What are the best high schools in Tri-Cities? Top 10 revealed in new ranking
Which Tri-Cities schools are considered the top places to send your students?
U.S. News and World Report recently ranked the best high schools in Tri-Cities for 2025-2026.
The media company focused on what it called the Kennewick metropolitan area — comparing campuses in the Kennewick, Richland and Pasco school districts, as well as the Prosser, North Franklin and Kiona-Benton City school districts.
U.S. News graded nearly 18,000 high schools across the United States based on how well students did on math, reading and science state assessments as well as college-level exams, graduation rates and the performance of underserved students.
“A great high school educates all of its students from different social and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation,” the media company said.
No Tri-Cities high schools ranked high on the Washington state or national level.
Here’s how they ranked locally:
What makes Hanford High School the best in Tri-Cities?
According to U.S. News & World Report, the best public high school in the Tri-Cities area for is Richland School District’s Hanford High School.
Hanford High, 450 Hanford St. in Richland, had an enrollment just shy of 2,000 students, with a student-to-teacher ratio of 24-to-1.
The school’s graduation rate is 83%.
Hanford High said it focuses on the “Falcon family” of staff, students, families and community members by fostering strong relationships and the “building blocks of excellence, equality and equity.”
The Richland high school also utilizes what it calls the “four pillars of education”: academics, attendance, engagement and character.
More than 70% of students at Hanford High attended at least 90% of school days during the 2023-24 academic year, according to the school’s latest report card from the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
According to U.S. News, 35% of the students enrolled at Hanford High are minorities, while 34% are economically disadvantaged.
Hanford High ranked No. 43 on U.S. News’ list of the best high schools in Washington state, and No. 2,584 on the national list.
What are top high schools in Tri-Cities?
According to U.S. News & World Report, the top 10 public high schools in the Tri-Cities area are from a variety of school districts.
Kamiakin High School, 600 North Arthur Street in Kennewick, was the No. 2 high school in Tri-Cities, the media company said.
Part of Kennewick School District, the school had 1,950 students enrolled in ninth through 12th grades, U.S. News said, a ratio of 26 students to every teacher and a graduation rate of 89%.
Kamiakin High ranked No. 55 in the state and No. 3,399 in the country.
Taking third place on U.S. News’ list of the top-ranked high schools in Tri-Cities was another school in the Richland School District.
Richland High School, 930 Long Ave. in Richland, had a total of 2,234 students with a student-to-teacher ratio of 22-to-1 and a graduation rate of 88%.
Richland High ranked No. 61 statewide and No 3,759 on the national level.
Here’s which other local high schools ranked in the top 10, U.S. News said:
- Southridge High School in Kennewick
- Prosser High School in Prosser
- Endeavor High School in Kennewick
- Kennewick High School in Kennewick
- Phoenix High School in Kennewick
- Kiona-Benton City High School in Benton City
- Chiawana High School in Pasco
Where are best public high schools in the US?
According to U.S. News & World Report, these were the 10 best public high schools in the nation in 2025:
- BASIS Tucson North in Tucson, Arizona
- Signature School in Evansville, Indiana
- Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada
- Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia
- Albuquerque Institute of Math and Science in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Haas Hall Bentonville in Bentonville, Arkansas
- Julia R. Masterman Secondary School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- The School for the Talent and Gifted in Dallas
- Aiken Scholars Academy in Aiken, South Carolina
How did U.S. News & World Report come up with rankings?
To determine the best high schools in the United States, U.S. News and World Report said it ranked nearly 18,000 public high schools after reviewing more than 24,000.
Schools had to have 15 or more students in their 12th grade classes to qualify, the media company said.
U.S. News scored the schools across six indicators of school quality, including graduation rate, college readiness and state assessment proficiency.
Private high schools across the nation were not ranked because of a lack of publicly available data, U.S. News said, but publicly funded charter and magnet schools were eligible for review.