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Best Public Schools in Bay County, MI

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Michigan rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

12,699

Students

Districts

5-star school

Top rankedGreat Lakes Bay Early College49^th of 800 Michigan high schools

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Biggest riser

Linwood Elementary School up 306 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

MacGregor Elementary School 11.3 students per teacher

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Newly ranked this year

BayArenac Community High School

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

11 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				PSAT English Language Arts (2026)			PSAT Mathematics (2026)			SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	M-Step English Language Arts (2026)					M-Step Math (2026)					M-Step Science (2026)			M-Step Social Studies (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSAT English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSAT English Language Arts 9th Grade	PSAT English Language Arts 10th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 8th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 9th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 10th Grade	SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Math 7th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Science 8th Grade	M-Step Science 11th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 8th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
BayArenac Community High School	Public, Charter	9-12	805 Langstaff St	Essexville	48732	Bay County	Bay-Arenac Community High School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(989) 893-8811	180	10	18.8	86.1%	134 (74.4%)	15 (8.3%)	23 (12.8%)	1 (0.6%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.8%)	31.3	533^rd of 800 public high schools	33.4%					(n/a)			35.0			359.0	43.8	400.6													30.0			30.0	$12,834	$1,984	$10,850
State Street Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	PK, KG-12	1110 State St	Bay City	48706	Bay County	State Street Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(989) 684-6484	286	22	12.8	89.9%	228 (79.7%)	19 (6.6%)	11 (3.8%)	13 (4.5%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.5%)								(n/a)									10.7	13.6	1472.7	20.8	26.7	14.3	1360.9	1453.0	1565.2	1668.5	1473.9			1463.9			$12,268	$1,587	$10,681
State Street Academy High School	Public, Charter	9-12	4721 3 Mile Rd	Bay City	48706	Bay County	State Street Academy	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(989) 684-6484	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)		69.2			395.4
North Central Academy Campus	Public, Charter, Alternative	PK, KG-12	5055 Corey Rd	Mancelona	48708	Bay County	Bay City Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(231) 584-2080	174	13	13.3	70.1%	164 (94.3%)	1 (0.6%)	3 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.9%)								(n/a)	57.1	43.8	412.0	370.0	360.0	350.0			1269.8	21.1	22.2	22.2		33.3	21.1	16.7	22.2		38.9	28.6		1475.9	1784.1		$10,313	$1,526	$8,787
Bay City Academy Farragut Campus	Public, Charter, Alternative	PK, KG-12	301 N Farragut St	Bay City	48708	Bay County	Bay City Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(989) 414-8254	373	20	18.5	83.4%	240 (64.3%)	35 (9.4%)	29 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	67 (18.0%)								(n/a)	58.1	52.6	66.7	38.7	21.1	29.2	46.2	448.8	22.2	20.7	38.7	22.6	37.9	25.9	20.7	16.1	1566.5	17.2	32.3	46.7	44.0	12.9	48.4	52.0	$12,167	$1,654	$10,513
Bangor Central School	Public	PK, KG-5	208 State Park Dr	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bangor Township Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 684-8891	332	15	22.6	68.1%	271 (81.6%)	7 (2.1%)	30 (9.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (7.2%)	16.3	1251^st of 1492 public elementary schools	16.2%		38.5	886^th of 1488 public elementary schools	40.5%	365									20.4	23.3	19.3			24.5	21.7	17.9			17.9			10.5			$12,147	$892	$11,255
