Niche names its top-ranked schools & districts in Bellingham and Whatcom County for 2025
Rankings site Niche.com released its annual list of the best schools and districts in the country on Sept. 30. The rankings, which can be broken down by state, county and city, are made using a combination of student and parent reviews with data from the Department of Education, among other sources.
Here’s how Bellingham and Whatcom County’s schools and districts stacked up.
Best school districts in Whatcom County
Bellingham Public Schools took the top spot among school districts in the county, and No. 29 spot in the state, with an overall grade of B+. It earned its highest marks for its teachers, clubs and activities.
Nooksack Valley School District took second place, and the No. 49 spot in the state, also earning a B+. Niche awarded it an A for diversity and the quality of its teachers, as well as an A- for clubs and activities.
Lynden’s school district earned the third-highest grade in the county, and the No. 86 spot in the state. It was awarded a B overall, with B+ for diversity, and B for the quality of its teachers and administration. It also ranked No. 7 on Niche’s list of best districts in Washington for student athletes.
Meridian and Ferndale school districts rounded out the top five, followed by Blaine and Mt. Baker.
Best High Schools in Bellingham, Whatcom County
According to Niche, Sehome High School is the best high school in Whatcom County and the No. 32 public high school in the state. It was awarded an A overall, as well as an A for its academics and an A- for its teachers.
Bellingham High School also earned an A, placing second in the county and No. 44 in the state. Its highest marks came in the teaching and academics categories, where it earned an A-.
Staying in Bellingham Public Schools, Squalicum High School claimed the last spot in the top three. It received an A for diversity, an A- for its teaching and an A- overall, ranking No. 61 among public high schools in Washington.
Nooksack Valley High School was the highest-ranked high school in the county outside of Bellingham, with a B+ overall, an A for its teachers and an A- diversity grade.
Cornerstone Christian School in Lynden ranked as the No. 68 private high school in the state, the top private high school in Whatcom County and the fifth-best high school in the county overall. Lynden Christian School ranked as the second best private high school in the county, seventh overall, behind Ferndale High School in sixth.
Best middle schools in Bellingham, Whatcom County
Like with Niche’s high school rankings, the top three middle schools in Whatcom County were all part of Bellingham Public Schools. Kulshan Middle School ranked as the No. 100 public middle school in the state and the top in the county, followed by Fairhaven (No. 105 in the state) and Whatcom (No. 127 in the state).
Cornerstone Christian’s middle school and Nooksack Valley rounded out the top five.
Best elementary schools in Bellingham, Whatcom County
If you’re looking to send your child to the most prestigious elementary school in all the land, Silver Beach Elementary took the top spot in Whatcom County with an A- overall grade, and an A for its teachers.
Nooksack Elementary School took second place with a B+ overall, as well as an A for its teaching and an A- for its diversity.
Returning to Bellingham Public Schools, Parkview Elementary School took third place with a B+ overall and an A for its teaching, while Lowell Elementary School took fourth.
Isom Elementary in Lynden took the last spot in the top five, earning an A- for its diversity and its teaching, followed by Bellingham’s Columbia Elementary in sixth.
A pair of Bellingham private schools earned top-grades as well, but weren’t included in the rankings since Niche doesn’t have a category for K-8 schools. Assumption Catholic School earned an A+ rating, while The Franklin Academy earned an A.
This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 12:00 PM.