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Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 48706

At a glance

Schools

2,131

Students

Districts

Top rankedKolb Elementary School649^th of 1,492 Michigan elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Kolb Elementary School up 238 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Kolb Elementary School 13.9 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

See the top-ranked Michigan schools →

Summary:

There are six elementary schools serving grades PK-5 in zip code 48706, which covers the Bay City, Michigan area and is split between the Bay City School District and Bangor Township Schools.

For parents, the standout choice is Mackensen Elementary School, which holds the highest state ranking (55th percentile) and is the only school to maintain a 3-star rating for three straight years. It leads in 4th-grade math (45.8% proficient) and 4th-grade ELA (50% proficient), while also having the lowest poverty rate (36.23% free/reduced lunch) and a relatively low chronic absenteeism rate (19.9%). Kolb Elementary School is a close competitor, ranking in the 57th percentile and posting the best 3rd-grade scores in both ELA (48.2%) and math (49.4%), despite having the highest poverty rate (72.51%). Among Bangor Township schools, Bangor West Central School (51st percentile) and Bangor Lincoln School (50th percentile) perform comparably to the Bay City schools, with Bangor Lincoln excelling in 5th-grade science (48.3% proficient). McAlearSawden Elementary School sits in the middle (39th percentile). The clear outlier is Bangor Central School, which dropped from a 3-star to a 1-star rating (16th percentile) and now posts the lowest scores across nearly all subjects, with 5th-grade ELA falling to just 19.3% proficiency.

Key takeaways: Higher spending and smaller class sizes in Bay City schools (ratios around 14:1) do not guarantee better results than Bangor Township schools (ratios around 25:1), as outcomes are mixed within each district. Bangor Central’s sharp decline—5th-grade math plummeting from 37.7% to 17.9% in one year—warrants attention. Socioeconomic status is a strong indicator, but Kolb’s success despite its high poverty rate shows effective support programs can make a difference. Chronic absenteeism is a concern, with Bangor Central at 29.0%, though most schools stay below the state average of 27.9%.

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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)				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	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
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
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
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
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
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

Cities Near Zip Code 48706

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Bay City	0.45 mi	24	398^th
Essexville	3.54 mi	7	219^th
University Center	4.76 mi	1	27^th
Auburn	7.34 mi	4	167^th
Saginaw	8.74 mi	51	414^th

See the top MI Michigan 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.