Christa McAuliffe Middle School	Public	6-8	3281 Kiesel Rd	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bangor Township Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 686-7640	608	28	21.8	45.6%	477 (78.5%)	17 (2.8%)	80 (13.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (5.3%)	49.9	413^th of 896 public middle schools	53.9%		47.6	436^th of 890 public middle schools	51.0%	23	64.8			24.5								33.3	37.1				25.0	26.9		43.8			49.0		$13,515	$612	$12,903
Bangor Lincoln School	Public	PK, KG-5	2771 N Euclid Ave	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bangor Township Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 686-7639	344	14	25.1	61.0%	276 (80.2%)	3 (0.9%)	38 (11.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (7.3%)	47	743^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	50.2%		58.1	593^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	60.1%	150									25.5	27.0	55.0			45.1	28.6	28.3			48.3			31.7			$11,734	$738	$10,996
Bangor West Central School	Public	K-5	3175 Wilder Rd	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bangor Township Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 684-3373	361	14	26.4	52.1%	294 (81.4%)	4 (1.1%)	38 (10.5%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.8%)	47.7	736^th of 1492 public elementary schools	50.7%		56.7	615^th of 1488 public elementary schools	58.7%	121									33.3	54.8	49.2			35.9	41.9	24.6			37.7			21.3			$11,366	$773	$10,593
John Glenn High School	Public	9-12	3201 Kiesel Rd	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bangor Township Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 684-7510	864	32	27.2	31.5%	722 (83.6%)	14 (1.6%)	94 (10.9%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (3.2%)	50.8	360^th of 800 public high schools	55.0%		57.4	295^th of 739 public high schools	60.1%	65		61.6	64.5		28.7	25.6	52.9	17.6													24.5			48.1	$13,187	$601	$12,587
Bangor Township Virtual School	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	4091 N Euclid Ave	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bangor Township Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(989) 684-8121	182	72	2.5	54.9%	152 (83.5%)	11 (6.0%)	11 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.8%)								(n/a)		33.3	54.5		368.1	12.1	25.5	361.8													11.6			9.3	$10,055	$595	$9,459
Bay City Eastern High School	Public, Magnet	9-12	601 Blend St	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	Yes	No	No	(989) 895-5550	137	10	13.7	87.6%	83 (60.6%)	12 (8.8%)	25 (18.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (11.7%)								(n/a)			367.3			288.2	408.0	369.3													2079.3				$21,866	$1,775	$20,090
Bay City Adult EducationCTP	Public	9-12	4155 Monitor Rd	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	No	(989) 686-4770	65	0		61.5%	48 (73.8%)	5 (7.7%)	9 (13.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (4.6%)								(n/a)																									$3,668	$834	$2,835
Auburn Elementary School	Public	K-5	301 E Midland Rd	Auburn	48611	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	No	(989) 662-4921	474	25	18.9	42.0%	420 (88.6%)	2 (0.4%)	29 (6.1%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.2%)	68.5	427^th of 1492 public elementary schools	71.4%		78.4	288^th of 1488 public elementary schools	80.6%	139									33.3	53.9	50.0			41.8	60.7	41.9			60.5			40.7			$14,120	$834	$13,287
Bay City Central High School	Public	9-12	1624 Columbus Ave	Bay City	48708	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	No	(989) 893-9541	921	54	17.0	71.0%	596 (64.7%)	61 (6.6%)	143 (15.5%)	3 (0.3%)	6 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	112 (12.2%)	39.9	458^th of 800 public high schools	42.8%		41.4	431^st of 739 public high schools	41.7%	27		53.9	58.6		18.9	7.9	48.5	12.7													37.6			38.8	$17,400	$860	$16,539
Hampton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1908 W Youngs Ditch Rd	Bay City	48708	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 893-1100	399	24	16.6	68.7%	267 (66.9%)	14 (3.5%)	72 (18.0%)	5 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (10.0%)	27.7	1043^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	30.1%		34.7	944^th of 1488 public elementary schools	36.6%	99									23.0	29.7	35.8			18.0	20.3	19.4			40.3			19.4			$14,192	$1,594	$12,598
