2024 Best High Schools in Texas

What High School Paths Does Texas Provide?

Texas is one of the largest states in the nation and it's no surprise that it also has one of the highest number of high schools. With 2,664 high schools in total, Texas has 5.5 times more high schools than the average state (but on a per capita basis, it actually has 20% fewer than average). This means that there are a variety of educational paths to choose from, particularly in and around the bigger cities. As a whole, the state's average school rating is a B– which is right in line with the national average.

In total, 80% of Texas' high schools are public and they have an average rating of B. Of those 2,126 schools, the majority are traditional public schools (1,699). Approximately 70% of those traditional public schools sit above the national average, so you can rest assured that there's still 1,197 such schools that are considered better than normal.

Diving deeper into public high school alternatives, there are also 368 charter schools, which not seem like much given the sheer size of the state, but it still ranks Texas in the 31st spot for most charter schools per capita vs the average state. In total, 51% of those charter schools exceed the national average in quality. Also, of the 59 magnet high schools, 52 earned above average marks.

Shifting now to private high schools, there are 463 in total to choose from (roughly 17% of all schools). Although the figure may seem relatively small for such a large state, Texas actually has 27% fewer private school options than the average state per capita, which still speaks to the size of the state. With a median rating of A, approximately two-thirds (65%) of Texas' private schools are rated above the national average. About 73% of private high schools in Texas are religiously affiliated, led primarily by Christian schools which total 263. The state ranks 27th for most religious schools per capita, which is slightly below the national average. There are also 36 all-boys schools in Texas, which is 1.14 times as many as the typical state (when normalization for population totals), as well as 26 all-girls options.

Lastly, Texas also has several online school options, but as of now just 13 are offered (nearly 0% of all schools). This actually ranks Texas in the 48th position in terms of online schools per capita vs. the typical state (it misses the mark by 42%).