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1 / 25#25. Clay High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: South Bend Community School Corporation, IN
- Enrollment: 628 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
Best high schools in the South Bend 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 South Bend 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. Elkhart High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Elkhart Community Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 3,325 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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3 / 25#23. Jimtown High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Baugo Community Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 541 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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4 / 25#22. Mishawaka High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: School City Of Mishawaka, IN
- Enrollment: 1,488 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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5 / 25#21. Niles Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Niles Community Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 834 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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6 / 25#20. Granger Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Granger, IN
- Enrollment: 185 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Elkhart Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Elkhart, IN
- Enrollment: 531 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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8 / 25#18. Concord Community High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Concord Community Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 1,785 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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9 / 25#17. Buchanan High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Buchanan Community Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 522 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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10 / 25#16. Fairfield Junior/Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fairfield Community Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 861 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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11 / 25#15. Bremen Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Bremen Public Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 472 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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12 / 25#14. Goshen High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Goshen Community Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 2,004 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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13 / 25#13. Riley High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: South Bend Community School Corporation, IN
- Enrollment: 992 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Edwardsburg High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Edwardsburg Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 815 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Purdue Polytechnic High School South Bend
- School type: Public School
- Location: South Bend, IN
- Enrollment: 141 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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16 / 25#10. Brandywine Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Brandywine Community Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 363 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Career Academy High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: South Bend, IN
- Enrollment: 431 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Adams High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: South Bend Community School Corporation, IN
- Enrollment: 1,976 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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19 / 25#7. NorthWood High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Wa-Nee Community Schools, IN
- Enrollment: 917 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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20 / 25#6. Community Baptist Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: South Bend, IN
- Enrollment: 243 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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21 / 25#5. Bethany Christian Schools
- School type: Private School
- Location: Goshen, IN
- Enrollment: 276 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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22 / 25#4. Marian High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Mishawaka, IN
- Enrollment: 692 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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23 / 25#3. Saint Joseph High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: South Bend, IN
- Enrollment: 820 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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24 / 25#2. Penn High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, IN
- Enrollment: 3,624 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Trinity School at Greenlawn
- School type: Private School
- Location: South Bend, IN
- Enrollment: 227 (10:1 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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