Best School Districts in Westchester NY and the Hudson Valley

Are you planning on buying a house and wondering which are the best school districts in Westchester NY and the Hudson Valley? If you have kids, finding the best school districts for them is an obvious concern, since attending a good and appropriate public school is essential to your children's future. Even your New York level property tax may seem like a bargain compared to private school tuition.

As for people who do not have children, the quality of the school district can greatly affect the resale value of a home. Not only do homes in good school districts typically have higher resale values, they also sell faster. And with quality schools, even during the housing market downturn, those homes tend to hold their values.

Are you picking a school for your children? Check out our school district home search page, where you can search for homes by school district, high school, middle school, and elementary school.

Evaluating School Districts Based on Test Scores and Data

We all know that test scores alone do not reflect how good a school district is. However, matrices like graduation rate, spending per pupil, average SAT scores, Regents exam scores, etc are all data that allow you to easily compare different schools. 

Since we know how important school district is as a determining factor on your home buying purchase, we have gathered data from the New York State Education Department include the average spending per pupil, average class size, teacher qualifications, and more. 

The Best School Districts in Westchester NY and Hudson Valley based on 4-year graduation rate

9 schools in Westchester have a 4-year graduation rate higher than 99% during the 2012-13 school year. The 9 schools are the following:

• Blind Brook High School with 100%
• Briarcliff High School with 100%
• Bronxville High School with 100%
• Westlake High School (Mount Pleasant School District ) with 100%
• Scarsdale High School with 99.7%
• Edgemont High School with 99.3%
• North Salem High School with 99.1%
• Byram Hills High School with 99%
• Pelham Memorial High School with 99%

The highest 4-year graduation rate in each county in the Hudson Valley

• Millbrook High School in Dutchess County with 98.9%
• SS Seward High School (Florida School District) in Orange County with 98.4%
• Nanuet High School in Rockland County with 97.9%
• Haldane High School in Cold Springs, Putnam County with 97.2%
• New Paltz High School in Ulster County with 94.9%

The Best School Districts in Westchester NY and Hudson Valley based on Average SAT Scores 

The average for New York State in 2012-13 was 1370. 15 high schools in Westchester NY have an average of higher than 1700. The highest average for each county is:

• Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua School District with a total average of 1936
• Rhinebeck High School in Dutchess County with an average of 1691
• Clarkstown North High School in Rockland County with an average of 1637
• Onteora High School in Ulster County with an average of 1623
• Haldane High School in Putnam County with an average of 1610
• James O'Neill High School in Orange County with an average of 1587

The Best School Districts in Westchester NY and Hudson Valley based on "Ready for College Rate"

"College ready" means a student received a Regents diploma, and scored at least a 75 on the English Language Arts Regents, and at least an 80 on the Math Regents. The highest "Ready for College Rate" for each county was:

• Blind Brook High School in Westchester County with 91.1%
• Pearl River High School in Rockland County with 80.5%
• Red Hook High School in Dutchess County with 65.5%
• New Paltz High School in Ulster County with 62.9%
• Warwick High School in Orange County with 62.5%
• Brewster High School in Putnam County with 62.3%

Ranking of real estate prices in each school district and each county, based on 2014 data. 

The most expensive county to live in the Hudson Valley by far is Westchester County. Rye City School District tops the list with a median sales price of $1,835,000 for a single family home. For a clear view of how much it costs on average to live in each school district, you can also check out our Hudson Valley real estate heat map.

Other Factors on Deciding School District

If you are checking the school district statistics just to preserve your property value, our Hudson Valley school district report should be more than sufficient for you to determine what areas you want to live in. However, if you are concerned about your children's schooling, you can also talk to the neighbors in your desired neighborhood, who have children enrolled in the schools. Many of the school provides tours, and allow you to schedule an interview with a teacher or administrator at the school.