4 Hudson County Public High Schools Make List Of Top 50 In Country

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — The magazine U.S. News & World Report has released its annual rankings on the best high schools, and as usual, several in North Jersey made the list.

While the 2025-2026 Best High School Rankings, released Tuesday, include public magnet schools, charter schools, and specialized STEM schools that students have to apply to, they also include regular public schools.

Nearly 24,000 public high schools were evaluated, and nearly 18,000 were ranked.

In Hudson County, these four schools made the cut:

39. High Tech High School (Countywide public high school located in Secaucus)

36. Jose Marti Stem Academy, Union City

19. Infinity Institute, Jersey City

4. Dr. Ronald E. McNair High School, Jersey City (Ranked 77th nationally)

The top five public high schools in New Jersey are:

Top 5 In NJ

1. High Technology High School, Lincroft (Monmouth County Vocational School District)
2. Bergen County Academies, Hackensack (Bergen County Vocational Technical School District)
3. Edison Academy Magnet School, Edison, (Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School District)
4. McNair High School,Jersey City, (Jersey City Public Schools)
5. Union County Magnet High School, Scotch Plains (Union County Vocational-Technical School District)

The 2025-2026 Best High Schools national rankings identified top public schools based on six performance indicators, including student achievement on state-required assessments, strong graduation rates, and college readiness measures.

Schools were evaluated on how effectively they serve all students, including underserved populations, with college readiness specifically measured, the magazine said.

Find out more about the rankings and see the full list here.