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An even dozen Long Island public school districts earned spots among the nation’s top 100 in Niche’s 2026 Best Schools and Districts rankings published Friday.
Syosset jumped three spots to claim the No. 2 ranking nationwide, while Roslyn soared 12 places from No. 15 to No. 3. East Williston, last year’s highest-ranked Long Island district, slipped from No. 4 to No. 26.
Half Hollow Hills (No. 9) and Jericho (No. 10) gave Long Island four districts in the top 10.
Niche’s annual report evaluates districts based on a combination of academic performance, teacher quality, graduation rates, college readiness, and feedback from students and parents. The rankings use publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education, along with state test scores and college data.
Scroll down to see the top 50 in New York state, as well as the top 100 in the U.S.
Long Island leads the way
Three Chicago-area school districts finished in the top five nationally. Glenbrook High School District 225 ranked No. 1 nationally. Rounding out the top five were New Trier Township High School District No. 203 at No. 4 and Township High School District No. 113 at No. 5.
Bethpage made a huge jump in the rankings, climbing from last year’s No. 52 ranking into the top 30 nationally at No. 29, reflecting strong gains in academics and parent/student satisfaction.
Long Island districts dominate the top 50 in New York state, with 18 Nassau County districts and eight Suffolk County districts represented. Last year, Long Island had 11 districts among the nation’s top 100, and 25 districts in the state’s top 50, indicating a modest gain and the consistency of Long Island’s performance.
Top 50 New York districts
Here are the 50 highest-ranked New York school districts in Niche’s 2026 analysis. The Long Island districts are marked with an asterisk.
| School District | County |
|---|---|
| 1. Syosset* | Nassau |
| 2. Roslyn* | Nassau |
| 3. Half Hollow Hills* | Suffolk |
| 4. Jericho* | Nassau |
| 5. Scarsdale | Westchester |
| 6. Great Neck* | Nassau |
| 7. Manhasset* | Nassau |
| 8. East Williston* | Nassau |
| 9. Bethpage* | Nassau |
| 10. Hewlett-Woodmere* | Nassau |
| 11. Herricks* | Nassau |
| 12. Chappaqua | Westchester |
| 13. Briarcliff Manor | Westchester |
| 14. Bellmore-Merrick* | Nassau |
| 15. Pittsford Central | Monroe |
| 16. Three Village* | Suffolk |
| 17. Pelham | Westchester |
| 18. Plainview-Old Bethpage* | Nassau |
| 19. Edgemont | Westchester |
| 20. Brighton | Monroe |
| 21. Rye City | Westchester |
| 22. Fayetteville-Manlius | Onondaga |
| 23. North Shore* | Nassau |
| 24. Mamaroneck | Westchester |
| 25. Ardsley | Westchester |
| School District | County |
|---|---|
| 26. Cold Spring Harbor* | Suffolk |
| 27. Harborfields* | Suffolk |
| 28. Lynbrook* | Nassau |
| 29. Harrison | Westchester |
| 30. Byram Hills | Westchester |
| 31. Port Washington* | Nassau |
| 32. South Orangetown | Rockland |
| 33. Garden City* | Nassau |
| 34. Williamsville | Erie |
| 35. New York City Geographic District No. 13 | Kings |
| 36. East Meadow* | Nassau |
| 37. Rye Neck | Westchester |
| 38. Mount Sinai* | Suffolk |
| 39. Skaneateles | Onondaga |
| 40. Blind Brook-Rye | Westchester |
| 41. Oyster Bay-East Norwich* | Nassau |
| 42. Bethlehem | Albany |
| 43. Island Trees* | Nassau |
| 44. Elwood* | Suffolk |
| 45. North Colonie | Albany |
| 46. Westhampton Beach* | Suffolk |
| 47. Katonah-Lewisboro* | Westchester |
| 48. Yorktown | Westchester |
| 49. Nanuet | Rockland |
| 50. Commack* | Suffolk |
Top 100 in America
Here are the 100 districts that earned top rankings in Niche’s 2026 analysis of America’s best school districts. The districts located on Long Island are marked with an asterisk.
