 0.2% more than the previous year, according to reports from the Minnesota Department of Education.
In terms of gender distribution, the student body in Benton County comprised 50.6% boys, with girls representing the remaining 49.4%.
Data also showed that white students made up 82.1% of the student body, the largest percentage in Benton County schools, followed by multiracial students with 5.7%, 5.6% Black students, 4.4% Hispanic students, 1% American Indian students, 0.9% Asian students, 0.1% Other Indigenous Peoples students and 0.1% Hawaiian Pacific Islander students.
Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High had the highest enrollment among Benton County’s 10 schools in the 2024-25 school year, welcoming 1,319 students.
With more than 870,000 students enrolled, Minnesota’s public school system is the 10th-largest in the United States. As of 2025 the student-to-teacher ratio in the state’s public schools is 15 to 1, on par with the national average.
| School name | Total enrollment in 2023-24 | Total enrollment in 2024-25 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High | 1,317 | 1,319 | 0.2% |
| Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School | 1,067 | 1,055 | -1.1% |
| Mississippi Heights Elementary | 817 | 808 | -1.1% |
| Foley Intermediate Elementary | 743 | 781 | 5.1% |
| Pleasantview Elementary | 722 | 734 | 1.7% |
| Foley Senior High | 603 | 588 | -2.5% |
| Foley Elementary | 579 | 552 | -4.7% |
| Rice Elementary | 361 | 357 | -1.1% |
| Lincoln Elementary | 295 | 328 | 11.2% |
| ALC – Sauk Rapids | 66 | 59 | -10.6% |
