These Are the 50 Best Public High Schools in NJ, According to Niche

The latest Niche rankings of the best public high schools in New Jersey have just been released and Bergen County Academies (BCA) in Hackensack came in at the top of the site’s 2025 list. Consistently ranked among the best high schools in the country, the free public magnet high school for Bergen County residents offers seven specialized programs in mathematics and science, engineering and design, medical science, business and finance, culinary arts and hospitality administration, visual and performing arts, and technology and computer science.

Many other vocational-technical districts also landed at the top of the rankings. To make its 2025 ranking, Niche analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education and school reviews from students and parents. Niche looked at academics (including factors like graduation rate, state test scores and college readiness), diversity, student-teacher ratio, clubs and activities, sports, resources and facilities and more. SAT/ACT scores were removed from this year’s rankings “to reflect a general de-emphasis on test scores in the college admissions process,” according to Niche.

Here are the top 50 public high schools in NJ for 2025, as ranked by Niche:

1. Bergen County Academies, Hackensack
2. The Academy for Math, Science & Engineering, Rockaway
3. Union County Magnet High School, Scotch Plains
4. High Technology High School, Lincroft
5. Marine Academy of Technology & Environmental Science, Manahawkin
6. Ronald E McNair Academic High School, Jersey City
7. Academy for Information Technology, Scotch Plains
8. Biotechnology High School, Freehold
9. Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro
10. Academy for Allied Health Science, Scotch Plains
11. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, West Windsor
12. Princeton High School
13. Millburn High School
14. Northern Highlands Regional High School, Allendale
15. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, Plainsboro
16. Tenafly High School
17. Union County Vocational-Technical High School, Scotch Plains
18. Academy of Allied Health & Science, Neptune
19. Marine Academy of Science & Technology, Highlands
20. Ridgewood High School
21. Livingston Senior High School
22. Summit Senior High School
23. Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics & Engineering Technologies, Edison
24. High Tech High School, Secaucus
25. Chatham High School
26. Northern Valley Regional High School Demarest
27. Communications High School, Wall
28. Montgomery High School
29. Northern Valley Regional High School, Old Tappan
30. Moorestown High School
31. Haddonfield Memorial High School
32. Ridge High School, Basking Ridge
33. West Morris Mendham High School, Mendham
34. Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School, Rumson
35. Metuchen High School
36. South Brunswick High School
37. Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy, Wayne
38. Mountain Lakes High School
39. Westfield Senior High School
40. Bernards High School, Bernardsville
41. Applied Technology High School, Paramus
42. P. Stevens High School, Edison
43. Mahwah High School
44. Watchung Hills Regional High School, Warren
45. STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges, South Orange
46. Holmdel High School
47. Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School, Bridgewater
48. Robbinsville High School
49. New Providence High School
50. Morris County School of Technology, Denville

    Go to Niche to see the full list of NJ’s best public high schools of 2025.

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