MD's Best Public High Schools Ranked In New Analysis

Several Maryland schools are among the best public high schools in the country, according to a Monday report released by Niche.

The 2026 Best Public High Schools in America ranking evaluates more than 93,000 public high schools nationwide.

Niche said its rankings, now in the 11th year, differ from others that rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance in that it also includes input from students, alumni and parents, as well as quantitative data from sources such as the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities.

Maryland’s top 50 public high schools are:

1. Poolesville High School (ranked No. 30 nationwide)
2. Winston Churchill High School, Potomac (ranked No. 71 nationwide)
3. River Hill High School, Columbia (ranked No. 72 nationwide)
4. Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda (ranked No. 80 nationwide)
5. Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville
6. Richard Montgomery High School, Rockville
7. Walter Johnson High School, North Bethesda
8. Thomas S. Wootton High School, Rockville
9. Centennial High School, Ellicott City
10. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Bethesda
11. Eastern Technical High School, Essex
12. Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring
13. Mount Hebron High School, Ellicott City
14. Northwest High School, Germantown
15. Urbana High School, Ijamsville
16. Maryland Academy of Health Sciences at Prince George's Community College, Largo
17. Maryland Western School of Technology & Environmental Science, Catonsville
18. Glenelg High School
19. Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore
20. Atholton High School, Baltimore
21. Severna Park High School
22. Quince Orchard High School, Gaithersburg
23. George W. Carver Center for Arts & Technology, Towson
24. Clarksburg High School
25. Howard High School, Ellicott City
26. Reservoir High School, Ellicott City
27. Crofton High School
28. Sherwood High School, Ashton-Sandy Spring
29. Towson High School
30. Hereford High School, Parkton
31. Broadneck High School, Arnold and Cape St. Claire
32. Damascus High School
33. Dulaney High School, Timonium
34. Oakdale High School, Ijamsville
35. Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt
36. North Point High School, Waldorf
37. Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School, Hanover
38. Century High School, Sykesville
39. Rockville High School
40. South River High School, Edgewater
41. Wheaton High School, Wheaton-Glenmont
42. Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, Hagerstown
43. James Hubert Blake High School, Cloverly
44. Huntingtown High School
45. Northern High School, Owings
46. Bel Air High School
47. Liberty High School, Eldersburg
48. Wilde Lake High School
49. Col. Zadok Magruder, Rockville
50. Arundel High School, Gambrills

According to Niche, the top five public high schools in America are:

1. North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
2. The Davidson Academy (Nevada)
3. Massachusetts Academy for Math & Science
4. South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics
5. Stuyvesant High School (New York)

“Choosing the right school is one of the most important decisions a family can make," Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche, said in a news release. “Our K-12 rankings bring together rigorous data and real experiences from students, parents and educators. This gives families the clarity to choose schools where their children can succeed academically, thrive socially, and build a strong foundation for their future.”