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1 / 25#25. Arlington High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Arlington Community Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 2,063 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Best high schools in the Memphis 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 Memphis 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. Crosstown High
- School type: Public School
- Location: Shelby County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 473 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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3 / 25#23. DeSoto Central High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: DeSoto County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 1,995 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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4 / 25#22. Margolin Hebrew Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 199 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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5 / 25#21. Olive Branch High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: DeSoto County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 1,117 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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6 / 25#20. Collegiate School of Memphis
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 365 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Evangelical Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cordova, TN
- Enrollment: 964 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Houston High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Germantown Municipal School District, TN
- Enrollment: 1,938 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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9 / 25#17. St. Benedict at Auburndale High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cordova, TN
- Enrollment: 464 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. First Assembly Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cordova, TN
- Enrollment: 480 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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11 / 25#15. Westminster Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 466 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
maroke // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. Briarcrest Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Eads, TN
- Enrollment: 1,754 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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13 / 25#13. Central Baptist School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 144 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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14 / 25#12. Collierville High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Collierville Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 2,836 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Lewisburg High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: DeSoto County School District, MS
- Enrollment: 1,275 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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16 / 25#10. White Station High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Shelby County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,840 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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17 / 25#9. Pleasant View School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 404 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Achira22 // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. St. Agnes Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 555 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Harding Academy of Memphis
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 696 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. St. George's Independent School - Collierville Campus
- School type: Private School
- Location: Collierville, TN
- Enrollment: 1,041 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. Christian Brothers High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 720 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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22 / 25#4. Memphis University School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 630 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Hutchison School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 816 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. St. Mary's Episcopal School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 825 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Lausanne Collegiate School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Enrollment: 917 (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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