Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. Legacy Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Xenia, OH
- Enrollment: 449 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Best high schools in the Dayton 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 Dayton 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. Brookville High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Brookville Local School District, OH
- Enrollment: 418 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Yellow Springs High School & McKinney Middle School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Yellow Springs Exempted Village School District, OH
- Enrollment: 353 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Waynesville High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Wayne Local School District, OH
- Enrollment: 465 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Springboro High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Springboro Community City School District, OH
- Enrollment: 1,954 (29:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
6 / 25#20. Stivers School for the Arts
- School type: Public School
- Location: Dayton Public School District, OH
- Enrollment: 787 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Troy High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Troy City School District, OH
- Enrollment: 1,183 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Roman Kosolapov // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Northmont High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Northmont City School District, OH
- Enrollment: 1,392 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Joyseulay // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Dayton Early College Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Dayton, OH
- Enrollment: 336 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
LBeddoe // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. Kettering Fairmont High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Kettering City School District, OH
- Enrollment: 2,486 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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Ground Picture // Shutterstock
11 / 25#15. East Dayton Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Dayton, OH
- Enrollment: 358 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. Beavercreek High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Beavercreek City School District, OH
- Enrollment: 1,637 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Studio KIWI // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Archbishop Carroll High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Dayton, OH
- Enrollment: 697 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
maroke // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Tippecanoe High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Tipp City Schools, OH
- Enrollment: 752 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Bethel Baptist School
- School type: Private School
- Location: West Carrollton, OH
- Enrollment: 46 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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LightField Studios // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. The CinDay Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Springboro, OH
- Enrollment: 219 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
maroke // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Dominion Academy of Dayton
- School type: Private School
- Location: Dayton, OH
- Enrollment: 106 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Spring Valley Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Dayton, OH
- Enrollment: 556 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Bellbrook High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Local School District, OH
- Enrollment: 863 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Archbishop Alter High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Kettering, OH
- Enrollment: 504 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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panitanphoto // Shutterstock
21 / 25#5. Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Dayton, OH
- Enrollment: 701 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Achira22 // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Centerville High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Centerville City School District, OH
- Enrollment: 2,755 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
sirtravelalot // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Oakwood High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Oakwood Schools, OH
- Enrollment: 683 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Dayton Regional STEM School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Kettering, OH
- Enrollment: 761 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. The Miami Valley School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Dayton, OH
- Enrollment: 498 (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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