Best School Districts in New Jersey

Reviewed by PlainSchools Editorial, K12 Schools Editorial Team · June 10, 2026

Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score. Based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. NCES CCD 2022-23.

Districts Ranked

106,293

Students

66/100

Avg Quality Score

State

#	District	Avg Quality	Grade	Students	Schools	Avg S:T	Per-Pupil $
1.	Morris County Vocational School District Denville	75.5	B+	1,261	6	10.9:1	$25,635
2.	Monmouth County Vocational School District Freehold	73	B	1,545	8	8.3:1	$35,825
3.	Ocean County Vocational Technical School District Toms River	70.7	B	648	6	5.4:1	$71,199
4.	Bergen County Vocational Technical School District Paramus	70.5	B	2,528	6	16.5:1	$44,321
5.	Emerson Public School District Emerson	68.3	B-	1,082	3	11.8:1	$28,575
6.	Franklin Lakes School District Franklin Lakes	67.8	B-	1,199	4	8.5:1	$33,431
7.	Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District Oakland	67.5	B-	2,008	2	9.8:1	$34,054
8.	Clayton Public School District Clayton	67.3	B-	1,489	3	12.9:1	$24,291
9.	Middletown Township Public School District Leonardo	67.2	B-	8,993	16	11.3:1	$25,062
10.	Red Bank Borough Public School District Red Bank	67	B-	1,273	2	9:1	$28,375
11.	South Hunterdon Regional School District Lambertville	66.7	B-	827	3	7.4:1	$36,036
12.	East Brunswick Township School District East Brunswick	66	B-	8,159	11	10.6:1	$26,854
13.	Black Horse Pike Regional School District Blackwood	66	B-	3,600	3	12.5:1	$27,251
14.	Park Ridge School District Park Ridge	66	B-	1,208	3	10.7:1	$34,051
15.	Ringwood School District Ringwood	66	B-	1,033	4	9.8:1	$29,058
16.	Mahwah Township Public School District Mahwah	65.7	B-	2,729	6	10.2:1	$32,861
17.	Readington Township School District Whitehouse Station	65.5	B-	1,430	4	9:1	$29,710
18.	Oceanport School District Oceanport	65.5	B-	563	2	8.3:1	$49,678
19.	Branchburg Township School District Branchburg	65.3	B-	1,290	3	8.2:1	$43,405
20.	Montville Township School District Montville	65.3	B-	3,469	7	9.8:1	$30,262
21.	Hanover Township School District Whippany	65.3	B-	1,244	4	9.9:1	$29,243
22.	Fair Lawn Public School District Fair Lawn	65.2	B-	5,529	9	11.9:1	$25,647
23.	Warren Township School District Warren	65.2	B-	1,635	5	8.3:1	$35,931
24.	HADDON HEIGHTS School District HADDON HEIGHTS	64.8	C+	1,491	4	11.8:1	$20,852
25.	Northern Valley Regional High School District Demarest	64.7	C+	2,053	3	8.3:1	$47,424
26.	Butler Public School District Butler	64.7	C+	1,184	3	10.3:1	$28,359
27.	Hillsdale School District HILLSDALE	64.7	C+	1,124	3	9.5:1	$28,436
28.	Chester Township School District Chester	64.7	C+	1,008	3	9.6:1	$29,322
29.	West Milford Township Public School District West Milford	64.5	C+	3,025	8	11.3:1	$29,678
30.	Point Pleasant Beach School District Point Pleasant Beach	64.5	C+	685	2	8.7:1	$29,536
31.	Ventnor City School District Ventnor City	64.5	C+	522	2	6.7:1	$49,913
32.	Jefferson Township Public School District Lake Hopatcong	64.3	C+	2,509	6	11:1	$28,671
33.	North Arlington School District North Arlington	64.3	C+	2,005	6	13.2:1	$21,342
34.	Lenape Regional High School District Shamong	64.3	C+	6,659	4	11.8:1	$28,644
35.	Glen Rock Public School District GLEN ROCK	64	C+	2,620	6	13.1:1	$26,723
36.	Essex County Schools of Technology Newark	64	C+	2,021	3	10.3:1	$44,852
37.	Oakland Public School District Oakland	64	C+	1,326	4	10.1:1	$32,197
38.	Millburn Township School District Millburn	63.9	C+	4,793	8	12.2:1	$26,559
39.	Westwood Regional School District TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON	63.8	C+	2,813	6	11.2:1	$26,116
40.	Harrison Public Schools Harrison	63.8	C+	2,440	5	12.7:1	$26,178
41.	Upper Saddle River School District Upper Saddle River	63.7	C+	1,115	3	9.8:1	$27,841
42.	Midland Park School District Midland Park	63.7	C+	883	3	8.6:1	$34,097
43.	Rutherford School District Rutherford	63.6	C+	2,568	5	11.8:1	$27,244
44.	Pitman Boro School District Pitman	63.6	C+	1,147	5	9.5:1	$26,951
45.	Morris Hills Regional School District Denville	63.5	C+	2,673	2	10.6:1	$37,389
46.	Woodcliff Lake School District Woodcliff Lake	63.5	C+	746	2	6.2:1	$28,399
47.	Denville Township K-8 School District Denville	63.3	C+	1,688	3	9.6:1	$27,026
48.	River Vale Public School District River Vale	63	C+	1,025	3	11:1	$33,251
49.	Little Falls Township Public School District Little Falls	63	C+	922	3	9.7:1	$24,273
50.	Tewksbury Township School District Califon	63	C+	506	2	9.3:1	$34,708

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in New Jersey? ▼

The top-ranked district in New Jersey is Morris County Vocational School District in Denville with 1,261 students across 6 schools. Average quality score: 75.5/100. Rankings are based on average school quality scores from NCES data.

How are district rankings calculated? ▼

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be ranked.

How many school districts are in New Jersey? ▼

New Jersey has 50+ school districts serving 1,354,386 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 11.9:1.

Explore More for New Jersey

All Schools → Best Schools → Highest Spending → Funding Equity → Absenteeism Data →

Methodology

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2022-23 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be included. This measures school-level resources, not test scores. Higher average scores indicate districts where schools generally have smaller classes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

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