Realtor.com® reveals the most sought-after school districts in the nation's 50 largest metros
With the new school year just around the corner, families on the move are zeroing in on school districts that promise both quality education and strong community appeal, according to a new analysis fromRealtor.com®. The 2025 list of the Most Popular School Districts by Metrohighlights where out-of-district home shoppers are looking most between May and July 2025, focusing on areas with at least one public school rated 8 or higher.
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 Dallas metro, where homes come with a 390.9% premium compared to the metro average, followed by Laguna Beach Unified in Orange County (322% premium) and Reed Union Elementary in the San Francisco Bay Area (304.7% premium).
Still, affordability is influencing family moves. Several top districts-such as Johnston County in Raleigh, Humble ISD in Houston, and Palm Beach County in Miami-boast median listing prices below their surrounding metro averages. These areas combine strong schools with more attainable housing costs, often due to their suburban or rural settings.
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) and Fayette 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 Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com®. “This year, we also saw sizable interest in districts outside major urban centers, reflecting both affordability concerns and a desire for lifestyle amenities.”
The full list of Most Popular School Districts in the Top 50 U.S. Metros is available atrealtor.com/research/school-housing-2025.
Metro Most Popular District Median Median Premium Premium Locale Pupil/ School School District Rating Listing Price Listing Price, vs. vs. Teacher Walkability Surrounding Surrounding Surrounding Ratio Score Metro Metros (%) Metros ($) (out of 10)Atlanta-Sandy Fayette County 8 $597,617 $420,282 42.2% $177,335 Suburb: Large 13.62 0.79Springs-Roswell, School DistrictGAAustin-Round Wimberley 8 $835,900 $520,300 60.7% $315,600 Rural: Distant 14.81 0.02Rock-San IndependentMarcos, TX School DistrictBaltimore- Harford County 7 $451,805 $399,966 13.0% $51,839 Suburb: Mid 14.21 1.90Columbia- Public SchoolsTowson, MDBirmingham, AL Mountain 10 $1,046,408 $306,433 241.5% $739,975 Suburb: Large 11.47 3.46 Brook City School DistrictBoston- *Duxbury 9 $1,569,167 $858,641 82.8% $710,526 Suburb: Large 11.91 0.29Cambridge- School DistrictNewton, MA-NHBuffalo- East Aurora 8 $485,408 $299,750 61.9% $185,658 Town: Fringe 10.85 2.85Cheektowaga, NY Union Free School DistrictCharlotte- Iredell- 5 $486,017 $451,311 7.7% $34,706 Suburb: Large 16.36 0.11Concord- StatesvilleGastonia, NC-SC School DistrictChicago- Mokena 8 $493,533 $378,933 30.2% $114,600 Suburb: Large 14.32 3.79Naperville-Elgin, School DistrictIL-IN 159Cincinnati, OH- Forest Hills 7 $543,800 $353,308 53.9% $190,492 Suburb: Large 17.09 3.43KY-IN Local School DistrictCleveland, OH Bay Village 8 $616,492 $273,608 125.3% $342,884 Suburb: Large 14.9 3.68 City School DistrictColumbus, OH Granville 8 $651,583 $390,783 66.7% $260,800 Suburb: Small 18.38 0.15 Exempted Village School DistrictDallas-Fort Carroll 9 $2,159,833 $439,967 390.9% $1,719,866 Suburb: Large 15.31 3.42Worth-Arlington, IndependentTX School DistrictDenver-Aurora- Platte Canyon 7 $642,025 $603,317 6.4% $38,708 Rural: Distant 13.42 0.00Centennial, CO 1 School DistrictDetroit-Warren- Trenton Public 7 $249,290 $276,650 -9.9% -$27,360 Suburb: Large 16.42 6.28Dearborn, MI SchoolsGrand Rapids- East Grand 9 $890,817 $417,400 113.4% $473,417 Suburb: Large 18.26 7.64Wyoming- Rapids PublicKentwood, MI SchoolsHartford-West Old Saybrook 7 $938,158 $460,933 103.5% $477,225 Suburb: Large 8.84 1.17Hartford-East School DistrictHartford, CTHouston- Humble 6 $360,056 $372,475 -3.3% -$12,419 Suburb: Large 14.36 4.61Pasadena-The IndependentWoodlands, TX School DistrictIndianapolis- Carmel Clay 8 $617,808 $334,741 84.6% $283,067 City: Mid 15.92 2.99Carmel- SchoolsGreenwood, INJacksonville, FL St. Johns 8 $553,317 $407,497 35.8% $145,820 Suburb: Large 17.76 0.24 County School DistrictKansas City, MO- Shawnee 6 $506,225 $406,499 24.5% $99,726 City: Mid 13.93 4.99KS Mission Pub SchoolLas Vegas- **Clark County 6 $479,950 $479,996 0.0% -$46 City: Large 20.71 4.43Henderson-North School District*Las Vegas, NVLos Angeles-Long Laguna