NEW JERSEY — New Jersey continues to stand out nationally for the strength of its public schools, with several specialized high schools earning places among the best in the United States.
Leading the state is High Technology High School in Lincroft, ranked No. 28 nationally and also recognized as the No. 1 STEM high school in the country.
The rest of New Jersey’s top 10 includes some of the state’s best-known magnet, vocational and specialized academies:
- High Technology High School, Lincroft — No. 28 nationally
- Edison Academy Magnet School, Edison — No. 40
- Union County Magnet High School, Scotch Plains — No. 59
- Biotechnology High School, Freehold — No. 72
- Woodbridge Academy Magnet School, Woodbridge — No. 75
- Bergen County Academies, Hackensack — No. 78
- Academy for Information Technology, Scotch Plains — No. 83
- Bergen County Technical High School – Teterboro, Teterboro — No. 84
- Dr. Ronald E. McNair High School, Jersey City — No. 114
- Academy for Allied Health Sciences, Scotch Plains — No. 126
The rankings also highlight a broader strength of New Jersey’s education system. About 44% of New Jersey high schools rank within the top quarter nationally, placing the state second only to Massachusetts, at 47%.
One pattern is especially clear: many of New Jersey’s highest-ranked schools are not traditional neighborhood high schools. They are competitive magnet, vocational and STEM-focused schools designed around specialized academic programs.
For families across the state, the rankings offer another reminder that some of the country’s strongest public-school opportunities can be found right here in New Jersey.
Bergen County’s Top 30
According to the new U.S. News rankings, these are the 30 highest-ranked public high schools in Bergen County:
- Bergen County Academies, Hackensack — No. 6 in NJ; No. 78 nationally
- Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro — No. 8 in NJ; No. 84 nationally
- Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest — No. 18 in NJ; No. 346 nationally
- Tenafly High School — No. 23 in NJ; No. 389 nationally
- Northern Highlands Regional High School, Allendale — No. 35 in NJ; No. 575 nationally
- Glen Rock High School — No. 39 in NJ; No. 644 nationally
- Ridgewood High School — No. 43 in NJ; No. 721 nationally
- Ramsey High School — No. 45 in NJ; No. 760 nationally
- Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan — No. 47 in NJ; No. 783 nationally
- River Dell Regional High School, Oradell — No. 55 in NJ; No. 980 nationally
- Leonia High School — No. 62 in NJ; No. 1,133 nationally
- Pascack Hills High School, Montvale — No. 71 in NJ; No. 1,275 nationally
- Midland Park Jr./Sr. High School — No. 78 in NJ; No. 1,407 nationally
- Mahwah High School — No. 80 in NJ; No. 1,435 nationally
- Bergenfield High School — No. 82 in NJ; No. 1,480 nationally
- Bergen Arts and Sciences Charter School, Garfield — No. 94 in NJ; No. 1,790 nationally
- Dumont High School — No. 95 in NJ; No. 1,820 nationally
- Rutherford High School — No. 96 in NJ; No. 1,826 nationally
- Park Ridge High School — No. 97 in NJ; No. 1,831 nationally
- Ramapo High School, Franklin Lakes — No. 129 in NJ; No. 2,784 nationally
- Waldwick High School — No. 131 in NJ; No. 2,889 nationally
- Ridgefield Memorial High School — No. 135 in NJ; No. 3,007 nationally
- Ridgefield Park Junior Senior High School — No. 149 in NJ; No. 3,531 nationally
- New Milford High School — No. 152 in NJ; No. 3,553 nationally
- Lyndhurst High School — No. 153 in NJ; No. 3,589 nationally
- Bogota Jr./Sr. High School — No. 162 in NJ; No. 3,763 nationally
- Dwight Morrow High School/Academies at Englewood — No. 170 in NJ; No. 4,100 nationally
- Wallington Junior Senior High School — No. 175 in NJ; No. 4,204 nationally
- Lodi High School — No. 181 in NJ; No. 4,367 nationally
- Hasbrouck Heights High School — No. 183 in NJ; No. 4,475 nationally.
Some Familiar Bergen County Names Are Missing
The list is also interesting because of the schools that do not appear among the county’s top 30.
Fort Lee High School, Teaneck High School and several other well-known Bergen County schools did not make this particular top-30 cut.
That does not mean those schools are necessarily “bad schools.” Rankings measure specific things, and different ranking systems can produce very different results.
Still, for parents who closely follow school performance — particularly in a county where the quality of a school district can influence everything from where families choose to live to home prices — being inside or outside the top 30 is likely to get attention.
What Does U.S. News Actually Measure?
The ranking is not based on a single test score.
U.S. News weighs schools using six areas. College readiness carries the largest share at 30 percent. State assessment proficiency and state assessment performance account for 20 percent each. Performance among underserved students, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates each account for another 10 percent.
The data includes AP and IB information from the College Board and International Baccalaureate, state assessment and graduation data, and information from the U.S. Department of Education.
That helps explain why a school with a very high graduation rate may still rank below another school: graduation is only one part of the formula.
For example, Hasbrouck Heights High School has a 98 percent graduation rate, but its college readiness score is 24.5. Bergen County Academies also has a 99 percent graduation rate, but its college readiness score is 97.4. The difference illustrates just how heavily advanced coursework and preparation for college can influence the final ranking.
Bergen County’s Top Schools Are Competing Nationally
Perhaps the biggest takeaway is not simply who finished first in Bergen County.
It is that two local public schools are competing at a national level.
Bergen County Academies at No. 78 and Bergen County Technical High School at No. 84 place Bergen County in a relatively small group of communities with multiple schools among America’s top 100.
Across New Jersey, Bergen County Academies ranked sixth and Bergen County Technical ranked eighth. Northern Valley Regional at Demarest came in at No. 18, while Tenafly High School placed No. 23.
Nationwide, Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, took the No. 1 position, followed by Signature School in Indiana and Julia R. Masterman Secondary School in Philadelphia.
A Ranking Is Useful — But It Is Not the Whole Story
Lists like this are easy to read as a scoreboard: No. 1 is best, No. 30 is worse and everyone outside the list lost.
Schools are more complicated than that.
A ranking cannot fully capture the relationship between a student and a teacher, whether a child feels safe and supported, the strength of special education services, school culture, extracurricular opportunities or whether a particular student simply thrives there.
But rankings can reveal something else: measurable differences in academic outcomes and access to advanced coursework.
And in Bergen County, where neighboring towns can have dramatically different school systems despite being only a few miles apart, those differences are worth watching.
For now, one thing is clear from the newest numbers: Bergen County has two public high schools among the top 100 in America — and a remarkably competitive group fighting for the rest of the county’s top spots.
Sources: U.S. News & World Report 2026–27 Best High Schools rankings; Daily Voice Bergen County
By NJ RADAR Team