Ground Picture // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. Islamic Academy of Alabama
- School type: Private School
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Enrollment: 227 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Best high schools in the Birmingham metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Birmingham metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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LStockStudio // Shutterstock
2 / 25#24. Shades Valley High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Jefferson County Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 1,200 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Anna Jurkovska // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Heritage Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Enrollment: 213 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
maroke // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Mortimer Jordan High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Jefferson County Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 861 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Evangel Classical Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Alabaster, AL
- Enrollment: 279 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
6 / 25#20. Helena High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Shelby County Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 1,418 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Thompson High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Alabaster City Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 2,203 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Briarwood Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Enrollment: 1,850 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Bessemer Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Bessemer, AL
- Enrollment: 347 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. Hoover Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Hoover, AL
- Enrollment: 57 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
11 / 25#15. Rock City Preparatory Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Enrollment: 19 (2:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. The Westminster School at Oak Mountain
- School type: Private School
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Enrollment: 599 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Pelham High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Pelham City Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 1,058 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Joyseulay // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Oak Mountain High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Shelby County Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 1,561 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Daniel Hoz // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Mountain View Baptist School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Enrollment: 110 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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Achira22 // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. Hewitt-Trussville High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Trussville City Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 1,573 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Studio KIWI // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. John Carroll Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Enrollment: 540 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Hoover High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hoover City Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 2,841 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Vestavia Hills High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Vestavia Hills City Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 1,578 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Spain Park High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hoover City Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 1,503 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
21 / 25#5. Mt. Brook High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Mountain Brook City Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 967 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LBeddoe // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Alabama School of Fine Arts
- School type: Public School
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Enrollment: 353 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Homewood High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Homewood City Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 1,330 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. The Altamont School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Enrollment: 371 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Indian Springs School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indian Springs, AL
- Enrollment: 340 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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