Best high schools in the Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids 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. Zeeland East High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Zeeland Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 973 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#24. Grand Haven High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Grand Haven Area Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 1,732 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#23. Hudsonville High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Hudsonville Public School District, MI
- Enrollment: 1,513 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#22. North Muskegon High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: North Muskegon Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 335 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#21. East Kentwood High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Kentwood Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 2,010 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#20. Wellspring Preparatory High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
- Enrollment: 282 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#19. The Potter's House High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Wyoming, MI
- Enrollment: 271 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#18. Zeeland West High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Zeeland Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 976 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#17. Mona Shores High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Mona Shores Public School District, MI
- Enrollment: 1,268 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#16. Grand River Preparatory High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Kentwood, MI
- Enrollment: 635 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#15. Catholic Central High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
- Enrollment: 565 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#14. West Michigan Lutheran High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Wyoming, MI
- Enrollment: 21 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#13. Spring Lake High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Spring Lake Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 788 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#12. Byron Center High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Byron Center Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 1,339 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#11. Grand Rapids Christian High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
- Enrollment: 786 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#10. West Ottawa High School Campus

- School type: Public School
- Location: West Ottawa Public School District, MI
- Enrollment: 2,211 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#9. Muskegon Catholic Central School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Muskegon, MI
- Enrollment: 315 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#8. Grandville High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Grandville Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 1,767 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#7. Eastern High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Forest Hills Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 802 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#6. Northern High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Forest Hills Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 1,134 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#5. Central High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Forest Hills Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 1,053 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#4. East Grand Rapids High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: East Grand Rapids Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 914 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#3. Black River Public School Middle/High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Black River Public School, MI
- Enrollment: 546 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#2. West Michigan Aviation Academy

- School type: Public School
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
- Enrollment: 605 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A