New Hampshire · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best Public Schools in New Hampshire

Top 50 schools ranked by resource quality score, based on student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

Compiled from official source data by .
66/100
Top score
B-
Top grade
55/100
Avg score (top 50)
50
Schools ranked

The ranking in one line

Holderness Central School in Holderness is New Hampshire's top-resourced public school, scoring 66/100 on the NCES resource index.

66/100
top score (grade B-)
2
schools at the top grade (B-)
55/100
average across the top 50
# School GradeScore
1 Holderness Central School Holderness B- 66
2 Sunapee Sr. High School Sunapee B- 65
3 Hanover High School Hanover C+ 64
4 Hampstead Middle School Hampstead C+ 62
5 Sunapee Middle High School Sunapee C+ 62
6 Kensington Elementary School Kensington C+ 61
7 Merrimack High School Merrimack C+ 60
8 Sunapee Central School Sunapee C 59
9 Hopkinton Middle School Contoocook C 59
10 Mckelvie Intermediate School Bedford C 58
11 Frances C. Richmond School Hanover C 58
12 Milton Elementary School Milton C 56
13 East Kingston Elementary School East Kingston C 56
14 Gilbert H. Hood Middle School Derry C 55
15 Academy for Science and Design Charter (M) Nashua C 55
16 Mildred C. Lakeway School Littleton C 55
17 Newmarket Jr.-Sr. High (Elem) Newmarket C 55
18 Rye Elementary School Rye C 55
19 Lincoln Akerman School Hampton Falls C 55
20 Lyme Elementary School Lyme C 55
21 Plainfield Elementary School Meriden C 55
22 Westmoreland School Westmoreland C 55
23 Newfields Elementary School Newfields C 55
24 Cooperative Middle School Stratham C- 54
25 Hopkinton High School Contoocook C- 54
26 Newmarket Jr.-Sr. High School Newmarket C- 54
27 Bartlett Elementary School Manchester C- 54
28 Mason Elementary School Mason C- 54
29 Rye Junior High School Rye C- 53
30 Hinsdale High School Hinsdale C- 53
31 Walpole Elementary School Walpole C- 53
32 Souhegan Coop High School Amherst C- 52
33 Oyster River Middle School Durham C- 52
34 Campbell High School Litchfield C- 52
35 Hampton Academy Hampton C- 52
36 Academy for Science and Design Charter (H) Nashua C- 52
37 Kearsarge Reg. Elementary School - Bradford Bradford C- 52
38 Rollinsford Grade School Rollinsford C- 52
39 Moultonborough Middle Level Moultonborough C- 52
40 Timberlane Regional Middle School Plaistow C- 51
41 Coe-Brown Northwood Academy Northwood C- 51
42 James Mastricola Upper Elementary School Merrimack C- 51
43 West Running Brook Middle School Derry C- 51
44 Portsmouth Middle School Portsmouth C- 51
45 Merrimack Middle School Merrimack C- 51
46 Plymouth Elementary School Plymouth C- 51
47 Lin-Wood Public School (Elem) Lincoln C- 51
48 Lebanon High School Lebanon C- 50
49 Milford Middle School Milford C- 50
50 South Londonderry Elementary School Londonderry C- 50

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best public schools in New Hampshire? ▼

The top-rated school in New Hampshire is Holderness Central School in Holderness with a quality score of 66/100 (grade B-). Rankings are based on student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted programs, and attendance rates from NCES data.

How are school quality scores calculated? ▼

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data across 4 metrics: student-teacher ratio (lower is better, national avg ~16:1), counselor availability (ASCA recommends 250:1), gifted program availability, and chronic absenteeism rate (lower is better). This measures school resources, not test scores.

Explore More for New Hampshire

All Schools → Largest Schools → Absenteeism Data → Highest Spending → National Ranking →

Methodology

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Schools must have at least 50 students and data for one or more metrics. This measures resource quality, not test scores. Higher scores indicate smaller class sizes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.