Mackensen Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5535 Dennis Dr	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	No	(989) 684-4941	265	18	14.6	36.2%	222 (83.8%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (7.5%)	52.2	665^th of 1492 public elementary schools	55.4%		49.6	721^st of 1488 public elementary schools	51.5%	56									38.8	50.0	40.9			36.7	45.8	36.4			38.6			25.0			$15,648	$834	$14,814
Western Middle School	Public	6-8	500 W Midland Rd	Auburn	48611	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	No	(989) 662-4489	681	39	17.6	40.2%	594 (87.2%)	6 (0.9%)	40 (5.9%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	34 (5.0%)	65.4	251^st of 896 public middle schools	72.0%		67.5	234^th of 890 public middle schools	73.7%	17	71.9			36.4								45.6	43.1				30.0	32.9		47.6			54.8		$13,798	$922	$12,876
Handy Middle School	Public	6-8	601 Blend St	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 684-1723	598	44	13.6	78.8%	401 (67.1%)	28 (4.7%)	109 (18.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	57 (9.5%)	31	594^th of 896 public middle schools	33.7%		24.8	646^th of 890 public middle schools	27.4%	52	61.7			20.7								19.5	24.7				12.8	14.9		31.0			43.3		$18,342	$1,910	$16,431
Washington Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1821 McKinley St	Bay City	48708	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 894-2744	362	30	12.0	91.2%	212 (58.6%)	23 (6.4%)	76 (21.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (14.1%)	15.6	1261^st of 1492 public elementary schools	15.5%		18.8	1185^th of 1488 public elementary schools	20.4%	76									29.1	13.1	22.4			27.3	14.8	13.8			20.7			6.9			$17,008	$1,751	$15,257
McAlearSawden Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2300 Midland Rd	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 684-7702	378	26	14.5	54.0%	310 (82.0%)	5 (1.3%)	34 (9.0%)	5 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	22 (5.8%)	36.7	906^th of 1492 public elementary schools	39.3%		41.3	840^th of 1488 public elementary schools	43.5%	66									42.9	33.8	37.3			33.3	26.2	23.7			37.9			15.3			$14,948	$1,333	$13,616
Bay City Western High School	Public	9-12	500 W Midland Rd	Auburn	48611	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	No	(989) 662-4481	1,009	43	23.5	31.9%	901 (89.3%)	9 (0.9%)	51 (5.1%)	13 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (3.4%)	60.7	255^th of 800 public high schools	68.1%		45.6	403^rd of 739 public high schools	45.5%	148		72.1	64.6		42.3	34.5	60.8	21.5													33.2			35.0	$14,761	$893	$13,867
Kolb Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	305 W Crump St	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 893-9518	451	32	13.9	72.5%	325 (72.1%)	15 (3.3%)	66 (14.6%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (9.1%)	53.6	649^th of 1492 public elementary schools	56.5%		38.4	887^th of 1488 public elementary schools	40.4%	238									48.2	39.4	39.1			49.4	40.9	21.9			39.1			34.4			$15,283	$1,725	$13,558
MacGregor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1012 Fremont St	Bay City	48708	Bay County	Bay City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 892-1558	290	26	11.3	91.7%	181 (62.4%)	12 (4.1%)	63 (21.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (11.4%)	10.3	1364^th of 1492 public elementary schools	8.6%		11.6	1325^th of 1488 public elementary schools	11.0%	39									17.8	17.4	21.3			18.2	13.0	6.4			12.8			6.4			$17,157	$2,016	$15,141
Garber High School	Public	9-12	213 Pine St	Essexville	48732	Bay County	Essexville-Hampton Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 894-9710	489	42	11.6	37.0%	424 (86.7%)	8 (1.6%)	30 (6.1%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (4.7%)	64.9	222^nd of 800 public high schools	72.3%		68.1	193^rd of 739 public high schools	73.9%	29		74.2	77.0		35.0	29.0	59.8	19.6													45.3			44.3	$13,126	$610	$12,517
Verellen Elementary School	Public	2-4	612 Borton Rd	Essexville	48732	Bay County	Essexville-Hampton Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 894-9770	314	14	22.4	46.2%	280 (89.2%)	1 (0.3%)	16 (5.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.8%)	45.1	775^th of 1492 public elementary schools	48.1%		47	764^th of 1488 public elementary schools	48.7%	11									24.5	36.2				49.5	41.3										$11,854	$836	$11,018
