Best high schools in the Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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. Grand Island Senior High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Grand Island Central School District, NY
- Enrollment: 868 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#24. Mount St. Mary Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Kenmore, NY
- Enrollment: 246 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#23. Depew High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Depew Union Free School District, NY
- Enrollment: 545 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#22. P.S. 304 - Hutchinson Central Technical High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Buffalo Public Schools, NY
- Enrollment: 1,175 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#21. Lancaster High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Lancaster Central School District, NY
- Enrollment: 1,652 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#20. Williamsville South High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Williamsville Central School District, NY
- Enrollment: 857 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#19. Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Buffalo, NY
- Enrollment: 307 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#18. Orchard Park High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Orchard Park Central School District, NY
- Enrollment: 1,385 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#17. P.S. 156 - Frederick Law Olmsted

- School type: Public School
- Location: Buffalo Public Schools, NY
- Enrollment: 904 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#16. Amherst Central High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Amherst Central School District, NY
- Enrollment: 870 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#15. Cleveland Hill High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Cleveland Hill Union Free School District, NY
- Enrollment: 385 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#14. P.S. 212 - Leonardo da Vinci High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Buffalo Public Schools, NY
- Enrollment: 372 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#13. East Aurora High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: East Aurora Union Free School District, NY
- Enrollment: 528 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#12. Christian Central Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Williamsville, NY
- Enrollment: 260 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#11. Clarence Senior High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Clarence Central School District, NY
- Enrollment: 1,284 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#10. St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute

- School type: Private School
- Location: Buffalo, NY
- Enrollment: 644 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#9. Williamsville North High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Williamsville Central School District, NY
- Enrollment: 1,321 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#8. Nardin Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Buffalo, NY
- Enrollment: 717 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#7. Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart

- School type: Private School
- Location: Buffalo, NY
- Enrollment: 365 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#6. P.S. 195 - City Honors School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Buffalo Public Schools, NY
- Enrollment: 1,080 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#5. Canisius High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Buffalo, NY
- Enrollment: 600 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#4. The Park School of Buffalo

- School type: Private School
- Location: Amherst, NY
- Enrollment: 345 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#3. Williamsville East High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Williamsville Central School District, NY
- Enrollment: 981 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#2. Nichols School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Buffalo, NY
- Enrollment: 596 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+