Home & Living

20+ Best Neighborhoods for Public Schools

With the market finally on the mend, we went house-hunting to come up with a list of more than 50 of the region’s best neighborhoods, from Annapolis to Roland Park to Havre de Grace, and then tracked down some of the folks buying there.

Spending $20,000 a year to send Junior to private school? You may not need to in these school districts.

Anne Arundel County

Annapolis/Cape St. Claire
Broadneck HS
Magothy River MS
Broadneck Elem.
Cape St. Claire Elem.

Pasadena
Chesapeake HS
Chesapeake Bay MS
Bodkin Elem.
Jacobsville Elem.
Lake Shore Elem.
Pasadena Elem.

Severna Park
Severna Park HS
Severna Park MS
Benfield Elem.
Folger McKinsey Elem.
Jones Elem.
Oak Hill Elem.
Severna Park Elem.
Shipley’s Choice Elem.

Baltimore City

Roland Park
Roland Park Elem./MS

Gwynn Oak
Liberty Elem.
Baltimore Civitas MS/HS (choice Northwest quadrant)

Woodberry
Medfield Heights Elem.

Middle East/Baltimore Highlands
William Paca Elem.
KASA Baltimore
College Preparatory MS/HS (choice Southwest quadrant)

Belair-Edison
Armistead Gardens Elem./MS

Edmondson/Woodlawn
Dickey Hill Elem./MS

Mt. Washington
The Mt. Washington School

Baltimore County

Hereford
Hereford HS
Hereford MS
Fifth District Elem.
Prettyboy Elem.
Seventh District Elem.
Sparks Elem.

Loch Raven
Loch Raven HS
Pine Grove MS
Pine Grove Elem.

Timonium
Dulaney HS
Ridgely MS
Timonium Elem.
Pot Spring Elem.
Lutherville Laboratory Elem.
Pinewood Elem.

Carroll County

Sykesville
Century HS
Liberty HS
Sykesville MS
Oklahoma Road MS
Eldersburg Elem.
Linton Springs Elem.
Piney Ridge Elem.
Mechanicsville Elem.

Mount Airy
Mount Airy MS
Mount Airy Elem.
South Carroll HS

Bel Air South
Patterson Mill MS/HS
Homestead/Wakefield Elem.
William S. James Elem.

Bel Air North
C. Milton Wright HS
Southampton MS
Churchville Elem.
Dublin Elem.
Hickory Elem.

Howard County

Marriottsville
Marriotts Ridge HS
Mount View MS
Manor Woods Elem.
Waverly Elem.
West Friendship Elem.

Clarksville
Glenelg HS
River Hill HS
Folly Quarter MS
Clarksville MS
Lime Kiln MS
Clarksville MS
Clarksville Elem.
Dayton Run Elem.
Pointers Run Elem.
Triadelphia Elem.

Columbia
Atholton HS
Wilde Lake HS
Harper’s Choice MS
Oakland Mills HS
Atholton Elem.
Thunder Hill Elem.

Ellicott City
Mt. Hebron HS
Centennial HS
Patapsco MS
Burleigh Manor MS
St. Johns Lane Elem.
Hollifield Station Elem.
Northfield Elem.
Centennial Lane Elem.

Ratings are based on Maryland School Assessment (MSA) and High School Assessment (HSA) data from 2012, and other data.