Diamonds in the Rough: 15 Top-Rated NYC Public Schools in High-Crime Neighborhoods (2026 Data)

NYC School Ratings Team · 2026-05-09 · 11 min read

Using new NYPD-backed Neighborhood Safety Index data, we identified 72 NYC public schools that score 95+ academically while sitting in the bottom third for neighborhood safety. The Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn dominate this list — and the data shows that ZIP-code crime is a near-zero predictor of school quality (r = 0.09).