Housing

10 Cities Where People Spend the Most for Schools

Paul Ausick

Published: August 20, 2016 9:45 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 4:26 am

One consideration many buyers place at the top of their lists when shopping for a new home is the quality of the local public school system. Homes in these districts typically cost more, but are also worth more when they are sold later.

How much is the school district premium? According to research at Realtor.com, a lot:

[H]omes in the higher-rated public school districts are, on average, 49% more expensive—at $400,000—than the national median of $269,000, and 77% more expensive than schools located in lower-ranked districts in their own area, with a median of $225,000.

The researchers compared homes in school districts rated at the top (scores of 9 or 10) by GreatSchools.org with schools that scored 6 or less.

Another benefit of homes in higher rated school districts is that they sell faster: about four days faster than the national average and eight days faster than homes in lower rated school districts.

Homes in higher rated school districts also get more foot traffic: 26% more on average than a typical home listed on Realtor.com and 42% more than homes in lower rated districts.

Here are the 10 school districts that sport the highest premiums.

1. Beverly Hills Unified School District, Los Angeles County: The school district made famous by the TV series “Beverly Hills 90210” is rated 9 and homes in the district sell for 689% more ($3.8 million) than other homes in Los Angeles County averaging $550,0000.
2. Highland Park Independent School District, Dallas County: This Texas district is rated a 10 and homes in the district sell for a premium of 632% ($1.8 million) compared with the Dallas County median of $277,000.
3. Kenilworth School District No. 38, Cook County, Illinois: Homes in this north Chicago suburb sell for a premium of 606% ($1.06 million) compared with the average in Cook County home. This is the third-highest ranked school district in the country and is rated a 10 by GreatSchools.org.
4. Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Hamilton County, Ohio
5. Winnetka School District 36, Cook County, Illinois
6. Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Los Angeles County
7. Scarsdale Union Free School District, Westchester County, New York
8. Saddle River School District, Bergen County, New Jersey
9. San Marino Unified School District, Los Angeles County
10. Mariemont City School District, Hamilton County, Ohio

If you’re looking for a home at a more reasonable price and higher rated schools, Realtor.com’s researchers also picked out the top 10 school districts in “relatively affordable” markets:

1. Rocky River City School District, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
2. Clear Creek Independent School District, Harris County, Texas
3. School Town of Munster School District, Lake County, Indiana
4. Orange School District, New Haven County, Connecticut
5. Etiwanda Elementary School District, San Bernardino County, California
6. Longmeadow School District, Hampden County, Massachusetts
7. Strongsville City School District, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
8. Plymouth-Canton Community School, Wayne County, Michigan
9. Regional School District 05 School, New Haven County, Connecticut
10. Trumbull School District, Fairfield County, Connecticut