Study Puts 5 Illinois Places On Top 20 Public Schools In US List

You don't have to do too much searching to find stories about bad schools, whether here in Illinois or across the country. There's no shortage of hot takes on schools that are failing their students, but not nearly as many glowing or complimentary looks at high schools that are doing things right.

That's why it was refreshing to see that 5 Illinois K-12 schools have distinguished themselves enough to rank among the top 20 schools in America on a list of the nation's best K-12 institutions.

A website that helps users find schools and neighborhoods by analyzing reviews, rankings, and reports for K-12 schools, colleges, and companies recently released their list "2024 Places With The Best Public Schools In America", so let's take a look at some rankings and see if you might want to call a real estate agent.

According To The 2024 List Of The Nation's Best K-12 Schools, The Suburbs Are The Place You Should Consider To Get The Best Education For Your Kids

Niche.com, in their list of rankings this year, names Scarsdale, New York schools as being the very best in the nation. Scarsdale is a NYC suburb about 30 miles outside Manhattan. Niche.com gives them an A-plus rating for public schools and something called "family friendliness," but to live there you're going to need money.

The average home value in Scarsdale, New York is $1.61 million.

The K-12 institutions coming in at #2 in the country are also in the burbs. West Lake Hills is a suburb of Austin, Texas, and it's pricey there, too. Average home value is $1.42 million.

As a matter of fact, every one of the top 20 places for the best schools on the Niche.com list are in the suburbs, including the 5 places from Illinois that are on list.

Illinois Puts Five Places In The Top 20 Of The Best Schools In The Nation, Which Is Very Impressive

Those spots, according to Niche.com, are all in the Chicago suburbs, starting with the place that Niche ranks #4 overall in the entire country and first in Illinois, Long Grove. Long Grove gets an A-plus for schools, housing, and family friendliness.

• Next comes Lincolnshire at #5 overall, which also gets an A-plus for schools, and for family friendliness.
• Taking the #10 overall spot is Buffalo Grove, with A-pluses in schools, housing, family friendliness and diversity.
• Coming in at #15 overall is Hinsdale, where they get an A-plus for schools, housing, and family friendliness.
• And finally, at #19 overall, it's Clarendon Hills. Clarendon Hills receives an A-plus for public schools and family friendliness, and an A-minus in crime and safety.

Click here to read the full report at Niche.com.