Best Public Schools in Zip Code 57720

Summary:

The 57720 zip code area is home to 3 schools that are part of the Harding County School District 31-1, including 1 elementary school, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. The data reveals that the Harding County High School - 01 and Harding County Middle School - 03 are standout performers, ranking 14th and 40th in the state respectively, with strong academic results that exceed state and district averages.

The Buffalo Elementary - 02 has more mixed performance, with 3rd-grade proficiency rates below the state average, but 4th-grade English Language Arts proficiency significantly above the state. The district as a whole is performing well, with the Harding County School District ranked 22nd out of 147 in South Dakota and rated 4 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger.

Across the district, there are some areas for improvement, such as the high chronic absenteeism rate at both Buffalo Elementary - 02 and Harding County Middle School - 03. Additionally, the significant differences in academic performance between the elementary, middle, and high school levels suggest opportunities for cross-collaboration and sharing of best practices to help improve student outcomes across all grade levels.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2025)								Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)								Smarter Balanced Assessments Science (2025)			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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Buffalo Elementary - 02	Public	K-5	12474 Tipperary St	Buffalo	57720	Harding County	Harding County School District 31-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 375-3241	101	10	10.3	25.7%	96 (95.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	3 (3.0%)	59.6	127^th of 300 public elementary schools	57.7%		53.1	102^nd of 201 public elementary schools	49.3%	25	38.9	70.0	33.3					51.1	38.9	65.0	44.4					51.1	55.6			$16,820	$875	$15,945
Harding County High School - 01	Public	9-12	12474 Tipperary St	Buffalo	57720	Harding County	Harding County School District 31-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 375-3241	66	7	9.5	22.7%	65 (98.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.5%)	85	14^th of 166 public high schools	91.6%		33.1	100^th of 141 public high schools	29.1%	86							84.6								53.8				61.5	$18,767	$853	$17,914
Harding County Middle School - 03	Public	6-8	12474 Tipperary St	Buffalo	57720	Harding County	Harding County School District 31-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 375-3241	60	4	15.0	33.3%	60 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	73.7	40^th of 246 public middle schools	83.7%		59.7	53^rd of 147 public middle schools	63.9%	13				52.4	52.6	75.0		60.0				47.6	52.6	70.0		56.7		60.0		$15,120	$528	$14,592

Cities Near Zip Code 57720

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank	Rank (0-5)
Buffalo	7.66 mi	3	32^nd

See the top SD South Dakota cities

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