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1 / 25#25. Penn Trafford High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Penn-Trafford School District, PA
- Enrollment: 1,263 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Best high schools in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh 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. Moon Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Moon Area School District, PA
- Enrollment: 1,218 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Trinity Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Enrollment: 440 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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4 / 25#22. Bishop Canevin High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Enrollment: 200 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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5 / 25#21. North Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cranberry Township, PA
- Enrollment: 202 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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6 / 25#20. Allderdice High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Pittsburgh Public Schools, PA
- Enrollment: 1,362 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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7 / 25#19. Aquinas Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Gibsonia, PA
- Enrollment: 557 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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8 / 25#18. Seton LaSalle Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Mt. Lebanon, PA
- Enrollment: 481 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Roman Kosolapov // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Quaker Valley High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Quaker Valley School District, PA
- Enrollment: 581 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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10 / 25#16. Hampton High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hampton Township School District, PA
- Enrollment: 900 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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11 / 25#15. Oakland Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Enrollment: 385 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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12 / 25#14. Pine-Richland High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Pine-Richland School District, PA
- Enrollment: 1,413 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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13 / 25#13. The University School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Enrollment: 42 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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14 / 25#12. Franklin Regional Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Franklin Regional School District, PA
- Enrollment: 1,119 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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15 / 25#11. Peters Township High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Peters Township School District, PA
- Enrollment: 1,226 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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16 / 25#10. Central Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Enrollment: 701 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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17 / 25#9. South Fayette Township High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: South Fayette Township School District, PA
- Enrollment: 1,074 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Fox Chapel Area High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fox Chapel Area School District, PA
- Enrollment: 1,283 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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19 / 25#7. Upper St. Clair High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Upper St. Clair School District, PA
- Enrollment: 1,288 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Mt. Lebanon Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Mt. Lebanon School District, PA
- Enrollment: 1,840 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. Sewickley Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Sewickley, PA
- Enrollment: 493 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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22 / 25#4. North Allegheny High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: North Allegheny School District, PA
- Enrollment: 2,666 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. The Ellis School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Enrollment: 409 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. Winchester Thurston School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Enrollment: 641 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. Shady Side Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Enrollment: 1,260 (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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