CHICAGO — Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood ranks No. 1 on a list of best high schools in Illinois and places No. 5 when ranked nationally.
It is the only high school in Illinois to place among the top 30 public high schools in the nation of the nearly 17,660 ranked for 2024 by US News & World Report. Northside College Preparatory High School in the North Park neighborhood ranks 2nd in Illinois and 35th nationally.
Of the more than 670 Illinois schools ranked by editors, the top five are in Chicago:
- Walter Payton College Preparatory High School – No. 1 in Illinois | No. 5 Nationally
- Northside College Preparatory High School – No. 2 in Illinois | No. 35 Nationally
- Young Magnet High School – No. 3 in Illinois | No. 52 Nationally
- Jones College Prep High School – No. 4 in Illinois | No. 53 Nationally
- Lane Technical High School – No. 5 in Illinois | No. 60 Nationally
Lincolnshire’s Adlai E Stevenson High School is the first suburban Chicago school to make the list, coming in at No. 6 in the state and No. 194 in the national rankings.
Of the top 25 schools in Illinois, 24 are in the Chicago area. University High School in Normal placed No. 18 in the state and No. 450 nationally.
The US News & World Report’s “2024 Best High School Rankings” reviewed more than 24,000 public high schools around the country and ranked based on students’ college readiness, state assessment testing, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates, the report said.
Among all ranked public schools, 11.5 percent of high schools were charters and 4.4 percent were magnet schools.
Top 25 Schools Around the Country
- BASIS Charter Schools — Peoria, Arizona
- Signature School — Evansville, Indiana
- Tesla STEM High School — Redmond, Washington
- Julia R. Masterman Secondary School — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Walter Payton College Preparatory High School — Chicago, Illinois
- The School for the Talented and Gifted — Dallas, Texas
- Academic Magnet High School — North Charleston, South Carolina
- International Academy — Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
- Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology — Lawrenceville, Georgia
- Riverside Stem Academy — Riverside, California
- Whitney High School — Cerritos, California
- Science Academy Stem Magnet — North Hollywood, California
- International Academy of Macomb, Clinton Township — Michigan
- Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology — Alexandria, Virginia
- Haas Hall Bentonville — Bentonville, Arkansas
- The Early College at Guilford — Greensboro, North Carolina
- BASIS Oro Valley — Oro Valley, Arizona
- Pine View School — Osprey, Florida
- Central Magnet School — Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- Albuquerque Institute of Math and Science — Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School — Montgomery, Alabama
- Oxford Academy — Cypress, California
- Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School — Dallas, Texas
- High Technology High School — Lincroft, New Jersey
- Queens High School for the Sciences at York College — Jamaica, New York
Top 25 Schools in Illinois
- Walter Payton College Preparatory High School — Chicago
- Northside College Preparatory High School — Chicago
- Young Magnet High School — Chicago
- Jones College Prep High School — Chicago
- Lane Technical High School — Chicago
- Adlai E Stevenson High School — Lincolnshire
- Brooks College Prep Academy High School– Chicago
- Vernon Hills High School– Vernon Hills
- Hancock College Preparatory High School — Chicago
- New Trier Township High School — Winnetka
- Hinsdale Central High School — Hinsdale
- Libertyville High School — Libertyville
- William Fremd High School — Palatine
- Lake Forest High School — Lake Forest
- Neuqua Valley High School — Naperville
- Deerfield Township High School — Deerfield
- John Hersey High School — Arlington Heights
- University High School — Normal
- Glenbrook North High School — Northbrook
- Barrington High School — Barrington
- Glenbrook South High School — Glenview
- Prospect High School — Mt. Prospect
- Maine South High School — Park Ridge
- Glenbard West High School — Glen Ellyn
- Naperville North High School — Naperville
