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1 / 25#25. Samuel W. Wolfson High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Duval County Public Schools, FL
- Enrollment: 922 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Best high schools in the Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville 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. Bishop John J. Snyder High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Enrollment: 440 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Atlantic Coast High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Duval County Public Schools, FL
- Enrollment: 2,537 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Christ's Church Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Enrollment: 708 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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5 / 25#21. Oakleaf High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clay County School District, FL
- Enrollment: 2,371 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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6 / 25#20. University Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Enrollment: 803 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Ridgeview High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clay County School District, FL
- Enrollment: 1,828 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Fernandina Beach High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Nassau County School District, FL
- Enrollment: 1,025 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
maroke // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Allen D. Nease Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: St. Johns County School District, FL
- Enrollment: 2,214 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Studio KIWI // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. St. Joseph Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: St Augustine, FL
- Enrollment: 328 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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11 / 25#15. Trinity Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Enrollment: 1,569 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Joyseulay // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. Creekside High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: St. Johns County School District, FL
- Enrollment: 2,455 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
- School type: Public School
- Location: Duval County Public Schools, FL
- Enrollment: 1,068 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Bartram Trail High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: St. Johns County School District, FL
- Enrollment: 2,493 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. River City Science Academy Middle - High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Duval County Public Schools, FL
- Enrollment: 979 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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16 / 25#10. Fleming Island High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clay County School District, FL
- Enrollment: 1,889 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Darnell Cookman Middle/High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Duval County Public Schools, FL
- Enrollment: 1,003 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Bishop Kenny High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Enrollment: 1,400 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Providence School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Enrollment: 1,621 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Roman Kosolapov // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. St. Johns Country Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Orange Park, FL
- Enrollment: 467 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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21 / 25#5. Ponte Vedra High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: St. Johns County School District, FL
- Enrollment: 1,928 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
maroke // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Paxon School for Advanced Studies
- School type: Public School
- Location: Duval County Public Schools, FL
- Enrollment: 1,270 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Episcopal School of Jacksonville
- School type: Private School
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Enrollment: 1,015 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. The Bolles School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Enrollment: 1,030 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Stanton College Preparatory
- School type: Public School
- Location: Duval County Public Schools, FL
- Enrollment: 1,363 (17:1 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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