Beach 9 $4,959,833 $1,175,328 322.0% $3,784,505 Suburb: Large 18.79 2.60Beach-Anaheim, Unified SchoolCA DistrictLouisville/Jefferson Oldham 7 $585,150 $325,888 79.6% $259,262 Suburb: Large 16.5 0.20County, KY-IN County School DistrictMemphis, TN-MS- Germantown 8 $565,828 $345,717 63.7% $220,111 Suburb: Large 14.58 3.49AR Municipal School DistrictMiami-Fort Palm Beach 6 $496,080 $509,983 -2.7% -$13,903 Suburb: Large 16.57 2.42Lauderdale-West County SchoolPalm Beach, FL DistrictMilwaukee- New Berlin 8 $449,008 $406,483 10.5% $42,525 Suburb: Large 15.64 2.57Waukesha, WI School DistrictMinneapolis- Stillwater Area 7 $656,625 $442,967 48.2% $213,658 Town: Fringe 18.85 1.51St. Paul- Public SchoolBloomington, DistrictMN-WINashville- Franklin 7 $775,950 $547,450 41.7% $228,500 City: Small 10.58 3.70Davidson– School DistrictMurfreesboro–Franklin, TNNew York- Holmdel 8 $1,361,583 $785,500 73.3% $576,083 Suburb: Large 10.14 1.47Newark-Jersey TownshipCity, NY-NJ School DistrictOklahoma City, Edmond 7 $471,128 $327,442 43.9% $143,686 Suburb: Large 17.47 2.75OK School DistrictOrlando- Seminole 6 $437,703 $429,123 2.0% $8,580 Suburb: Large 17.14 2.88Kissimmee- County PublicSanford, FL SchoolsPhiladelphia- New Hope- 8 $1,249,567 $385,800 223.9% $863,767 Town: Fringe 11.32 1.82Camden- SoleburyWilmington, PA- School DistrictNJ-DE-MDPhoenix-Mesa- Cave Creek 7 $1,656,908 $516,667 220.7% $1,140,241 City: Mid 17.51 0.01Chandler, AZ Unified DistrictPittsburgh, PA Peters 9 $540,304 $252,409 114.1% $287,895 Suburb: Large 15.74 2.07 Township School DistrictPortland- Lake Oswego 8 $1,324,958 $608,567 117.7% $716,391 Suburb: Large 16.7 5.93Vancouver- School District 7jHillsboro, OR-WAProvidence- Narragansett 8 $1,173,083 $599,950 95.5% $573,133 Suburb: Large 11.05 0.34Warwick, RI-MA School DistrictRaleigh-Cary, NC Johnston 7 $370,767 $459,723 -19.3% -$88,956 Rural: Fringe 15.18 0.24 County School DistrictRichmond, VA Chesterfield 5 $480,081 $455,375 5.4% $24,706 Suburb: Large 13.84 1.37 County Public SchoolsRiverside-San Alta Loma 8 $883,825 $599,965 47.3% $283,860 Suburb: Large 24.49 5.48Bernardino- ElementaryOntario, CA School DistrictSacramento- Eureka Union 9 $1,235,083 $632,154 95.4% $602,929 Suburb: Large 23.76 5.02Roseville-Folsom, School DistrictCASt. Louis, MO-IL Ladue School 8 $968,247 $299,950 222.8% $668,297 Suburb: Large 13.82 5.04 DistrictSan Antonio-New Alamo Heights 8 $580,183 $339,992 70.6% $240,191 City: Large 12.91 6.33Braunfels, TX Independent School DistrictSan Diego-Chula Del Mar Union 8 $2,194,583 $992,500 121.1% $1,202,083 City: Large 19.99 4.67Vista-Carlsbad, ElementaryCA School DistrictSan Francisco- Reed Union 9 $4,029,750 $995,767 304.7% $3,033,983 Suburb: Large 14.99 2.86Oakland-Fremont, ElementaryCA School DistrictSan Jose- Morgan Hill 6 $1,469,500 $1,397,398 5.2% $72,102 Suburb: Mid 21.56 4.13Sunnyvale-Santa Unified SchoolClara, CA DistrictSeattle-Tacoma- Peninsula 7 $934,575 $794,571 17.6% $140,004 Suburb: Large 18.46 0.13Bellevue, WA School DistrictTampa-St. Hillsborough 5 $449,667 $417,167 7.8% $32,500 Suburb: Large 18.32 3.57Petersburg- County PublicClearwater, FL School DistrictTucson, AZ Catalina 9 $546,942 $391,500 39.7% $155,442 Suburb: Large 17.2 2.16 Foothills Unified DistrictVirginia Beach- Currituck 6 $701,133 $415,000 68.9% $286,133 Rural: Distant 15.95 0.01Chesapeake- County SchoolNorfolk, VA-NC DistrictWashington- Prince William 6 $642,865 $624,133 3.0% $18,732 Suburb: Large 15.04 3.62Arlington- County PublicAlexandria, DC- SchoolsVA-MD-WV*Data from Boston Public Schools and Cambridge Public Schools are under review and were excluded from consideration in this analysis;** Las Vegasmetro only has one school district
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 July 2025. To focus on school-driven housing demand, our analysis included only listings with at least one nearby public school rated 8 or higher, according to GreatSchools ratings. In addition, we restricted our analysis to school districts with an average of at least 100 for-sale properties during this period to ensure we are capturing districts of a meaningful size and housing market presence.
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: Mallory Micetich, press@realtor.com
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SOURCE Realtor.com
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