New Jersey has some of the most competitive high schools in the country, and now Niche has released its list for 2021 of the Best Public High Schools in New Jersey. According to Niche, the rankings are based on “rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Ranking factors include state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, teacher quality and high school ratings.” Niche has a separate ranking for Best Private High Schools.
Not only does New Jersey have some fantastic public high schools, two of the Garden State’s own made the top 10 of Niche’s 2021 Best Public High Schools in America list, with Bergen Academies taking the number one spot! High Technology High School in Lincroft, ranked number two in NJ took spot number 10 on the list for the entire U.S. (Both are magnet schools that are part of the local public schools and draw admissions from across normal boundaries.) Read on to see the top 25 schools in our state and click here for the full list.
- Bergen County Academies
Hackensack, NJ
Freshman: “I loved the culture here. It’s so easy to make friends!”
- High Technology High School
Lincroft, NJ
Senior: “Overall my high school experience has been anything but ordinary.”
- Biotechnology High School
Freehold, NJ
Senior: “Biotechnology is a great school to learn time management and STEM.”
- OCVTS – Marine Academy of Technology & Environmental Science (MATES)
Manahawkin, NJ
Senior: “An amazing school with endless resources available for students looking to pursue any STEM-related field, not just environmental science.
- Union County Magnet High School
Scotch Plains, NJ
Junior: “Union County Magnet High School is an excellent school! The student community feels like family and the teachers are available to their students often.”
- The Academy for Mathematics, Science & Engineering
Rockaway, NJ
Junior: “It’s a great school for those wanting a STEM experience before reaching college, regardless of the fact that they may not want to pursue an engineering, or science field as their career.”
- Bergen County Technical High School – Teterboro
Teterboro, NJ
Senior:” Bergen Tech Teterboro is really a wonderful school in so many ways! It has offered me so many different opportunities to further my academic career as well as many different ways to pursue my passions.”
- Princeton High School
Princeton, NJ
Alum: “Princeton High School is a great place to go to school! The history department in particular is phenomenal, and overall the school prepares its students very well for AP exams.”
- Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics, & Engineering Technologies
Edison, NJ
Junior: “The academics at the school are amazing, and so are the teachers. They are very understanding and open to your opinions.”
- Millburn Senior High School
Millburn, NJ
Alum: “The academic level is rigorous, oftentimes stressful, yet the education truly prepares students for college.”
- Academy for Information Technology (Scotch Plains, NJ)
- Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School (Jersey City, NJ)
- Tenafly High School (Tenafly, NJ)
- Academy for Allied Health Science (Scotch Plains, NJ)
- West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (Princeton Junction, NJ)
- Union County Vocational-Technical High School (Scotch Plains, NJ)
- Northern Highlands Regional High School (Allendale, NJ)
- Marine Academy of Science & Technology (Highlands, NJ)
- Livingston Senior High School (Livingston, NJ)
- Communications High School (Wall, NJ)
- Academy of Allied Health & Science (Neptune, NJ)
- Montgomery High School (Montgomery, NJ)
- West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (Plainsboro, NJ)
- Ridgewood High School (Ridgewood, NJ)
- Ridge High School (Basking Ridge, NJ)