Roman Kosolapov // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. North High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Des Moines Independent Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,458 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: C+
Best high schools in the Des Moines 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 Des Moines 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.
You may also like: Des Moines' 2025 housing market year in review
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
2 / 25#24. Colfax-Mingo High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Colfax-Mingo Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 333 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: C+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Carlisle High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Carlisle Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 743 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
Daniel Hoz // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Indianola High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Indianola Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,120 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Bondurant-Farrar High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Bondurant-Farrar Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 761 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
You may also like: Highest-rated restaurants for tacos in the Des Moines area by diners
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
6 / 25#20. Roosevelt High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Des Moines Independent Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,986 (30:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Southeast Polk High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Southeast Polk Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 2,353 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
sirtravelalot // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Urbandale High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Urbandale Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,347 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Norwalk Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Norwalk Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,035 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. ADM Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Adel DeSoto Minburn Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 651 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
You may also like: Highest-rated Tex-Mex restaurants in Des Moines by diners
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
11 / 25#15. Valley Southwoods Freshman High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: West Des Moines Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 687 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Joyseulay // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. Joshua Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Des Moines, IA
- Enrollment: 197 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Northwest High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Waukee Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,427 (not available student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Ankeny Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Ankeny, IA
- Enrollment: 476 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Des Moines Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Urbandale, IA
- Enrollment: 1,096 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
You may also like: Highest-rated restaurants with outdoor seating in Des Moines by diners
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. North Polk High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: North Polk Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 647 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Dallas Center - Grimes High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 978 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Anna Jurkovska // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Van Meter Junior/Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Van Meter Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 292 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Grand View Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Des Moines, IA
- Enrollment: 270 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
maroke // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Johnston Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Johnston Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,790 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
You may also like: Cities with the fastest-growing home prices in the Des Moines metro area
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
21 / 25#5. Waukee Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Waukee Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,268 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Studio KIWI // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Valley High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: West Des Moines Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 2,058 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
maroke // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Ankeny Centennial High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Ankeny Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,443 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Ankeny High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Ankeny Community School District, IA
- Enrollment: 1,347 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LBeddoe // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Dowling Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: West Des Moines, IA
- Enrollment: 1,391 (14:1 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.
You may also like: Where people in Des Moines are looking to buy homes
