Ann Arbor has second best public schools in America, says Niche

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Not only is Ann Arbor the sixth-best city to live in, but it can also now boast of having some of the best public schools in the country.

Recently, Niche released its list of cities with the best public schools in America. Right at the top is Ann Arbor, coming in second to Naperville, Illinois.

Tree Town is the only Michigan city to make the top ten. In fact, it’s the only city in the Mitten State to be ranked in the top 50.

Here’s how rankings are decided:

Each city is ranked based on grades given to individual public schools within an area. School grades are weighted to reflect the number of students each school serves, according to Niche.

Schools are graded on factors including SAT/ACT scores, school survey responses, teacher salary, state test results, the number of sports, chronic student absenteeism and club expenses.

Niche uses available data pulled from the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Census Bureau.

Ann Arbor’s K-12 public schools received an overall A+ grade while Pioneer, Huron, Skyline and Community high schools are among several area schools to receive an A+ grade individually.

See how 33 of Ann Arbor’s public schools were graded here.

Related: Ann Arbor named sixth best city to live in within United States, according to Niche

Here are the top 10 cities in the U.S. with the best public schools:

1. Naperville, Illinois
2. Ann Arbor, Michigan
3. Bellevue, Washington
4. Carlsbad, California
5. Irvine, California
6. The Woodlands, Texas
7. Overland Park, Kansas
8. Plano, Texas
9. Thousand Oaks, California
10. Arlington, Virginia

Find the full list of cities with the best public schools here.

Want more news about Ann Arbor schools? Read these:

• Ann Arbor parent pens open letter to Michigan officials to commit to full-time school in fall
• Ann Arbor Public Schools announce tentative dates for in-person graduation ceremonies