Best high schools in the Hartford 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 Hartford 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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#25. University High School of Science and Engineering

- School type: Public School
- Location: Hartford School District, CT
- Enrollment: 412 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#24. Berlin High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Berlin School District, CT
- Enrollment: 858 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#23. East Catholic High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Manchester, CT
- Enrollment: 432 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#22. Canton High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Canton School District, CT
- Enrollment: 464 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#21. Mercy High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Enrollment: 397 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#20. Rocky Hill High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Rocky Hill School District, CT
- Enrollment: 722 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#19. South Windsor High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: South Windsor School District, CT
- Enrollment: 1,329 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#18. The Cornerstone Christian School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Manchester, CT
- Enrollment: 162 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#17. The Master's School

- School type: Private School
- Location: West Simsbury, CT
- Enrollment: 218 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#16. Northwest Catholic High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: West Hartford, CT
- Enrollment: 444 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#15. Xavier High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Enrollment: 590 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#14. Simsbury High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Simsbury School District, CT
- Enrollment: 1,217 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#13. Hall High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: West Hartford School District, CT
- Enrollment: 1,408 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#12. Conard High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: West Hartford School District, CT
- Enrollment: 1,418 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#11. Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy

- School type: Public School
- Location: East Hartford School District, CT
- Enrollment: 176 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#10. Glastonbury High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Glastonbury Public Schools, CT
- Enrollment: 1,801 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#9. Farmington High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Farmington School District, CT
- Enrollment: 1,276 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#8. Avon High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Avon School District, CT
- Enrollment: 923 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#7. Watkinson School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Hartford, CT
- Enrollment: 222 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#6. The Ethel Walker School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Simsbury, CT
- Enrollment: 226 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#5. Avon Old Farms School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Avon, CT
- Enrollment: 406 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#4. Kingswood Oxford School

- School type: Private School
- Location: West Hartford, CT
- Enrollment: 501 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#3. Westminster School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Simsbury, CT
- Enrollment: 431 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#2. Miss Porter's School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Farmington, CT
- Enrollment: 335 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+