Best Schools in Duval County: High, Middle, and Elementary

The best public high school in Duval County by the current U.S. News rankings is Stanton College Preparatory, ranked #65 in the nation. The best middle schools are the district's academic magnets, and the top private schools include The Bolles School, Episcopal School of Jacksonville, and Bishop Kenny. Details, sources, and the fine print below.

Rankings change every year and every site weighs things differently, so we're citing our sources like a Stanton kid citing theirs. Nervously and thoroughly.

What is the best public high school in Duval County?

By the 2025-26 U.S. News and World Report rankings, Stanton College Preparatory leads the county at #65 nationally. Four more Duval magnets crack Florida's top 50: Paxon School for Advanced Studies (#18 in the state), Samuel W. Wolfson (#23), Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts (#26), and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (#33).

One thing outsiders miss: these are all application magnets through Duval School Choice, open countywide. Buying a house next to Stanton gets you a nice house next to Stanton. Among neighborhood schools zoned by address, Fletcher at the Beaches, Atlantic Coast, and Mandarin typically rank highest.

What's the best school in Jacksonville overall?

Same answer with a caveat. Stanton and Paxon trade the crown depending on the year and the ranking site. Niche's 2026 list puts Stanton first and Paxon second in the county, both with A+ grades. The rivalry between the two is the closest thing Jacksonville academics has to Florida-Georgia weekend, minus the RVs.

What is the #1 high school in Florida?

By U.S. News, the School for Advanced Studies in Miami, a tiny dual-enrollment program where students take college courses through Miami Dade College. Niche's methodology crowns different winners, including FAU High School in Boca Raton, where students start university coursework early. Either way, the pattern holds: Florida's very top schools are small, specialized, and admission-based.

Which middle school in Duval County is considered the best?

The dedicated academic magnets top every list: Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts, James Weldon Johnson College Preparatory, Julia Landon College Preparatory, and LaVilla School of the Arts for the artistically inclined. All are application schools. The applications open in the fall through the district's School Choice window, and seats at these four go fast.

What are the top elementary schools in Duval County?

Names like Chets Creek, Hendricks Avenue, and John Stockton have been perennial A-rated standouts, and several magnet elementaries feed the big-name secondary magnets. Elementary rankings shift more than high school rankings, so check the current year's school grades on the Florida Department of Education site and Niche before making a decision. We say this as people who have watched a school jump two letter grades in one year.

What is the best private high school in Jacksonville?

The Bolles School tops most lists, with its riverfront San Jose campus and an alumni roster heavy on Olympic swimmers. Episcopal School of Jacksonville is its perennial rival, and Bishop Kenny leads the Catholic schools. Private School Review's top-ranked Duval list starts with Bolles and Bishop Kenny. Tuition at the top tier runs well into five figures a year, which is why the next question exists.

Do kids who go to private school do better in life?

Here's the honest answer. Raw numbers say yes, private school students post better outcomes on average. But research that controls for family income and parent education finds most of that advantage disappears. The family sending the kid tends to matter more than the building receiving them. In Duval specifically, the calculus is unusual: the county's strongest schools by ranking are free public magnets. Plenty of families here apply to Stanton and Bolles in the same fall and let the results decide.

Quick win

If your kid is in 4th or 7th grade right now, put the School Choice application window on your calendar today. The magnet pipeline is the whole game in Duval, and it's decided in the fall before enrollment, not the summer after.

School year dates live in our Duval County school calendar guide, and whichever school wins, the backpack still needs supplies from our Jacksonville school gear guide. Rankings cited are from U.S. News and Niche as of the 2025-26 cycle and change annually.