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1 / 25#25. Southwestern Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Marino, CA
- Enrollment: 79 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Best high schools in the Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles 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. New Covenant Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Enrollment: 174 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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3 / 25#23. Vistamar School
- School type: Private School
- Location: El Segundo, CA
- Enrollment: 232 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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4 / 25#22. Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: La Canada Flintridge, CA
- Enrollment: 384 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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5 / 25#21. Campbell Hall
- School type: Private School
- Location: Studio City, CA
- Enrollment: 1,157 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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6 / 25#20. Loyola High School of Los Angeles
- School type: Private School
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Enrollment: 1,260 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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7 / 25#19. Pacific Academy - Irvine
- School type: Private School
- Location: Irvine, CA
- Enrollment: 165 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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8 / 25#18. Viewpoint School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Calabasas, CA
- Enrollment: 1,102 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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9 / 25#17. California Academy of Mathematics & Science
- School type: Public School
- Location: Long Beach Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 672 (27:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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10 / 25#16. St. Margaret's Episcopal School
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Juan Capistrano, CA
- Enrollment: 1,250 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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11 / 25#15. Marymount High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Enrollment: 342 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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12 / 25#14. TVT Community Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Irvine, CA
- Enrollment: 830 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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13 / 25#13. Oakwood School
- School type: Private School
- Location: North Hollywood, CA
- Enrollment: 840 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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14 / 25#12. The Webb Schools
- School type: Private School
- Location: Claremont, CA
- Enrollment: 405 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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15 / 25#11. Westridge School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pasadena, CA
- Enrollment: 550 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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16 / 25#10. Elite Open School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Rowland Heights, CA
- Enrollment: 518 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Chadwick School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA
- Enrollment: 854 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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18 / 25#8. Sierra Canyon School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Chatsworth, CA
- Enrollment: 1,189 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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19 / 25#7. Polytechnic School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pasadena, CA
- Enrollment: 872 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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20 / 25#6. Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences
- School type: Private School
- Location: Santa Monica, CA
- Enrollment: 1,201 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. Marlborough School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Enrollment: 533 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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22 / 25#4. Sage Hill School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Newport Coast, CA
- Enrollment: 560 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. Windward School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Enrollment: 625 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. Flintridge Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: La Canada Flintridge, CA
- Enrollment: 530 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. Harvard-Westlake School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Studio City, CA
- Enrollment: 1,620 (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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