Virginia · NCES CCD 2022-23
Best School Districts in Virginia Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.
50 Districts ranked
518,067 Students enrolled
54/100 Avg quality score
C Top grade The ranking in one line
Arlington County Public Schools in Arlington leads Virginia's districts with an average school quality score of 59.9/100 across 36 schools.
59.9/100 top district score (grade C)
36 schools in Arlington County Public Schools
27,562 students in the top district
54/100 average across the top 50 # District Grade Students Schools Avg S:T Per-Pupil $ Avg Quality 1 Arlington County Public Schools Arlington C 27,562 36 12.7:1 $21,782 59.9 2 Albemarle County Public Schools Charlottesville C 13,937 24 13.2:1 $16,619 59.9 3 Grayson County Public Schools Independence C 1,561 6 11.9:1 $14,452 59.5 4 Franklin County Public Schools Rocky Mount C 6,252 14 12.3:1 $13,983 58.9 5 Botetourt County Public Schools Fincastle C 4,492 11 13.8:1 $13,046 58.5 6 Falls Church City Public Schools Falls Church C 2,496 5 11.4:1 $23,332 57.8 7 Sussex County Public Schools Stony Creek C 998 3 11.9:1 $21,840 57 8 Charlottesville City Public Schools Charlottesville C 4,485 9 12.1:1 $20,100 56.9 9 Surry County Public Schools Surry C 681 3 8.2:1 $24,998 55.7 10 West Point Public Schools West Point C 810 2 12.4:1 $14,416 55.5 11 Goochland County Public Schools Goochland C 2,642 5 13.2:1 $14,992 55.4 12 Loudoun County Public Schools Ashburn C 81,678 96 12.9:1 $18,953 55.4 13 Hanover County Public Schools Ashland C 17,066 23 14:1 $12,547 55.2 14 York County Public Schools Yorktown C 12,640 19 — $12,623 55 15 Gloucester County Public Schools Gloucester C- 5,054 8 13.8:1 $13,604 54.5 16 Pittsylvania County Public Schools Chatham C- 7,918 18 12.4:1 $12,616 54.4 17 Montgomery County Public Schools Christiansburg C- 9,693 19 12.5:1 $13,803 54.4 18 Augusta County Public Schools Verona C- 10,076 18 14:1 $12,961 54.3 19 Amherst County Public Schools Amherst C- 3,987 9 12:1 $13,028 54.1 20 Bedford County Public Schools Bedford C- 9,084 19 14.6:1 $12,790 54 21 Roanoke County Public Schools Roanoke C- 13,811 26 14.1:1 $12,626 54 22 Carroll County Public Schools Hillsville C- 3,505 9 12.7:1 $13,047 53.8 23 Galax City Public Schools Galax C- 1,393 3 14.5:1 $13,523 53.3 24 Bath County Public Schools Warm Springs C- 504 3 — $21,120 53.3 25 Scott County Public Schools Gate City C- 4,024 14 14.6:1 $12,405 53.1 26 Henrico County Public Schools Henrico C- 50,389 68 15:1 $12,658 53 27 Colonial Beach Public Schools Colonial Beach C- 574 2 22.5:1 $12,614 53 28 Wise County Public Schools Wise C- 5,913 11 13.2:1 $11,634 52.9 29 Lunenburg County Public Schools Kenbridge C- 1,575 4 13.5:1 $13,007 52.8 30 Salem City Public Schools Salem C- 3,750 6 13.5:1 $13,711 52.7 31 Appomattox County Public Schools Appomattox C- 2,361 4 13.9:1 $11,352 52.5 32 Madison County Public Schools Madison C- 1,680 4 13.7:1 $14,719 52.5 33 Powhatan County Public Schools Powhatan C- 4,241 5 13.5:1 $12,437 52.4 34 Mathews County Public Schools Mathews C- 911 3 11.6:1 $18,578 52.3 35 Alexandria City Public Schools Alexandria C- 16,040 18 14.2:1 $20,887 52.2 36 Stafford County Public Schools Stafford C- 31,105 32 14.3:1 $12,415 52 37 Fauquier County Public Schools Warrenton C- 10,837 19 13.7:1 $14,795 52 38 Poquoson City Public Schools Poquoson C- 2,055 4 17.8:1 $12,494 52 39 Smyth County Public Schools Marion C- 3,981 13 11.8:1 $13,836 51.9 40 Accomack County Public Schools Accomac C- 4,726 11 12.3:1 $13,547 51.7 41 Northumberland County Public Schools Heathsville C- 1,200 3 10.5:1 $17,506 51.7 42 Southampton County Public Schools Courtland C- 2,579 6 14.9:1 $14,570 51.5 43 Richmond County Public Schools Warsaw C- 1,346 2 14.4:1 $14,313 51.5 44 Harrisonburg City Public Schools Harrisonburg C- 6,682 9 12.6:1 $14,710 51.4 45 Colonial Heights City Public Schools Colonial Heights C- 2,843 5 12.5:1 $14,998 51.4 46 Roanoke City Public Schools Roanoke C- 13,597 24 12.8:1 $15,299 51.2 47 Prince William County Public Schools Manassas C- 91,101 95 15.7:1 $13,913 51.1 48 Nottoway County Public Schools Nottoway C- 1,810 5 12.3:1 $13,875 51 49 Rockbridge County Public Schools Lexington C- 2,549 6 11.2:1 $13,936 50.8 50 Campbell County Public Schools Rustburg C- 7,873 13 14:1 $12,363 50.8
Frequently Asked Questions What are the best school districts in Virginia? ▼ The top-ranked district in Virginia is Arlington County Public Schools in Arlington with 27,562 students across 36 schools. Average quality score: 59.9/100. 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 Virginia? ▼ Virginia has 50+ school districts serving 1,253,620 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 14:1.
Explore More for Virginia 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.