New York · NCES CCD 2024-25
Best School Districts in New York Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.
50 Districts ranked
220,041 Students enrolled
56/100 Avg quality score
B- Top grade The ranking in one line
Syosset Central School District in Syosset leads New York's districts with an average school quality score of 65.4/100 across 10 schools.
65.4/100 top district score (grade B-)
10 schools in Syosset Central School District
6,938 students in the top district
56/100 average across the top 50 # District Grade Students Schools Avg S:T Per-Pupil $ Avg Quality 1 Syosset Central School District Syosset B- 6,938 10 10.7:1 $34,257 65.4 2 Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District North Merrick C+ 5,243 5 11.2:1 $30,426 63 3 Massapequa Union Free School District Massapequa C+ 6,536 9 10.7:1 $30,687 61.9 4 North Salem Central School District North Salem C+ 985 2 8.6:1 $42,126 61.5 5 Edgemont Union Free School District Scarsdale C+ 1,936 3 11.4:1 $29,281 60.3 6 Cuba-Rushford Central School District Cuba C 772 3 9.1:1 $26,125 59.3 7 Clarkstown Central School District New City C 7,845 16 10.3:1 $27,568 58.6 8 Brighton Central School District Rochester C 3,461 4 12.1:1 $23,681 58.5 9 Three Village Central School District Stony Brook C 5,717 8 11.7:1 $36,330 58.1 10 Chappaqua Central School District Chappaqua C 3,574 6 11.8:1 $33,900 57.7 11 Lynbrook Union Free School District Lynbrook C 2,764 7 10.5:1 $30,525 57.4 12 Yorktown Central School District Yorktown Heights C 3,472 5 10.9:1 $28,918 57.2 13 Bronxville Union Free School District Bronxville C 1,555 3 12.4:1 $30,756 57 14 Weedsport Central School District Weedsport C 719 2 11.4:1 $24,041 57 15 Gananda Central School District Walworth C 912 3 9.4:1 $23,331 56.7 16 Hewlett-Woodmere Union Free School District Woodmere C 2,884 5 9.9:1 $40,674 56.6 17 Great Neck Union Free School District Great Neck C 6,836 10 11.7:1 $33,999 56.5 18 Byram Hills Central School District Armonk C 2,313 4 10.2:1 $38,720 56.5 19 Poland Central School District Poland C 530 2 9.8:1 $23,830 56.5 20 Blind Brook-Rye Union Free School District Rye Brook C 1,304 3 10.8:1 $33,247 56.3 21 South Orangetown Central School District Blauvelt C 2,886 4 10.4:1 $32,407 56.3 22 Irvington Union Free School District Irvington C 1,772 4 9.8:1 $33,902 56 23 Pavilion Central School District Pavilion C 659 2 7.7:1 $25,575 56 24 Shoreham-Wading River Central School District Shoreham C 2,000 4 10.2:1 $34,663 55.8 25 Avon Central School District Avon C 950 3 10.2:1 $20,522 55.7 26 Valhalla Union Free School District Valhalla C 1,381 4 10:1 $34,798 55.5 27 Rye City School District Rye C 2,868 5 10:1 $32,321 55.4 28 East Williston Union Free School District Old Westbury C 1,609 3 9.2:1 $36,184 55.3 29 Scarsdale Union Free School District Scarsdale C 4,704 7 11.7:1 $33,265 55.3 30 New York City Geographic District #26 Bayside C 29,116 34 13.8:1 — 55.2 31 New York City Geographic District #20 Brooklyn C 46,722 45 13.4:1 — 55 32 Williamsville Central School District East Amherst C 9,717 13 11.2:1 $19,132 55 33 Kings Park Central School District Kings Park C- 2,698 5 10.5:1 $31,808 54.8 34 Smithtown Central School District Smithtown C- 7,924 12 11.6:1 $30,588 54.8 35 Harborfields Central School District Greenlawn C- 2,794 4 10.6:1 $28,952 54.5 36 Saranac Lake Central School District Saranac Lake C- 1,073 4 10.2:1 $27,984 54.5 37 Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District Plainview C- 5,245 7 10.7:1 $30,850 54.3 38 Somers Central School District Somers C- 2,635 4 10:1 $32,213 54 39 West Canada Valley Central School District Newport C- 638 2 9.7:1 $25,746 54 40 Sayville Union Free School District Sayville C- 2,694 5 11.8:1 $33,353 53.8 41 Valley Stream 24 Union Free School District Valley Stream C- 1,055 3 12.3:1 $30,995 53.7 42 Galway Central School District Galway C- 830 2 9.3:1 $22,986 53.5 43 Harrison Central School District Harrison C- 3,650 6 10.7:1 $32,929 53.3 44 Pleasantville Union Free School District Pleasantville C- 1,629 3 10.8:1 $29,351 53.3 45 Manchester-Shortsville Central School District (Red Jacket) Shortsville C- 729 3 9.1:1 $24,149 53.3 46 Miller Place Union Free School District Miller Place C- 2,343 4 10.6:1 $28,947 53 47 Westhampton Beach Union Free School District Westhampton Beach C- 1,767 3 9.3:1 $30,083 53 48 Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District Briarcliff Manor C- 1,350 3 10.9:1 $35,235 53 49 Bethpage Union Free School District Bethpage C- 2,990 5 12.3:1 $30,144 52.8 50 Half Hollow Hills Central School District Dix Hills C- 7,317 9 11.9:1 $33,730 52.8
Frequently Asked Questions What are the best school districts in New York? ▼ The top-ranked district in New York is Syosset Central School District in Syosset with 6,938 students across 10 schools. Average quality score: 65.4/100. 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 York? ▼ New York has 50+ school districts serving 2,505,133 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 11.7:1.
Explore More for New York 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.