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1 / 25#25. Magee High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Simpson County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 405 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
Best high schools in the Jackson 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 Jackson 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. Sumner Hill Junior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clinton Public School District, MS
- Enrollment: 467 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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3 / 25#23. Florence High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rankin County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 719 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Pelahatchie High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rankin County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 366 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
maroke // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Richland High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rankin County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 807 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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6 / 25#20. Puckett High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rankin County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 342 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
LBeddoe // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. McLaurin High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rankin County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 504 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Raymond High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hinds County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 570 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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9 / 25#17. Rosa Scott School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Madison County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 422 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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10 / 25#16. Ridgeland High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Madison County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 968 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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11 / 25#15. Pisgah High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rankin County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 435 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. The Piney Woods School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Piney Woods, MS
- Enrollment: 100 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Madison-Ridgeland Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Madison, MS
- Enrollment: 1,310 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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14 / 25#12. Clinton High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clinton Public School District, MS
- Enrollment: 1,226 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Brandon High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rankin County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 1,648 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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16 / 25#10. Clinton Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Clinton, MS
- Enrollment: 296 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Anna Jurkovska // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Northwest Rankin High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rankin County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 1,898 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Pearl High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Pearl Public School District, MS
- Enrollment: 1,262 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Germantown High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Madison County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 1,396 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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20 / 25#6. Madison Central High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Madison County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 1,246 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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21 / 25#5. Mt. Salus Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Clinton, MS
- Enrollment: 115 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. St. Joseph Catholic School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Madison, MS
- Enrollment: 382 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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23 / 25#3. Jackson Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Jackson, MS
- Enrollment: 1,260 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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24 / 25#2. Jackson Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Flowood, MS
- Enrollment: 886 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. St. Andrew's Episcopal School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Ridgeland, MS
- Enrollment: 1,026 (9:1 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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