Test Prep Insight is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

Top 250 Most Envied School Districts in the US [2024 Survey]
By Debbie Lopez Updated on September 11, 2024
Rick Lopez, M.Ed. Rick Lopez, M.Ed.

Top 250 Most Envied School Districts in the US [2024 Survey]

We recently ran a survey of 3,000 parents to discover which school districts they would hypothetically most want their children to be schooled in, if given the choice. As you may guess, the most sought after districts in the country fall in wealthy suburbs of major metropolitan cities. The full results are highlighted in the infographic below.

Implications of the Study

  • Highlighting Inequality: The results of our study underscore disparities in educational opportunities across the US, largely influenced by local economic health and the robustness of the tax base.
  • Impact of Zoning: School zoning plays a crucial role in determining a child’s educational path, with the quality of education heavily dependent on one’s home address. This system may be contributing to socio-economic divisions.
  • The Role of Funding: The success of the most envied districts highlights the critical impact of funding on educational quality. These districts benefit from ample funding, thanks to a prosperous tax base and strong community investment.
  • Need for Policy Reform: The findings call for policy reforms aimed at reducing educational disparities by ensuring more equitable distribution of resources and funding across school districts.
  • Impact on Test Scores: The study implies that students in envied districts likely achieve higher test scores due to superior education and access to extensive resources such as SAT test prep courses. This advantage underscores the need for equitable test preparation services across all districts to ensure fair college admissions opportunities.
  • Community Engagement: The importance of community support and engagement in enhancing educational quality is quite evident based on the results of our study. This suggests that initiatives to foster community involvement in schools could be beneficial across a wider range of districts, especially in school districts where students speak a second language at home.
  • Rethinking Education Equity: Our study prompts a broader societal reflection on how to provide all children with access to high-quality education, regardless of their zip code. This could involve exploring alternative funding models, enhancing school choice options, introducing new language programs, or increasing investment in under-resourced districts.

To summarize, our study not only highlights the top envied school districts but also brings to light the broader implications of how educational opportunities are distributed in society, calling for a concerted effort to address these disparities.

Methodology

Online panel survey of 3,000 adults based on age, gender, and geography. Internal data sources are used to obtain population data sets. We used a two-step process to ensure representativeness through stratified sampling and post-stratification weighting.