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2027 School Rankings: 6 Long Island Districts Make America’s Top 25 — Where Do the Hamptons and North Fork Stack Up?
Nassau dominates the national list, while Westhampton Beach leads East End districts in Suffolk; Bridgehampton and Ross are among the region’s high school standouts
Long Island schools are scoring high marks in the new 2027 rankings — including six school districts that landed among the Top 25 in the entire country.
But the national bragging rights belong to Nassau County.
In Niche’s newly released 2027 Best Schools and Districts rankings, Roslyn is the No. 2 school district in America, followed closely by Syosset at No. 3 and Jericho at No. 7. Manhasset ranks No. 19, Hewlett-Woodmere No. 21 and Herricks No. 24.
That gives Long Island six of the nation’s Top 25 school districts. Long Island also claims eight of the Top 10 districts in New York State.
Suffolk County has only one district in the national Top 100: Half Hollow Hills, at No. 59.
So where does that leave the Hamptons and North Fork?
Closer to home: How East End districts rank
For the East End, Niche’s Suffolk County rankings offer the clearest comparison. These numbers rank entire public school districts against other districts in Suffolk — they are not national rankings.
In the Hamptons, Westhampton Beach Union Free School District leads the pack at No. 12 in Suffolk County, earning an A overall grade.
East Hampton Union Free School District ranks No. 19 in Suffolk with an A, while
Southampton Union Free School District comes in at No. 21 with an A-.
Sag Harbor Union Free School District ranks No. 35 in Suffolk, earning a B+.
North Fork Rankings
On the North Fork, Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District makes a strong showing at No. 17 in Suffolk, with an A overall grade.
Southold Union Free School District ranks No. 30 in the county with a B+.
Bridgehampton stands out among Suffolk high schools
Now for the individual schools.
Niche ranks public high schools separately from entire school districts, and The Bridgehampton School lands at No. 14 among public high schools in Suffolk County, earning an A overall grade.
That puts Bridgehampton ahead of Westhampton Beach Senior High School, which ranks No. 16 in Suffolk.
East Hampton High School comes in at No. 21, followed by Southampton High School at No. 22.
At the top of the county, Half Hollow Hills High School West ranks No. 1 among Suffolk public high schools, followed by Half Hollow Hills High School East at No. 2.
Ross holds the No. 2 spot among Suffolk private high schools
The East End also has one of Suffolk County’s highest-ranked private schools.
Ross School in East Hampton ranks No. 2 among private high schools in Suffolk, earning an A+ overall grade. Ross also held the No. 2 spot last year.
The Stony Brook School ranks No. 1, with The Knox School at No. 3.
And then there’s Sag Harbor
One of the more intriguing East End results belongs to Sag Harbor.
Niche puts Sag Harbor Union Free School District at No. 35 among Suffolk districts, a surprisingly modest showing for a district long associated with highly regarded public schools.
But another prominent ranking paints a very different picture of its secondary school.
In the latest U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools rankings, Pierson Middle/High School ranks No. 13 among public high schools in New York State.
That apparent disconnect is a good reminder that school rankings are not interchangeable. Niche and U.S. News use different methodologies and weigh school performance differently. A No. 35 district ranking from Niche and a No. 13 statewide high school ranking from U.S. News are measuring different things.
What changed this year?
Suffolk County’s national showing slipped overall.
Nineteen Suffolk school districts made Niche’s national Top 1,000 this year, down from 22 last year.
Even Half Hollow Hills, Suffolk’s top district, experienced a substantial move: It fell from No. 9 nationally last year to No. 59 this year.
Three Village dropped from No. 92 nationally to No. 174.
Closer to home, Southampton fell off Niche’s national list this year, along with Bay Shore and Deer Park.
Not everyone moved down. Sayville made a sizable jump, climbing from No. 986 nationally last year to No. 489 this year.
What do the rankings actually measure?
The rankings are about more than test scores.
Niche says its district rankings analyze statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents, using data that include information from the U.S. Department of Education. Factors include academics, college readiness, graduation rates, teachers and district ratings, along with other measures.
There is also an important change for 2027: Niche removed SAT and ACT scores from its rankings, citing the broader shift away from standardized test scores in college admissions.
That matters when comparing this year’s rankings with previous years. A district moving significantly up or down does not necessarily mean the schools themselves improved or declined by the same degree; changes in methodology and the performance of other districts can also affect placement.
For the East End, the new rankings offer a mixed report card: Westhampton Beach leads Hamptons districts in Suffolk, Mattituck-Cutchogue leads the North Fork, Bridgehampton makes an impressive showing among the county’s public high schools, and Ross remains near the top among private schools.
And Sag Harbor? Its dramatically different results depending on which ranking you consult may be the best evidence of all that no single number tells the whole story.
