Portales Municipal Schools are top-ranked statewide in such areas as safety, reading and girls sports. Because the district operates "grade level" schools, all Portales children in each grade, regardless of home address, attend the same school together, creating a harmonious environment of diversity and long-term friendship among residents.  This unique "grade level" system has also allowed the district to utilize its resources wisely, and each Portales Municipal School building is either new or recently rebuilt, clean, modern and functional. No school is more than a five-minute drive from anywhere in the Portales city limits, and safety is excellent both on and off campus.

Beyond high school, Portales is home to the main campus of Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico's third largest state university. ENMU with over 4,800 students offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees in over 60 subjects, and is known for its fine arts, liberal arts, business, education, agriculture, biology, chemistry, and communications and broadcasting programs. The 400 acre ENMU campus contains an impressive theater and music hall, 7,000 seat Greyhound Arena, and a brand new state-of the art digital broadcasting center hosting three separate digital PBS stations, as well as a newly renovated science and technology center, four museums, and a large student activity center with ample conference and meeting space and catered dining facilities available to the public.