📊 Data: NCES CCD 2024–2025·🔄 Updated: September 2026·Editorial standards
🏆 Rankings · Metro Area · Ohio State Tests 2024–25

Best School Districts
in the Columbus, OH Metro

The Columbus, OH metro area has 58 rated public school districts. Ratings are percentile-ranked within each district's own state.

📊 What this ranking measures
Rankings are based on academic achievement — the share of students scoring proficient or above on state reading and math assessments (Ohio State Tests 2024–25), ranked against other districts in the same state — not on spending, district size, or staffing. See full methodology →
58 Rated Districts in the Columbus, OH Metro Area Ohio State Tests 2024–25 · percentile among Ohio districts
Metro RankDistrictDistrict OfficeRatingState Percentile
#1Grandview Heights City School DistrictColumbus10/10  Excellent95th
#2New Albany-Plain Local School DistrictNew Albany10/10  Excellent95th
#3Granville Exempted Village School DistrictGranville10/10  Excellent94th
#4Olentangy Local School DistrictLewis Center10/10  Excellent93rd
#5Upper Arlington City School DistrictUpper Arlington10/10  Excellent91st
#6Bexley City School DistrictColumbus10/10  Excellent90th
#7Fairbanks Local School DistrictMilford Center9/10  Excellent83rd
#8Johnstown-Monroe Local School DistrictJohnstown8/10  Good79th
#9Big Walnut Local School DistrictSunbury8/10  Good78th
#10Dublin City School DistrictDublin8/10  Good77th
#11Jonathan Alder Local School DistrictPlain City8/10  Good74th
#12Marysville Exempted Village School DistrictMarysville8/10  Good74th
#13Buckeye Valley Local School DistrictDelaware8/10  Good72nd
#14Heath City School DistrictHeath8/10  Good70th
#15Worthington City School DistrictWorthington8/10  Good70th
#16Teays Valley Local School DistrictAshville7/10  Good68th
#17Bloom-Carroll Local School DistrictCarroll7/10  Good67th
#18Gahanna-Jefferson City School DistrictGahanna7/10  Good62nd
#19Pickerington Local School DistrictPickerington7/10  Good60th
#20Berne Union Local School DistrictSugar Grove6/10  Average58th
#21Northmor Local School DistrictGalion6/10  Average57th
#22Southwest Licking Local School DistrictPataskala6/10  Average56th
#23Westerville City School DistrictWesterville6/10  Average56th
#24Liberty Union-Thurston Local School DistrictBaltimore6/10  Average53rd
#25Hilliard City School DistrictColumbus6/10  Average52nd
#26Logan-Hocking Local School DistrictLogan6/10  Average52nd
#27Northern Local School DistrictThornville6/10  Average50th
#28Jefferson Local School DistrictWest Jefferson5/10  Average48th
#29Canal Winchester Local School DistrictCanal Winchester5/10  Average47th
#30Delaware City School DistrictDelaware5/10  Average47th
#31Highland Local School DistrictMarengo5/10  Average45th
#32Northridge Local School DistrictJohnstown5/10  Average45th
#33Fairfield Union Local School DistrictLancaster5/10  Average44th
#34Westfall Local School DistrictWilliamsport5/10  Average44th
#35Madison-Plains Local School DistrictLondon5/10  Average43rd
#36Licking Valley Local School DistrictNewark5/10  Average42nd
#37Logan Elm Local School DistrictCircleville5/10  Average40th
#38Lakewood Local School DistrictHebron4/10  Below Average38th
#39North Fork Local School DistrictUtica4/10  Below Average36th
#40New Lexington City School DistrictNew Lexington4/10  Below Average35th
#41North Union Local School DistrictRichwood4/10  Below Average33rd
#42Licking Heights Local School DistrictPataskala4/10  Below Average30th
#43Walnut Township Local School DistrictMillersport3/10  Below Average27th
#44Hamilton Local School DistrictColumbus3/10  Below Average26th
#45Amanda-Clearcreek Local School DistrictAmanda3/10  Below Average25th
#46Lancaster City School DistrictLancaster3/10  Below Average23rd
#47Newark City School DistrictNewark3/10  Below Average23rd
#48Circleville City School DistrictCircleville2/10  Poor19th
#49London City School DistrictLondon2/10  Poor19th
#50South-Western City School DistrictGrove City2/10  Poor15th
#51Cardington-Lincoln Local School DistrictCardington2/10  Poor12th
#52Mount Gilead Exempted Village School DistrictMount Gilead2/10  Poor12th
#53Crooksville Exempted Village School DistrictCrooksville2/10  Poor10th
#54Groveport Madison Local School DistrictGroveport1/10  Poor9th
#55Southern Local School DistrictCorning1/10  Poor9th
#56Reynoldsburg City School DistrictReynoldsburg1/10  Poor8th
#57Whitehall City School DistrictWhitehall1/10  Poor4th
#58Columbus City School DistrictColumbus1/10  Poor3rd

Best School Districts in the Columbus, OH Metro Area (2026)

Counties are assigned to metropolitan areas using the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 delineation, and each district is placed in the county of its NCES directory listing. Ratings come from Ohio State Tests 2024–25 (Ohio) and are percentile-ranked within the district's own state. Always confirm your assignment by address.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best-rated school district in the Columbus, OH metro area? ▼
Among the 58 rated districts in the Columbus, OH metro area, 2 share the top position at 10/10 (Excellent), 95th percentile of Ohio districts on Ohio State Tests 2024–25 reading and math proficiency: Grandview Heights City School District (Columbus); New Albany-Plain Local School District (New Albany).
How are these rankings calculated? ▼
Each district's rating comes from the share of its students scoring proficient or above on state reading and math assessments, percentile-ranked against all rated districts in its state and converted to a 1–10 scale. Full methodology here.
🔍 Find Your District
🏆 Best by State
Best districts in Ohio› All metro areas›