Schools In Hoboken, Jersey City Rank Among Best In State, Says New List

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Several Hudson County schools ranked near the top in newly released lists of best public
schools in the state.

The 2027 Best Schools and Districts In America rankings were released last month by Niche, a firm that seeks reviews and provides information on local school options for those moving to new areas.

Niche analyzed 11,000 school districts, 93,000 public schools, and 30,000 private schools nationwide to come up with their school rankings.

The criteria for rankings includes more than 3 million reviews from students, parents, and teachers.

Public Schools On Top

Several of the schools at the top of the high school list are regional or magnet schools that require applications and can be selective about who enters.

Here are the Hudson County schools that made the top 50 high schools in New Jersey:

• 7. McNair Academic, a public magnet high school in Jersey City.
• 27. High Tech High School, part of the Hudson County Schools of Technology, the group of county high schools in Hudson County. Campus is in Secaucus. An application is required for admission, often due in fall.
• 40. County Prep High School, another of the Hudson County Schools of Technology schools, campus in Jersey City. An application is required for admission, often due in fall.
• 41. Jose Marti Freshman Academy, part of the Union City public schools, for grades 9-12.

HoLa Lauded Nationally

For schools that go up to eighth grade, Hoboken's HoLa Charter School was the third best K-8 schools in the state and number 13 in the entire country.

Parents can apply to the school — which includes immersion Spanish classes — in a lottery held each January.

Charter schools are free public schools, but were founded by parents and educators and often require a lottery for admittance.

On the K-8 list for New Jersey, HoLa came in behind Alpine Elementary School and Haworth Public School.

That list only included K-8 schools, rather than separate elementary and middle schools.

HoLa was also listed the 27th best public middle school in America.

For all of the lists, see the links below.

'Standout Schools'

Several Jersey City high schools and Hoboken High School made the top 50 on a separate list of "Niche Standout Schools in New Jersey," schools that are making a difference in their community.

"Ranking factors include school diversity, graduation rates and state test scores for economically disadvantaged and minority students, and the quality of colleges that students consider," said Niche.

Hoboken High came in at 22 on that list.

They also came in at 148 out of 433 schools on the main high school list.

The school scored an A- overall, with A grades for diversity, teachers, and college prep. Read more about it here.

McNair, Infinity Institute, County Prep, Liberty High School, Jose Marti, Beloved Community Charter School, and Bayonne High School also made the top 25 on the "Standout Schools" list.

Lists For Districts And Elementary Schools

Separate lists can be found for top districts, top elementary schools, and top private schools.

See all the public schools here. Want to see the private schools? Click here.

Read more about the rankings here.

See the six Bergen County high schools that made the top 50 here.

Patch Editor Ainsley Martinez contributed to this report.