Where are the best high schools in New York State? Depends on who you ask.

U.S. News reviewed 18,000 public schools in all 50 states for the 2023-2024 Best High Schools rankings. Two of the Top 25 in the country are in New York. But both are downstate.

#24 Townsend Harris High School Location: Flushing, New York
#22 High School Math Science and Engineering at CCNY: New York, New York

How about a little closer to home? Only five Central New York School Districts are among the Top 100 in the state.

Top 10 Utica Area Schools

New Hartford Senior High School - New Hartford, NY

#1 in Utica, NY Metro Area High Schools
#79 in New York Rankings
#708 in National Rankings

Clinton Senior High School - Clinton, NY

#2 in Utica, NY Metro Area Rankings
#224 in New York High Schools
#1,788 in National Rankings

Town of Webb School - Old Forge, NY

#3 in Utica, NY Metro Area Rankings
#396 in New York High Schools
#3,017 in National Rankings

Oriskany Junior-Senior High School - Oriskany, NY

#4 in Utica, NY Metro Area Rankings
#281 in New York High Schools
#3,054 in National Rankings

Whitesboro High School - Marcy, NY

#5 in Utica, NY Metro Area Rankings
#302 in New York High Schools
#3,165 in National Rankings

Donald H Crane Junior/Senior High School - Westmoreland, NY

#6 in Utica, NY Metro Area Rankings
#436 in New York High Schools
#4,988 in National Rankings

Holland Patent Central High School - Holland Patent, NY

#7 in Utica, NY Metro Area Rankings
#703 in New York High Schools
#5,292 in National Rankings

Rome Free Academy - Rome, NY

#8 in Utica, NY Metro Area Rankings
#656 in New York High Schools
#5,674 in National Rankings

Remsen Junior-Senior High School - Remsen, NY

#9 in Utica, NY Metro Area Rankings
#504 in New York High Schools
#5,837 in National Rankings

Sauquoit Valley High School - Sauquoit, NY

#10 in Utica, NY Metro Area Rankings
#463 in New York High Schools
#6,333 in National Rankings

See the full list of best schools in the Utica area at usnews.com.

Top 5 Syracuse Area Schools

Fayetteville-Manlius Senior High School - Manlius, NY

#1 in Syracuse, NY Metro Area Rankings
#73 in New York High Schools
#657 in National Rankings

Skaneateles Senior High School - Skaneateles, NY

#2 in Syracuse, NY Metro Area Rankings
#76 in New York High Schools
#675 in National Rankings

Cazenovia High School - Cazenovia, NY

#3 in Syracuse, NY Metro Area High Schools
#98 in New York Rankings
#899 in National Rankings

Jamesville-Dewitt High School - Dewitt, NY

#4 in Syracuse, NY Metro Area High Schools
#100 in New York Rankings
#915 in National Rankings

Hamilton Junior-Senior High School - Hamilton, NY

#5 in Syracuse, NY Metro Area Rankings
#174 in New York High Schools
#1,754 in National Rankings

See the full list of top schools in the Syracuse area at usnews.com. Check out all schools, private and public, in New York state and see how they ranked.

Top Niche Ranked CNY Schools

Three Central New York school districts are among the top Niche rankings but all dropped down the Top 100 list.

Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District
#27 in New York, down from #10

Jamesville-Dewitt Central School District
#42 in New York, down from #32

New Hartford Central School District
#85 in New York, a big drop from #64

Check out the full rankings at Niche.com.