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1 / 25#25. Madeira High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Madeira City School District, OH
- Enrollment: 444 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Best high schools in the Cincinnati 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 Cincinnati 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. Anderson High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Forest Hills Local School District, OH
- Enrollment: 1,215 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. McNicholas High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 663 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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4 / 25#22. Roger Bacon High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 540 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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5 / 25#21. Highlands High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fort Thomas Independent Schools, KY
- Enrollment: 1,015 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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6 / 25#20. Turpin High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Forest Hills Local School District, OH
- Enrollment: 1,061 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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7 / 25#19. Beechwood High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Beechwood Independent Schools, KY
- Enrollment: 727 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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8 / 25#18. Liberty Bible Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Mason, OH
- Enrollment: 277 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
maroke // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 1,352 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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10 / 25#16. Villa Madonna Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Villa Hills, KY
- Enrollment: 481 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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11 / 25#15. Saint Ursula Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 637 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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12 / 25#14. Archbishop Moeller High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 916 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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13 / 25#13. Covington Latin School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Covington, KY
- Enrollment: 201 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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14 / 25#12. Ursuline Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 492 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Mariemont High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Mariemont City Schools, OH
- Enrollment: 448 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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16 / 25#10. Wyoming High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Wyoming City Schools, OH
- Enrollment: 600 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Sycamore High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Sycamore Community School District, OH
- Enrollment: 1,639 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Walnut Hills High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Cincinnati City School District, OH
- Enrollment: 2,582 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. St. Xavier High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 1,365 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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20 / 25#6. William Mason High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Mason City School District, OH
- Enrollment: 3,414 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. The Schilling School for Gifted Children
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 50 (3:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Indian Hill High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, OH
- Enrollment: 662 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. The Summit Country Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 1,076 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Cincinnati Country Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 855 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. The Seven Hills School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
- Enrollment: 1,033 (5:1 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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