WR Bush Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-1	800 Nebobish Ave	Essexville	48732	Bay County	Essexville-Hampton Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 894-9760	236	17	13.8	46.6%	202 (85.6%)	1 (0.4%)	27 (11.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.1%)								(n/a)																									$13,029	$848	$12,181
Cramer Junior High School	Public	5-8	313 Pine St	Essexville	48732	Bay County	Essexville-Hampton Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 894-9740	484	28	17.3	42.8%	417 (86.2%)	5 (1.0%)	35 (7.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (4.8%)	52.5	386^th of 896 public middle schools	56.9%		51.1	393^rd of 890 public middle schools	55.8%	7	68.9			28.3							26.1	34.1	37.7			10.4	28.8	29.2	33.9	37.7		27.2	50.9		$11,805	$727	$11,078
Linwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	517 W Center St	Linwood	48634	Bay County	Pinconning Area Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 697-5711	122	8	15.7	47.5%	110 (90.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.5%)	43	808^th of 1492 public elementary schools	45.8%		22.8	1114^th of 1488 public elementary schools	25.1%	306									36.8	52.2	23.8			31.6	47.8	1469.8			23.8			1476.1			$17,250	$919	$16,331
Pinconning High School	Public	9-12	605 W 5th St	Pinconning	48650	Bay County	Pinconning Area Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 308-0531	370	17	21.6	39.2%	332 (89.7%)	7 (1.9%)	19 (5.1%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.9%)	51.3	352^nd of 800 public high schools	56.0%		44.4	413^th of 739 public high schools	44.1%	61		55.3	62.1		30.1	31.0	50.6	20.8													31.2			42.9	$15,164	$1,106	$14,057
Pinconning Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	609 W 5th St	Pinconning	48650	Bay County	Pinconning Area Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 308-0502	359	21	16.8	54.3%	337 (93.9%)	3 (0.8%)	8 (2.2%)	3 (0.8%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.4%)	53.9	644^th of 1492 public elementary schools	56.8%		67.5	450^th of 1488 public elementary schools	69.8%	194									44.6	30.2	40.3			44.6	46.0	32.8			49.3			29.9			$14,922	$1,100	$13,823
Pinconning Middle School	Public	6-8	605 W 5th St	Pinconning	48650	Bay County	Pinconning Area Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 308-0557	244	13	18.9	48.8%	218 (89.3%)	3 (1.2%)	15 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.3%)	46.2	452^nd of 896 public middle schools	49.6%		49.6	415^th of 890 public middle schools	53.4%	37	65.2			21.7								35.2	35.2				35.2	19.4		35.8			41.8		$13,761	$607	$13,154
Detention Center	Public, Alternative	4-12	520 W Hampton Rd	Essexville	48732	Bay County	Bay-Arenac Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	No	No	(989) 667-3209	11	2	5.5	72.7%	7 (63.6%)	3 (27.3%)	1 (9.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
LLCBay Campus	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	1435 W Center Rd	Essexville	48732	Bay County	Bay-Arenac Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	No	No	(989) 846-9510	44	17	2.5	40.9%	35 (79.5%)	3 (6.8%)	3 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.5%)								(n/a)
ISDLocal Programs	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	4228 2 Mile Rd	Bay City	48706	Bay County	Bay-Arenac Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	No	No	(989) 667-3276	92	13	7.0	58.7%	78 (84.8%)	4 (4.3%)	8 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.2%)								(n/a)
Great Lakes Bay Early College	Public	9-12	1961 Delta Rd	University Center	48710	Bay County	Saginaw Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	No	No	(989) 686-9146	200	10	19.9	23.0%	142 (71.0%)	20 (10.0%)	26 (13.0%)	2 (1.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.5%)	90.9	49^th of 800 public high schools	93.9%		88.7	62^nd of 739 public high schools	91.6%	13			90.6			50.0	83.8	35.1													62.2			73.0

SchoolDigger rankings lists for Michigan:

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.