Best high schools in the Tri-Cities? Here are US News & World Report’s 2026 Rankings

The best high schools in the Tri-Cities are found in Kennewick and Richland — at least according to one national publication. Three local high schools are ranked among the top 100 in the state of Washington in the latest rankings from US News & World Report: Kamiakin High School, Hanford High School, and Richland High School.

That said, as someone who’s lived here for more than 30 years and has sent two kids through local schools, I believe that every local high school has its strengths and weaknesses. So if you’re planning a move to the Tri-Cities, definitely read on to see how US News rated our local high schools, but don’t rely only on these ratings as you choose the best place for your family.

Tri-Cities High Schools in the Washington Top 100 (2026 Rankings)

Three of our area’s high schools made the top 100 out of 818 Washington high schools that US News ranked. Here they are in order:

70. Kamiakin High School, Kennewick

With a score of 80.19 (out of 100), Kamiakin ranked 70th in the state and #3,544 in the country. That makes it the highest-ranked high school in the Tri-Cities. Kamiakin scored highest on US News’ College Readiness Index Rank and State Assessment Proficiency Rank.

71. Hanford High School, Richland

Hanford scored a 79.79 on US News’ ranking system, which ranks it No. 2 among our local schools, 71st in the state, and #3,626 in the country. Hanford’s graduation rate ranks above Kamiakin and the two schools have the same college readiness score of 30.6. Hanford didn’t score as well on US News’ State Assessment Performance Rank.

79. Richland High School, Richland

Richland ranks 79th in the state and #3.969 in the country with a score of 77.88 in the US News system. As you can see on the screenshots here, Richland didn’t score as well as Hanford and Kamiakin on graduation rates and college readiness.

Other local schools that are listed include:

143. Southridge High School, Kennewick
198. Kennewick High School, Kennewick

The US News website doesn’t rank all 818 schools in Washington state. It goes to #249, then all other schools are listed as ranking between 250 and 318. On its methodology page, US News says “schools below the 25th percentile have their scores concealed and display the entire bottom quartile’s ranking range.” I suspect that’s why other Tri-Cities high schools don’t get a specific rank.

Other School Ranking Sources

This US News data is interesting and hopefully helpful as you choose the best area for your family, but there are other places you can learn about local schools, too.

When a client asks for my recommendation, I suggest they take a look at GreatSchools.org. It’s probably the most popular and well-known school ratings site. In fact, a search on GreatSchools.org for high schools within 15 miles of Kennewick results in fairly similar ratings to what US News says.

But ratings like these don’t always reflect what my clients need in a school or a school district. So I always encourage them to research and make their own decisions about which schools might be the best for their family situation.

-Cari

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