Families Target Top-Rated School Districts This Moving Season--But at a Price
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E-mailRealtor.com® reveals the most sought-after school districts in the nation's 50 largest metros
The findings reveal that in 27 of the 50 most sought-after districts, high ratings come with a steep price tag—median listing prices in these top-rated districts averaged 1.21 million, 135% higher than the surrounding metro areas. Leading the list is Carroll Independent School District in the
Still, affordability is influencing family moves. Several top districts—such as
Other features drawing families include:
- Appealing lifestyle: Rural and mid-size suburban districts like Wimberley ISD near
Austin offer a strong sense of community and abundant outdoor amenities. - Small class sizes: Districts such as
Old Saybrook (Hartford ) andFayette County (Atlanta ) provide low pupil-teacher ratios for more personalized learning. - Walkability: Areas like
East Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids metro) and Alamo Heights ISD (San Antonio ) score high for walkable access between homes and schools.
"School quality has long been a driver of homebuying decisions. Our data shows families are making trade-offs—sometimes paying a significant premium for top-rated districts, and other times prioritizing value in areas that still offer strong academics," said
The full list of Most Popular School Districts in the Top 50 U.S. Metros is available at realtor.com/research/school-housing-2025.
Metro | Most Popular | District | Median | Median | Premium | Premium | Locale | Pupil/ | School |
Atlanta-Sandy |
| 8 | 42.2 % | Suburb: Large | 13.62 | 0.79 | |||
Austin-Round |
| 8 | 60.7 % | Rural: Distant | 14.81 | 0.02 | |||
| 7 | 13.0 % | Suburb: Mid | 14.21 | 1.90 | ||||
Mountain | 10 | 241.5 % | Suburb: Large | 11.47 | 3.46 | ||||
* | 9 | 82.8 % | Suburb: Large | 11.91 | 0.29 | ||||
| 8 | 61.9 % | Town: Fringe | 10.85 | 2.85 | ||||
| 5 | 7.7 % | Suburb: Large | 16.36 | 0.11 | ||||
|
| 8 | 30.2 % | Suburb: Large | 14.32 | 3.79 | |||
|
| 7 | 53.9 % | Suburb: Large | 17.09 | 3.43 | |||
| 8 | 125.3 % | Suburb: Large | 14.9 | 3.68 | ||||
Granville | 8 | 66.7 % | Suburb: Small | 18.38 | 0.15 | ||||
Dallas-Fort | Carroll | 9 | 390.9 % | Suburb: Large | 15.31 | 3.42 | |||
| 7 | 6.4 % | Rural: Distant | 13.42 | 0.00 | ||||
Trenton Public | 7 | -9.9 % | - | Suburb: Large | 16.42 | 6.28 | |||
East Grand | 9 | 113.4 % | Suburb: Large | 18.26 | 7.64 | ||||
Hartford-West |
| 7 | 103.5 % | Suburb: Large | 8.84 | 1.17 | |||
| Humble | 6 | -3.3 % | - | Suburb: Large | 14.36 | 4.61 | ||
|
| 8 | 84.6 % | City: Mid | 15.92 | 2.99 | |||
| 8 | 35.8 % | Suburb: Large | 17.76 | 0.24 | ||||
| Shawnee | 6 | 24.5 % | City: Mid | 13.93 | 4.99 | |||
| ** | 6 | 0.0 % | - | City: Large | 20.71 | 4.43 | ||
Los Angeles-Long |
| 9 | 322.0 % | Suburb: Large | 18.79 | 2.60 | |||
|
| 7 | 79.6 % | Suburb: Large | 16.5 | 0.20 | |||
|
| 8 | 63.7 % | Suburb: Large | 14.58 | 3.49 | |||
Miami-Fort |
| 6 | -2.7 % | - | Suburb: Large | 16.57 | 2.42 | ||
| 8 | 10.5 % | Suburb: Large | 15.64 | 2.57 | ||||
|
| 7 | 48.2 % | Town: Fringe | 18.85 | 1.51 | |||
| 7 | 41.7 % | City: Small | 10.58 | 3.70 | ||||
| Holmdel | 8 | 73.3 % | Suburb: Large | 10.14 | 1.47 | |||
| Edmond | 7 | 43.9 % | Suburb: Large | 17.47 | 2.75 | |||
| 6 | 2.0 % | Suburb: Large | 17.14 | 2.88 | ||||
|
| 8 | 223.9 % | Town: Fringe | 11.32 | 1.82 | |||
7 | 220.7 % | City: Mid | 17.51 | 0.01 | |||||
Peters | 9 | 114.1 % | Suburb: Large | 15.74 | 2.07 | ||||
| 8 | 117.7 % | Suburb: Large | 16.7 | 5.93 | ||||
Providence- |
| 8 | 95.5 % | Suburb: Large | 11.05 | 0.34 | |||
| 7 | -19.3 % | - | Rural: Fringe | 15.18 | 0.24 | |||
Chesterfield | 5 | 5.4 % | Suburb: Large | 13.84 | 1.37 | ||||
Riverside-San |
| 8 | 47.3 % | Suburb: Large | 24.49 | 5.48 | |||
| Eureka Union | 9 | 95.4 % | Suburb: Large | 23.76 | 5.02 | |||
Ladue School | 8 | 222.8 % | Suburb: Large | 13.82 | 5.04 | ||||
San Antonio-New |
| 8 | 70.6 % | City: Large | 12.91 | 6.33 | |||
San Diego-Chula | Del Mar Union | 8 | 121.1 % | City: Large | 19.99 | 4.67 | |||
| Reed Union | 9 | 304.7 % | Suburb: Large | 14.99 | 2.86 | |||
|
| 6 | 5.2 % | Suburb: Mid | 21.56 | 4.13 | |||
Peninsula | 7 | 17.6 % | Suburb: Large | 18.46 | 0.13 | ||||
Tampa-St. |
| 5 | 7.8 % | Suburb: Large | 18.32 | 3.57 | |||
Catalina | 9 | 39.7 % | Suburb: Large | 17.2 | 2.16 | ||||
| 6 | 68.9 % | Rural: Distant | 15.95 | 0.01 | ||||
|
| 6 | 3.0 % | Suburb: Large | 15.04 | 3.62 | |||
*Data from Boston Public Schools and Cambridge Public Schools are under review and were excluded from consideration in this analysis; ** | |||||||||
Methodology:
To identify the most popular school districts across top 50 U.S. metros, we analyzed views per property from out-of-market home shoppers between May and
Please note that there might be some overlaps between these popular school districts and our hottest zip codes. While top schools are undoubtedly attracting shoppers to certain zips, it's also likely that a district's apparent popularity is influenced by broader market conditions and the overall appeal of the ZIP code itself. Therefore, whether the overlap is limited or extensive, it suggests that this is not a major concern / this may be an important contributing factor.
School district location types (urban, suburban, town, or rural) and pupil-teacher ratios were sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics. School walkability scores were aggregated from the latest property-level data provided by Local Logic, which measures the distance to the nearest elementary and high school for each known property within a district.
About Realtor.com®
Realtor.com® pioneered online real estate and has been at the forefront for over 25 years, connecting buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights, professional guidance and powerful tools to help them find their perfect home. Recognized as the No. 1 site trusted by real estate professionals, Realtor.com® is a valued partner, delivering consumer connections and a robust suite of marketing tools to support business growth. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.
Media contact:
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/families-target-top-rated-school-districts-this-moving-seasonbut-at-a-price-302529447.html
SOURCE Realtor.com
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