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1 / 25#25. Center Grove High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Center Grove Community School Corporation, IN
- Enrollment: 2,851 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Best high schools in the Indianapolis 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 Indianapolis 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. Colonial Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 253 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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3 / 25#23. Indiana Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cicero, IN
- Enrollment: 97 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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4 / 25#22. Plainfield High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Plainfield Community School Corporation, IN
- Enrollment: 1,782 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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5 / 25#21. Ben Davis University High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township, IN
- Enrollment: 358 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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6 / 25#20. Cardinal Ritter High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 607 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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7 / 25#19. Bishop Chatard High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 772 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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8 / 25#18. Cornerstone Baptist Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 75 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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9 / 25#17. Brownsburg High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Brownsburg Community School Corporation, IN
- Enrollment: 3,177 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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10 / 25#16. Avon High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Avon Community School Corporation, IN
- Enrollment: 3,348 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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11 / 25#15. St. Theodore Guerin High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Noblesville, IN
- Enrollment: 743 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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12 / 25#14. Hamilton Southeastern High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hamilton Southeastern School District, IN
- Enrollment: 3,450 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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13 / 25#13. MTI School of Knowledge
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 313 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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14 / 25#12. Speedway Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: School Town of Speedway, IN
- Enrollment: 565 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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15 / 25#11. Fishers High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hamilton Southeastern School District, IN
- Enrollment: 3,674 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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16 / 25#10. Herron High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 995 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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17 / 25#9. Westfield High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Westfield-Washington Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 2,665 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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18 / 25#8. University High School of Indiana
- School type: Private School
- Location: Carmel, IN
- Enrollment: 354 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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19 / 25#7. Zionsville Community High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Zionsville Community Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 2,255 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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20 / 25#6. Carmel High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Carmel Clay Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 5,192 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. Cathedral High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 1,170 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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22 / 25#4. Eman Schools
- School type: Private School
- Location: Fishers, IN
- Enrollment: 399 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 841 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. Park Tudor School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 950 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. International School of Indiana
- School type: Private School
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Enrollment: 521 (6:1 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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