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1 / 25#25. Round Rock Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Round Rock, TX
- Enrollment: 711 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Best high schools in the Austin 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 Austin 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. Lake Travis High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Lake Travis Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 3,701 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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3 / 25#23. Vista Ridge High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Leander Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 2,646 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Cedar Park High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Leander Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 1,952 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. San Marcos Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Marcos, TX
- Enrollment: 318 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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6 / 25#20. Brentwood Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 679 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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7 / 25#19. Hill Country Christian School of Austin
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 602 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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8 / 25#18. Austin Tennis Academy College Prep
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 38 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Regents School of Austin
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 1,079 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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10 / 25#16. Austin Waldorf School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 415 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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11 / 25#15. St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 414 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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12 / 25#14. Round Rock High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Round Rock Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 3,773 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Hyde Park Schools
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 808 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Studio KIWI // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Chaparral Star Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 372 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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15 / 25#11. Meridian World School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Round Rock, TX
- Enrollment: 1,679 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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16 / 25#10. Headwaters School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 500 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Vandegrift High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Leander Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 2,658 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. St. Michael's Catholic Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 918 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Westwood High IB World School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Round Rock Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 2,820 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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20 / 25#6. Griffin School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 160 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. Westlake High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Eanes Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 2,825 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Achira22 // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Liberal Arts & Science Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Austin Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 1,432 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. St. Andrew's Episcopal School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 989 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Austin Peace Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 338 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. St. Stephen's Episcopal School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Austin, TX
- Enrollment: 712 (8:1 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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