Here’s Where Your High School Ranks In New Report

NEW JERSEY— Twenty-five public high schools in New Jersey earned the highest spots in the state in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-2027 Best High Schools.

U.S. News evaluated about 27,000 eligible public high schools nationwide and ranked nearly 18,000 of them.

Here are the top 25 high schools in NJ, along with their national rankings:

1. High Technology High School, Lincroft — No. 28 nationally
2. Edison Academy Magnet School, Edison — No. 40 nationally
3. Union County Magnet High School, Scotch Plains — No. 59 nationally
4. Biotechnology High School, Freehold — No. 72 nationally
5. Woodbridge Academy Magnet School, Woodbridge — No. 75 nationally
6. Bergen County Academies, Hackensack — No. 78 nationally
7. Academy for Information Technology, Scotch Plains — No. 83 nationally
8. Bergen County Technical High School - Teterboro, Teterboro — No. 84 nationally
9. Dr. Ronald E McNair High School, Jersey City — No. 114 nationally
10. Academy for Allied Health Sciences, Scotch Plains — No. 126 nationally
11. Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Highlands — No. 156 nationally
12. PCTI STEM Academy, Wayne — No. 250 nationally
13. Thomas Edison Energysmart Charter School, Somerset — No. 261 nationally
14. Glen Ridge High School, Glen Ridge — No. 290 nationally
15. Millburn High School, Millburn — No. 294 nationally
16. Science Park High School, Newark — No. 312 nationally
17. High Tech High School, Secaucus — No. 334 nationally
18. Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest, Demarest — No. 346 nationally
19. Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health and Science, Neptune — No. 348 nationally
20. Elizabeth High School, Elizabeth — No. 354 nationally
21. Montgomery High School, Skillman — No. 356 nationally
22. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, West Windsor — No. 383 nationally
23. Tenafly High School, Tenafly — No. 389 nationally
24. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, Plainsboro — No. 393 nationally
25. Livingston High School, Livingston — No. 411 nationally

The rankings are based on six performance measures, including student achievement on state-required assessments, graduation rates and college readiness.

U.S. News also considers how well schools serve underserved students, participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, curriculum breadth and overall student outcomes.

The rankings use data from the 2023-2024 school year and were produced with research firm RTI International.

Massachusetts had the largest share of high schools ranked in the top 25 percent nationally, at 47 percent, followed by New Jersey at 44 percent and Maryland at 43 percent.

Among metropolitan areas with a significant number of ranked schools, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, had the largest share in the national top quarter, at 60 percent. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, followed at 59 percent, and Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin, at 56 percent.

Central Magnet School in Tennessee topped the national ranking, followed by Signature School in Indiana and Julia R. Masterman Secondary School in Pennsylvania.

Signature School also ranked first among charter schools. High Technology High School in New Jersey ranked first among STEM high schools.

The full rankings are available at U.S. News & World Report.