STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Niche, a platform that connects students with colleges and schools, recently published its new 2026 Best School Districts in America.

The service, which is dedicated to ranking and reviewing schools across the country, also recently released its list of the best public high schools for 2026.

This included nationwide rankings, as well as state and local rankings. The rankings include updated data for more than 93,000 public schools, 30,000 private schools and over 11,000 school districts nationwide. Staten Island Technical High School was ranked as the third best public high school in the New York City and New York state.

While traditional rankings rely almost exclusively on metrics like test scores and academic performance, Niche’s rankings combine user input — ratings from current students, alumni and parents — with quantitative data from sources like the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities, extracurricular activity opportunities and more.

Niche ranked school districts across the country, including those in New York City.

Some districts in the five boroughs ranked higher than others — but Staten Island made its way into the top 10 of the best public school districts in New York City.

Staten Island’s District 31 — which encompasses the entire borough of public schools — ranked the seventh best district in New York City. It also ranked 118th in the best school districts in New York state.

Here are Staten Island’s other rankings:

Most Diverse School Districts in America – 27thBest Places to Teach in America – 380thBest School Districts in America – 922ndMost Diverse School Districts in New York – 2nd

The district received an overall grade of an “A,” based on a number of factors like quality of academics, teachers, college prep, clubs and activities, administration and more.

Read more about Staten Island’s District 31 at niche.com.

Rankings by Niche were created to provide families with valuable information on schools in their area or in a neighborhood they aren’t familiar with yet. Like previous years, the Best Schools rankings include categories for boarding, charter and magnet schools, as well as schools for STEM and the arts — among many others.

To see a full list of the 2026 Best Schools rankings, visit the Niche website.

The top 10 public school districts in New York City in 2026, according to Niche, are listed in the table below.

NYC Rank
School District
Borough
NYS Ranking

1
Geographic District No. 13
Brooklyn
#35

2
Geographic District No. 1
Manhattan
#76

3
Geographic District No. 2
Manhattan
#86

4
Geographic District No. 26
Queens
#101

5
Geographic District No. 22
Brooklyn
#105

6
Geographic District No. 3
Manhattan
#109

7
Geographic District No. 31
Staten Island
#118

8
Geographic District No. 25
Queens
#137

9
Geographic District No. 20
Brooklyn
#158

10
Geographic District No. 4
Manhattan
#162

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