The best public schools in Virginia are in Arlington and Falls Church, according to new 2025 rankings.
Arlington Public Schools rank No. 2, right behind Falls Church City Public Schools at No. 1, the education research firm Niche found. Only one other school district in the state received an overall A+ rating.
In terms of specific public high schools, Arlington’s Washington-Liberty High School ranked No. 3 in the Commonwealth and Yorktown High School ranked No. 9. Wakefield received an overall A- grade from Niche and ranked No. 62 in the state.
In Falls Church, Meridian High School ranked No. 12 statewide.
APS reported a 95% graduation rate last year, with an average SAT score of 1,270 out of 1,600 and 92% of its students planning to continue to post-secondary education. Niche also ranked the school system as the top place to teach in Virginia.
Additionally, in a ranking of all Virginia high schools — both public and private — Arlington’s Veritas Collegiate Academy near Crystal City claimed the No. 7 spot.
Both APS — and Falls Church’s much smaller school district — have consistently ranked among the best in the state. They earned the same spots in last year’s rankings.
In a more granular “report card” this year, Niche gave APS between an A+ and an A- in eight out of nine categories. The school system received a B- for its food, however.
As a whole, Arlington places among America’s most educated localities — No. 2 in the nation, according to a recent Forbes Advisor list. About 78% of residents over age 25 have bachelor’s degrees, and 43% have graduate degrees.
