There are 2,565 public high schools in the state of New Jersey, which is situated on the east coast and wedged in between New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
As of the 2020–2021 academic year, this places the state as having the tenth-most public schools in the country.
Additionally, New Jersey is home to 1,296 private schools, which is the eighth-highest number of any state in the nation. Given that Jersey is the fifth-smallest state in terms of surface area in the nation, the state’s wealth of high schools may come as a surprise. The state’s enormous population can be used to explain why there are so many schools there.
In reality, New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation, ranking 11th in terms of population size. As a result, local kids have a wide range of options when deciding which high school to attend.
It might be time-consuming and labor-intensive to reduce the abundance of options into a manageable, short list of the best universities. We’re here to reduce your stress.
Here, you can find details about the ten best High Schools in New Jersey’s top high schools. All of the high schools on the list below were selected from various rankings of those schools that were released by reputable magazines like US News and World Report, Niche, and others.
The 10 Best High Schools in New Jersey
Table of Contents
Dr. Ronald E. McNair High School (Jersey City, NJ)
A renowned magnet public school, Dr. Ronald E. McNair High School. It belongs to the district of Jersey City Public Schools. 713 students were enrolled at McNair HS as of the 2020–21 school year. The school had a student to teacher ratio of 14:1, with 51 teaching members.
Dr. Ronald E. McNair is the fifth-best high school in the state of New Jersey, according to US News and World Report.
McNair is ranked first overall among high schools in the Hudson County region. These include the finest public high school overall, the greatest professors, and the best college preparation.
Princeton International School of Math and Science High (Princeton, NJ)
Princeton International School of Math and Science High, sometimes known as PRISMS, is a highly selective, coed, private school that teaches students in grades nine through twelve.
Since its establishment in 2013, the institution has swiftly gained a solid reputation.
PRISMS is ranked as New Jersey’s top-ranked private high school by Niche. In terms of boarding high schools, it is also the best in the state.
PRISMS adopts an educational approach that combines the most important elements of education theory from China and the US, enabling the school to offer pupils a cutting-edge, multicultural education of top-tier quality.
All students have access to campus accommodation, although those who would rather live at home are still welcome to attend school during the academic day.
The 10 Best High Schools in North Carolina
The Pingry School (Basking Ridge, NJ)
The Pingry School, an independent, coeducational day school that helps students get ready for college, has been offering top-notch instruction to students in grades K–12 since 1861.
The Pingry School is listed as the third-best private high school in the state of New Jersey on a 2023 ranking list produced by Niche.
The Pingry School was also ranked by Niche as the top private K–12 school in the state, demonstrating the institution’s extraordinary breadth and depth and the wealth of resources it provides for learners of all ages.
A large part of Pingry’s reputation can be attributed to its highly qualified professors. The school currently has 19 faculty members who have worked there for at least 25 years.
Approximately 1,100 children attend the school today, with well over 100 students in each grade. For instance, there were 143 seniors in the graduating class of 2022.
Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies (Edison, NJ)
The Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Technologies, which is situated in Edison, New Jersey, is regarded as one of the best high schools in the state and the country.
In fact, Middlesex is ranked #23 nationally and #1 in New Jersey by US News and World Report’s list of the top high schools for 2022.
The school emphasizes career preparation heavily in order to provide students the skills they need to be successful in engineering.
Middlesex has a smaller student body than the majority of other high schools, with only 40–45 pupils in each grade. This brings the school’s enrolment to roughly 170 students overall.
Bergen County Academies (Hackensack, NJ)
Bergen County Academies, a public magnet high school in Hackensack, New Jersey, is a distinctive academic setting for a number of reasons.
For starters, Bergen does not charge tuition for its pupils to attend the school, despite the highly competitive admissions procedure and the highly regarded, top-notch education they are renowned to provide.
Second, Bergen adopts a novel secondary education strategy by allowing students to select from seven specialized academic programs, each of which is focused on a particular job path.
According to Niche, Bergen County Academies is the finest public high school in New Jersey for providing students with the best college preparation.
High Technology High School (Lincroft, NJ)
High Technology High School is a top-notch academy that prepares pupils for careers in engineering.
High Technology High School, as its name suggests, places a heavy emphasis on the connections between science, math, technology, and the humanities in order to give pupils a well-rounded STEM education.
High Technology High School is ranked as the top public high school in the state by Niche.
High Tech also comes in second for having the best teaching staff among public schools, the best college preparation programs among public high schools, and the best STEM programs across all high schools, both public and private, according to state rankings.
High Technology High School is the third-best public high school in the US for providing students with the finest college preparation.
The Lawrenceville School (Lawrenceville, NJ)
The Lawrenceville School is one of New Jersey’s top high schools and is a private, coeducational preparatory secondary school for boarding and day students.
In fact, The Lawrenceville School is ranked first in the state by Niche for how well private schools prepare their pupils for college.
In addition, Lawrenceville is ranked second among the 11 boarding high schools in New Jersey that were taken into account for the rankings, making it the second-best private school in the state overall.
The school implements a cutting-edge strategy known as Harkness learning, an unorthodox educational idea that substitutes a more collaborative, participatory classroom environment for the traditional lecture- and memorization-based educational model.
Lawrenceville students are equipped to participate actively in society and the workforce through Harkness learning.
Union County Magnet High School (Scotch Plains, NJ)
Union County Magnet High School is a public magnet school that enrolls students in grades 9 through 12. It is a component of the Union County Vocational Technical Schools Campus in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.
297 people attend Union County Magnet High School in total. Due to the school’s very small enrollment, a 20:1 student to teacher ratio is maintained.
In addition to the local Union County area, Union County Magnet HS is well-known throughout the state of New Jersey as well as the wider New York City region.
Union County Magnet High School, which is third among magnet high schools and ninth among all public schools in the NYC region, is in the top 10 schools in both categories.
Newark Academy (Livingston, NJ)
The sixth through twelfth graders are served by the private day school Newark Academy, which is situated in Essex County.
The school has more than two centuries of expertise giving all of its students a top-notch education. It was founded in 1774. The Upper School, or ninth through twelfth grade students at Newark Academy, have a ton of amazing possibilities to participate in interesting and enlightening academic excursions.
For instance, all Newark students must complete the immersion experience requirement before graduating. For each of the three types of immersion experiences—wilderness, cultural/linguistic, and cultural/service—a journey off campus lasting at least 10 days is required.
The necessity for an immersion experience shows how seriously the school takes preparing its pupils for success in college through intense, occasionally unusual learning experiences.
Glen Ridge High School (Glen Ridge, NJ)
Glen Ridge High School, a six-year public middle and high school that is also situated in Essex Country, is one of the best in the state of New Jersey.
Glen Ridge High School is the only secondary school inside the Glen Ridge Public Schools, making it a significant educational facility for the neighborhood.
Glen Ridge offers a wide variety of clubs, sports teams, and other extracurricular organizations that students can join. There are a ton of alternatives, some of which include a literary magazine run by students, a gardening club, robotics, and the math honors society.
According to Public School Review, based on standardized test results, Glen Ridge is among the top 10% of all schools in New Jersey for reading and math competence.
