NEW YORK, NY — New York City parents weighing where to live often start with one question: which public school district offers the strongest fit for their children. A new ranking from Niche gives District 13 the top spot in the city, placing it at No. 36 statewide in New York.
The district includes Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO and a small part of Park Slope. Niche says District 13 serves 19,380 students from pre-K through 12th grade and has a student-teacher ratio of 14 to 1.
The ranking also shows that 65% of students are proficient in math and 68% are proficient in reading, based on state test results used by the company in its review.
What District 13’s numbers say about Brooklyn schools
District 13’s strong placement reflects both academic performance and the broader profile Niche uses when scoring school systems. The company’s school district rankings weigh several factors together rather than relying only on test results, which is one reason districts can rise or fall depending on multiple measures.
For families in Brooklyn neighborhoods included in District 13, the ranking offers a snapshot of a district that stands out citywide. The area covers a mix of residential blocks and fast-growing neighborhoods, making school quality a major consideration for many households deciding where to settle.
Niche’s data point to a large district with a relatively low student-teacher ratio compared with many urban systems, a detail that often matters to parents looking for more individualized attention in the classroom.
Ten city districts earned an A- or better
Niche identified 10 New York City school districts that received an A- or better in its latest ranking. District 13 led the list, followed by several other districts spread across the five boroughs.
The ranked districts include Geographic District No. 13 in North Brooklyn; District No. 1 in the Lower East Side and East Village; District No. 2 covering areas such as FiDi, Chelsea, Tribeca, the West Village, Greenwich Village, the Upper East Side, Midtown and Hell’s Kitchen; and District No. 3 on the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights and part of Harlem.
Also making the group were District No. 22 in Marine Park, Mill Basin, Flatlands, Ditmas Park and Manhattan Beach; District No. 26 in Bayside, Little Neck, Douglaston, Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Bellerose, Floral Park and Glen Oaks; and District No. 31 in Staten Island.
Queens and Manhattan districts also scored highly
The city’s higher-rated districts were not limited to Brooklyn. Queens and Manhattan also showed up prominently in the A- or better group, underscoring how school quality can vary widely from one part of the city to another.
District No. 4 in East Harlem, District No. 25 in Flushing, Whitestone and College Point, and District No. 28 in Jamaica, Forest Hills, Rego Park and Richmond Hill rounded out the list of top-scoring city districts. Together, the rankings give families a borough-by-borough look at where Niche sees the strongest public school options.
For many parents, that kind of comparison matters as much as any single number. A school district ranking can influence housing decisions, commutes and long-term family plans, especially in a city where neighborhood and school boundaries often overlap in complicated ways.
How Niche builds its school rankings
Niche says its rankings combine federal and state data, school statistics and more than 3 million reviews from students, parents and teachers. The company says that approach is designed to measure schools beyond test scores alone.
This year, Niche updated its methodology and separated public and private school rankings across several categories, including arts, diversity, college prep and teachers. It also introduced different methods for boarding schools and private online high schools.
Luke Skurman, Niche’s founder and chief executive, said families deserve a fuller picture of their choices, whether they are evaluating schools nearby or comparing options elsewhere. That broader approach is meant to help parents understand strengths that may not appear in test data alone.
Why the ranking matters for families choosing where to live
In a city as large and varied as New York, school district reputation can shape everyday decisions. Families often look at academics, class size and neighborhood fit together, especially when deciding between apartments or home purchases in different parts of the city.
Niche’s new list gives a current point of reference for that process. It shows that strong-rated districts are spread across Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, rather than concentrated in just one area.
The rankings may also help explain why certain neighborhoods continue to attract families with school-age children. For many residents, the district attached to an address remains one of the most important factors in the search for a new home.
