These Are Best School Districts In Baltimore, DC Areas, New Ranking Says

One of the most important considerations of Baltimore-area parents when choosing a place to live is the quality of the school district.

According to the 2026 Best School Districts in America list recently released by the education ranking service Niche, the best school district in the Baltimore area is Howard County Public Schools.

Howard County schools, which are also ranked the best in Maryland, according to Niche, received an overall A grade.

“My entire educational life has been with the Howard County Public School System, and I feel that it is truly a very strong, well-rounded school system that is striving to improve itself and help its students succeed,” one student wrote. “I appreciate the efforts the county has been making towards more diverse schools and the attention given to special needs students.”

Other school districts in the Baltimore area that were included in Niche’s ranking were:

No. 2: Harford County Public Schools (A-)
No. 3: Anne Arundel County Schools (B+)
No. 4: Baltimore County Public Schools (B)
No. 5: Baltimore City Public Schools (C+)

Montgomery County Public Schools were not ranked among Baltimore-area districts. Instead, Niche ranked the district with Washington, D.C. area schools, where the district came in at No. 4 with an overall A grade.

And, Prince George's County Public Schools were also noted on the DC list, with a C grade overall.

Niche said its rankings, now in their 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.

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