Where are the best schools in Atlanta Georgia? I get that question all the time from people just like you who have kids and are wanting to move to the best school districts. And being a former high school Chemistry teacher in some of the best schools in Atlanta Georgia, I know a thing or two about schools. So if you are looking for the best schools in Atlanta Georgia for your high school age child, you came to the right place. I am going to not only show you where to find the best schools in Atlanta Georgia, I am also going to tell you about the median sales prices in all of these school districts.
You, like so many other people want the best schools possible for your kids. You are probably wondering what are the best schools in Atlanta Georgia? Well as a former high school teacher let me start with a few things. While I am going to go through the tops schools list that US News and World Reports put out just because a school does or doesn’t make it to the top of the list doesn’t mean it is or isn’t a great school. In any list you come across they are using there own criteria for making their list which may or may not match up to what you find important in schooling for your children. I would strongly suggest as you look into schools you should really find out what is important to you and research the schools you are considering in more depth. For instance is it all about test scores for you? Are extra curricular activities important? Maybe your children are thriving in the Arts or Science so a more specialized school would be ideal. Is diversity important to you? These are criteria you may find important that the companies that do these studies don’t. What I am really trying to say is maybe using these lists could be a starting point to determining the best schools in Atlanta Georgia, but shouldn’t be your ending point.
Ok so schools are covered but what about housing? Everyone has a budget so for the schools I mention in this video I am also going to mention the median sales price for both single family detached homes and attached homes such as condos and townhomes for the school district. This way you can weigh you options, see what fits into your budget an be able to make a more informed decision.
Let’s get started with school number one school on our list of best schools in Atlanta Georgia. Now this isn’t just the highest rated high school in metro Atlanta and in Georgia but it is also the #9 ranked high school in all the US. That high school is located in Lawrenceville Georgia and the high school is the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology or better known as GSMST. To start with the school may be one of the top schools in the entire US but they really should have come up with a better name for the school. I mean even using the initials is a mouthful. Well, we start off with a very unique school right off the bat. First of all, to be able to attend this school you just have to live in Gwinnett County. So for housing you are going to have a lot of options. How you get into this school is pretty straight forward, you fill out an application for your 9th grader, because that is the grade level this schools starts at and you are entered into a lottery. There are 375 spots available and they draw for who gets to attend. All you have to be is a Gwinnett resident. But let me give you caution. This school is very academically intense. I was still teaching when this school came into being. I know a number of the teachers that were there when the school first opened and who developed some of the curriculum like the engineering curriculum. Yes they have engineering classes. When the school first started I don’t think everyone totally understood how vigorous the standards are and many very smart kids couldn’t handle the work load and had to transfer. Now since the beginning to now, words gotten out so less of that has happened. But just know you will want to have a very academically inclined kids with a high desire for learning and pushing themselves to be successful here. For a vast majority of kids that go here, by the time they hit there senior year, they are doing internships and dual enrollment programs where they are already taking college classes. While there are some amazing opportunities here, it is not for everyone.
As for housing, since it covers all Gwinnett county I pulled the median sales price for single family homes for Gwinnett which is $415,000 and for attached homes it is $364,000. You have a wide area to choose from but the school itself is located in Lawrenceville in the middle of the county so keep that in mind.
Next school on our list of best schools in Atlanta Georgia is Walton High School in Marietta. This is a normal public school and not only has high academic standards, but excels in extra curricular activities as well. This location is nice because if you buy a home here you have easy access to I-285 but also are close to Truist Park which is the home of the Atlanta Braves baseball team. If you are wanting to live in the Walton High School district you are looking at single family detached homes with a median sales price of $720,000 and for attached homes you are looking at a price of $280,000.
Coming in at number 3 for the best schools in Atlanta Georgia we have Lambert High School which is technically in the city of Suwanee, but it is in Forsyth County and most people think of this area more Johns Creek or maybe Cumming. As I have stated in previous videos, how city lines are drawn around Atlanta is just bizarre. If you want to purchase a single family detached home in the Lambert school district you are looking at a median sales price of $735,000 and for an attached home a median sales price of $499,000. If you want to learn more about Suwanee I did a video about the area that you should take a look at after you finish this one.
Ok next for the best schools in Atlanta Georgia we are not going far as we are not going very far as we are in the city of Johns Creek this time and we are looking at Northview High School. This high school has definitely risen on this list over the last few years mainly for its academics, but living in the Northview district comes with a larger median value. For a single family detached home you are looking at $810,000 and for an attached home they are coming in at $505,000.
Number 5 on our list of best schools in Atlanta Georgia we once again brings us to a unique high school. You will have to venture into Dekalb county into Avondale Estates to find the DeKalb School of the Arts. This school is a performing Arts magnet school so unlike GSMST which holds a lottery, for this school you apply and submit an audition or portfolio and you have to be chosen. But this school is an option for any DeKalb County residents. So when it comes to housing for DeKalb county the median sales price for a single family detached home is $398,000 and for an attache home is $290,000.
It’s nice to see both schools with focuses on Science and Art represented in the top 5.
Ok as we go through the next 5 best schools in Atlanta Georgia and some honorable mentions I am going to pick up the pace and I am just going to give you median sales prices for single family detached homes.
So for the 6th ranked school on our list of best schools in Atlanta Georgia we go back to Forsyth county and we find South Forsyth High School located in Cumming Ga. The median sales price is $695,000. Next we go back to Marietta and we find Lassiter High School where home have a median sales price of $600,000. Now for our best schools in Atlanta Georgia list we go north to the city of Milton and we come across the high school that has the highest median sales prices in all of metro Atlanta. The high school is Cambridge High School and the median sales price for homes is $1,023,000. This is an area that is known for its horse farms so if you are into horse back riding and competitions as well as looking for a great school, this one may be the one for you.
Downtown Alpharetta At number 9 for our list of best schools in Atlanta Georgia we find a neighboring school and that is Alpharetta High School where we find a median sales price of $880,000. If you want to get a good feel for what its like to live in the area you may want to take a look at this video right here.
And rounding out our top 10 for the best schools in Atlanta Georgia we go back over to Chattahoochee High School in Johns Creek where we find home values coming in at $580,000.
Now before I mention some honorable mentions for the best schools in Atlanta Georgia, I want to point out where most of these schools in this list are located. I am going to set aside GSMST and the DeKalb School of the Arts because you can live in those counties and be eligible. But if you look at the rest, they are all located across north Atlanta. There are some schools in other parts of Atlanta that we should mention. If you go to the south side of Atlanta you will find McIntosh High in Peachtree City and Starrs Mill High School right next to it in Fayetteville. The median sales prices for home in McIntosh school district are $653,000 and in the Starrs Mill district are $552,000. If you look west and go to the city of Powder Springs you will find Hillgrove High School. The median sales price of homes here is $502,000. And last one I want to mention is on the east side of Atlanta in the city of Snellville. The high school is Brookwood High School and here we find the lowest price homes for a specific school district and they come in at $432,000.
I hope this helps some with your home search and figuring out where the best schools in Atlanta Georgia are located. If you have questions specific to your home needs or have questions about where are the best schools in Atlanta Georgia then give me a call, shoot me a text or send me an email and we can talk more about your needs. And if you think I left off schools that you think should be added to the list of best schools in Atlanta Georgia then let me know.