New Jersey · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced School Districts in New Jersey

Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

Compiled by PlainSchools, Education-data publisher · August 11, 2026

The ranking in one line

Morris County Vocational School District in Denville leads New Jersey's districts with an average school quality score of 75.3/100 across 6 schools.

75.3/100
top district score (grade B+): 6
schools in Morris County Vocational School District: 1,261
students in the top district: 65/100
average across the top 50

#	District	Grade	Students	Schools	Avg S:T	Per-Pupil $	Avg Quality
1	Morris County Vocational School DistrictDenville	B+	1,261	6	11.8:1	$22,872	75.3
2	Monmouth County Vocational School DistrictFreehold	B	1,545	8	10:1	$34,900	72.6
3	Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School DistrictOakland	B-	2,008	2	9.1:1	$33,415	68.5
4	Clayton Public School DistrictClayton	B-	1,489	3	12.3:1	$21,529	68.3
5	Emerson Public School DistrictEmerson	B-	1,082	3	11.8:1	$24,970	68.3
6	Franklin Lakes School DistrictFranklin Lakes	B-	1,199	4	8.2:1	$35,091	68.3
7	Red Bank Borough Public School DistrictRed Bank	B-	1,273	2	8.6:1	$26,477	67.5
8	Bergen County Vocational Technical School DistrictParamus	B-	2,528	6	28.8:1	$40,357	67.3
9	Ocean County Vocational Technical School DistrictToms River	B-	648	6	10.6:1	$55,767	67.3
10	Middletown Township Public School DistrictLeonardo	B-	8,993	16	11.2:1	$24,671	67.3
11	Ringwood School DistrictRingwood	B-	1,033	4	9.1:1	$30,628	67
12	South Hunterdon Regional School DistrictLambertville	B-	827	3	7.1:1	$34,415	66.7
13	Black Horse Pike Regional School DistrictBlackwood	B-	3,600	3	12.1:1	$23,064	66.3
14	Park Ridge School DistrictPark Ridge	B-	1,208	3	10.4:1	$31,369	66.3
15	East Brunswick Township School DistrictEast Brunswick	B-	8,159	11	10.5:1	$26,439	66.3
16	Fair Lawn Public School DistrictFair Lawn	B-	5,529	9	11.7:1	$23,164	65.7
17	Mahwah Township Public School DistrictMahwah	B-	2,729	6	10.2:1	$30,824	65.3
18	Readington Township School DistrictWhitehouse Station	B-	1,430	4	9:1	$28,589	65.3
19	Hanover Township School DistrictWhippany	B-	1,244	4	10.1:1	$29,026	65.3
20	Warren Township School DistrictWarren	B-	1,635	5	8.5:1	$34,127	65.2
21	Montville Township School DistrictMontville	B-	3,469	7	10.1:1	$28,971	65
22	Chester Township School DistrictChester	B-	1,008	3	9.6:1	$27,299	65
23	Point Pleasant Beach School DistrictPoint Pleasant Beach	B-	685	2	8.1:1	$31,410	65
24	Ventnor City School DistrictVentnor City	B-	522	2	6.5:1	$40,852	65
25	Millburn Township School DistrictMillburn	C+	4,793	8	11.3:1	$25,435	64.9
26	Lenape Regional High School DistrictShamong	C+	6,659	4	11.6:1	$28,617	64.8
27	Northern Valley Regional High School DistrictDemarest	C+	2,053	3	8.6:1	$46,829	64.7
28	Glen Rock Public School DistrictGlen Rock	C+	2,620	6	12.6:1	$24,262	64.5
29	Oceanport School DistrictOceanport	C+	563	2	9.1:1	$28,913	64.5
30	Branchburg Township School DistrictBranchburg	C+	1,290	3	8.8:1	$30,748	64.3
31	Butler Public School DistrictButler	C+	1,184	3	10.4:1	$25,334	64.3
32	Hillsdale School DistrictHillsdale	C+	1,124	3	9.6:1	$27,345	64.3
33	Haddon Heights School DistrictHaddon Heights	C+	1,491	4	12.2:1	$21,190	64.3
34	North Arlington School DistrictNorth Arlington	C+	2,005	6	13.4:1	$19,613	64.2
35	Harrison Public SchoolsHarrison	C+	2,440	5	12.9:1	$24,373	64
36	Oakland Public School DistrictOakland	C+	1,326	4	9.9:1	$29,905	64
37	Westwood Regional School DistrictTownship of Washington	C+	2,813	6	11.2:1	$25,811	63.8
38	Essex County Schools of TechnologyNewark	C+	2,021	3	11.2:1	$32,017	63.7
39	Upper Saddle River School DistrictUpper Saddle River	C+	1,115	3	9.8:1	$27,971	63.7
40	Morris Hills Regional School DistrictDenville	C+	2,673	2	10.4:1	$32,079	63.5
41	Woodcliff Lake School DistrictWoodcliff Lake	C+	746	2	6.4:1	$26,155	63.5
42	Tewksbury Township School DistrictCalifon	C+	506	2	8.7:1	$33,010	63.5
43	Rutherford School DistrictRutherford	C+	2,568	5	12.1:1	$22,722	63.4
44	Midland Park School DistrictMidland Park	C+	883	3	8.9:1	$32,247	63.3
45	Denville Township K-8 School DistrictDenville	C+	1,688	3	9.9:1	$25,541	63
46	Manasquan School DistrictManasquan	C+	1,470	2	9.3:1	$26,416	63
47	River Vale Public School DistrictRiver Vale	C+	1,025	3	11.1:1	$27,807	63
48	West Milford Township Public School DistrictWest Milford	C+	3,025	8	12.5:1	$29,395	62.9
49	Jefferson Township Public School DistrictLake Hopatcong	C+	2,509	6	12.4:1	$26,837	62.8
50	Pascack Valley Regional High School DistrictMontvale	C+	1,782	2	10.2:1	$37,498	62.5

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: 75.3/100. 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 11.8:1.

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) 2024-25 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.