| School District | State |
|---|---|
| 1. Glenbrook HS District 225 | Illinois |
| 2. Syosset* | New York |
| 3. Roslyn* | New York |
| 4. New Trier Township HS District 203 | Illinois |
| 5. Township HS District 113 | Illinois |
| 6. Community HS District 128 | Illinois |
| 7. La Canada | California |
| 8. Hinsdale 86 | Illinois |
| 9. Half Hollow Hills* | New York |
| 10. Jericho* | New York |
| 11. Eanes | Texas |
| 12. Mountain View-Los Altos | California |
| 13. Novi | Michigan |
| 14. Ladue | Missouri |
| 15. Scarsdale | New York |
| 16. Buford | Georgia |
| 17. San Dieguito | California |
| 18. Radnor | Pennsylvania |
| 19. Westport | Connecticut |
| 20. Great Neck* | New York |
| 21. Manhasset* | New York |
| 22. Township HS District 211 | Illinois |
| 23. Palo Alto | California |
| 24. Los Gatos-Saratoga | California |
| 25. North Allegheny | Pennsylvania |
| School District | State |
|---|---|
| 26. East Williston* | New York |
| 27. Northville | Michigan |
| 28. New Canaan | Connecticut |
| 29. Bethpage* | New York |
| 30. Northern Valley Regional | New Jersey |
| 31. Public Schools of Brookline | Massachusetts |
| 32. Wayzata | Minnesota |
| 33. Niles Township Community No. 219 | Illinois |
| 34. Hewlett-Woodmere* | New York |
| 35. ISU Laboratory | Illinois |
| 36. Indian Prairie Community Unit No. 204 | Illinois |
| 37. Tredyffrin-Easttown | Pennsylvania |
| 38. Barrington Community Unit No. 220 | Illinois |
| 39. West Lafayette Community Corporation | Indiana |
| 40. Herricks* | New York |
| 41. Mariemont City | Ohio |
| 42. Clayton | Missouri |
| 43. San Marino Unified | California |
| 44. Chappaqua Central | New York |
| 45. Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified | California |
| 46. Homewood City | Alabama |
| 47. Mason City | Ohio |
| 48. South Pasadena Unified | California |
| 49. Minnetonka | Minnesota |
| 50. Fremont Union | California |
| School District | State |
|---|---|
| 51. Naperville Community Unit No. 203 | Illinois |
| 52. Redondo Beach Unified | California |
| 53. Township HS District No. 214 | Illinois |
| 54. Piedmont City Unified | California |
| 55. Solon City | Ohio |
| 56. Arcadia Unified | California |
| 57. West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional | New Jersey |
| 58. Acalanes Union | California |
| 59. South Texas Independent | Texas |
| 60. Troy | Michigan |
| 61. Weston | Massachusetts |
| 62. Carroll Independent | Texas |
| 63. Blue Valley Unified | Kansas |
| 64. Briarcliff Manor Union Free | New York |
| 65. Carmel Unified | California |
| 66. Carmel Clay | Indiana |
| 67. Bellmore-Merrick* | New York |
| 68. Mt. Lebanon | Pennsylvania |
| 69. Fox Chapel Area | Pennsylvania |
| 70. San Mateo Union | California |
| 71. Lexington | Massachusetts |
| 72. Darien | Connecticut |
| 73. Hopkinton | Massachusetts |
| 74. Northern Utah Academy for Math Engineering & Science (NUAMES) | Utah |
| 75. Elmbrook | Wisconsin |
| School District | State |
|---|---|
| 76. Grapevine-Colleyville Independent | Texas |
| 77. Lower Merion | Pennsylvania |
| 78. Tamalpais Union | California |
| 79. Coppell Independent | Texas |
| 80. Community HS District No. 155 | Illinois |
| 81. Tenafly Public | New Jersey |
| 82. Ridgewood Public | New Jersey |
| 83. Pleasanton Unified | California |
| 84. Pittsford Central | New York |
| 85. Vestavia Hills City | Alabama |
| 86. Oak Park Unified | California |
| 87. Auburn City | Alabama |
| 88. Wilton | Connecticut |
| 89. Madison City | Alabama |
| 90. Dover-Sherborn Regional | Massachusetts |
| 91. Fort Mill | South Carolina |
| 92. Three Village* | New York |
| 93. Mountain Lakes | New Jersey |
| 94. Pelham | New York |
| 95. Belmont | Massachusetts |
| 96. Grayslake Community No. 127 | Illinois |
| 97. Elmhurst No. 205 | Illinois |
| 98. Princeton | New Jersey |
| 99. Lincoln-Way Community No. 210 | Illinois |
| 100. Greenwich | Connecticut |
Top: Elementary school students in Bethpage during a festive event honoring first responders in June (Facebook).
