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1 / 25#25. Sabino High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Tucson Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 862 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Best high schools in the Tucson 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 Tucson 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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2 / 25#24. St. David High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: St. David Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 125 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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3 / 25#23. Mountain View High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Marana Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 1,831 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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4 / 25#22. Walden Grove High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Sahuarita Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 1,139 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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5 / 25#21. Benson High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Benson Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 443 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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6 / 25#20. Tanque Verde High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Tanque Verde Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 712 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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7 / 25#19. Pusch Ridge Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Enrollment: 975 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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8 / 25#18. Mica Mountain High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Vail Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 1,161 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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9 / 25#17. Flowing Wells High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Flowing Wells Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 1,694 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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10 / 25#16. Canyon Del Oro High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Amphitheater Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 1,691 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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11 / 25#15. Andrada Polytechnic High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Vail Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 750 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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12 / 25#14. Desert Christian Schools
- School type: Private School
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Enrollment: 558 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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13 / 25#13. Academy of Tucson High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Academy of Tucson, AZ
- Enrollment: 166 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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14 / 25#12. Cienega High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Vail Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 1,913 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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15 / 25#11. Vail Academy and High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Vail Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 554 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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16 / 25#10. Catalina Foothills High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Catalina Foothills Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 1,887 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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17 / 25#9. Presidio School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Enrollment: 377 (not available student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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18 / 25#8. Salpointe Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Enrollment: 1,300 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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19 / 25#7. Empire High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Vail Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 876 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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20 / 25#6. Green Fields School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Enrollment: 221 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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21 / 25#5. Sonoran Science Academy - Tucson
- School type: Public School
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Enrollment: 723 (not available student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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22 / 25#4. The Gregory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Enrollment: 366 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. University High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Tucson Unified School District, AZ
- Enrollment: 1,060 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. BASIS Oro Valley
- School type: Public School
- Location: Oro Valley, AZ
- Enrollment: 565 (not available student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. BASIS Tucson North
- School type: Public School
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Enrollment: 801 (not available 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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