Princeton High School Lands On ‘Best Schools’ List From U.S. News & World Report

PRINCETON, NJ — U.S. News & World Report has released its latest rankings on the “best high schools” in the nation, and Princeton High School was rated among the top in New Jersey.

The 2025-2026 Best High School Rankings, released Tuesday, includes specialized STEM and charter rankings alongside the traditional state, district, and metro area categories.

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

Princeton High School ranked 55th within New Jersey and 1,192nd across the country.

The school, with an enrollment of 1,532 students in grades 9 to 12, boasts a graduation rate of 92 percent, which is somewhat below the state median. The student-teacher ratio was 12:1.

The AP participation rate at Princeton High School is 68 percent. The total minority enrollment is 54 percent, with 10 percent of students coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Here’s how other schools in Mercer County ranked:

• West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North: Ranked 17th within New Jersey and 347 in the U.S.
• West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South: Ranked 21st within New Jersey and 431 in the U.S.
• Robbinsville High School: Ranked 78th within New Jersey and 1,562nd in the U.S.
• Hopewell Valley Central High School: Ranked 81st within New Jersey and 1,586 in the U.S.
• Lawrence High School: Ranked 127th within New Jersey and 2,700th in the U.S.
• Hightstown High School: Ranked 186th within New Jersey and 5,394th in the U.S.
• Ewing High School: Ranked 296th within New Jersey and 10,189th in the U.S.
• Hamilton East – Steinert: Ranked 242nd within New Jersey and 7,657th in the U.S.
• Hamilton West-Watson: Ranked 314th within New Jersey and 11,119th in the U.S.
• Hamilton North-Nottingham: Ranked 319th within New Jersey and 11,416th in the U.S.
• Trenton Central High School - Main Campus: Unranked

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

Schools are evaluated on how effectively they serve all students, including underserved populations, with college readiness specifically measured through student participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

The rankings consider curriculum breadth and overall student outcomes as well. U.S. News worked with RTI International, a global research firm, to implement the comprehensive ranking methodology, using the most current data from the 2022-2023 school year.

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