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1 / 25#25. Incarnate Word Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 287 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Best high schools in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis 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. Parkway West High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Parkway School District, MO
- Enrollment: 1,436 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Achira22 // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Althoff Catholic College Preparatory High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Belleville, IL
- Enrollment: 322 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Nerinx Hall High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: St. Louis , MO
- Enrollment: 564 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Gateway Science Academy Fyler High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Gateway Science Academy of St. Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 490 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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6 / 25#20. Cor Jesu Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 530 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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7 / 25#19. Parkway Central High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Parkway School District, MO
- Enrollment: 1,244 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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8 / 25#18. Chaminade College Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: St. Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 861 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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9 / 25#17. St. Joseph's Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: St. Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 529 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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10 / 25#16. Metro High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Saint Louis Public Schools, MO
- Enrollment: 343 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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11 / 25#15. Kirkwood Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Kirkwood School District, MO
- Enrollment: 1,775 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. Marquette Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rockwood R-VI School District, MO
- Enrollment: 2,155 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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13 / 25#13. Governor French Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Belleville, IL
- Enrollment: 110 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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14 / 25#12. Lafayette High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rockwood R-VI School District, MO
- Enrollment: 1,682 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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15 / 25#11. St. Louis University High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: St. Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 1,011 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. Crossroads College Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 115 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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17 / 25#9. Principia School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 497 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Visitation Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 619 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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19 / 25#7. Saint Louis Priory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 291 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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20 / 25#6. Clayton High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: School District of Clayton, MO
- Enrollment: 844 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. The Whitfield School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 404 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Ladue Horton Watkins High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Ladue School District, MO
- Enrollment: 1,324 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Thomas Jefferson School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 75 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. MICDS - Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 1,250 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
maroke // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. John Burroughs School
- School type: Private School
- Location: St. Louis, MO
- Enrollment: 660 (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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