Experts have decided the #1 High School in Illinois is...

The US News High School rankings for 2024 have been released and the top high school in Illinois is also the 5th best high school in the entire US, here are the details...

According to US News, the number one high school in Illinois is Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago. Payton College Prep is also the 5th ranked high school in the US according to US News. What about Payton College Prep makes it so special?

In the rankings, they say "Walter Payton College Preparatory High School's curriculum is centered on honors and Advanced Placement courses in math, science, language and the humanities, among other subjects...Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation and how well they prepare students for college." To see the full list of the best high schools in Illinois, click here!

What about Quincy?

Here in the Gem City of Quincy, IL, we have two high schools, Quincy Senior High ranks 281st in Illinois, and 7,899th in the country, and Quincy Notre Dame is not ranked due to being a private school.

These rankings aren't perfect but I will say that they do look at a large number of factors when ranking these schools and having lived in Chicago for years people rave about how incredible Payton College Prep is, so I am not surprised to see it ranked #1 in Illinois and top 5 in the country. The number one high school in the country according to these rankings is a place called BASIS in Peoria, Arizona.

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Gallery Credit: Anuradha Varanasi