Best Schools in Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington, West Virginia offers families 16 ranked public schools with an average score of 6.8 out of 10 — a solid baseline that reflects real variation across the city. Half of the schools, exactly 8 of 16, score 7 or above, meaning parents have a genuine selection of strong options rather than a single standout in an otherwise thin field.

The elementary tier is where Huntington's best performance clusters. Hite Saunders Elementary leads the city at 9.1 out of 10, the highest score among all ranked schools here. Altizer Elementary follows closely at 8.9, and Kellogg Elementary rounds out the top three at 8.8 — three schools within a tight 0.3-point band at the upper end of the scale. Highlawn Elementary (7.7) and Central City Elementary (7.6) add two more above-average options, giving families with younger children five elementary schools scoring 7.6 or better.

That concentration of strong performers at the elementary level is the defining feature of Huntington's schools landscape. Parents with children approaching middle and high school should look closely at individual school scores rather than relying on the city average, since the spread across all 16 ranked schools is meaningful. The 6.8 average tells you the floor is reasonable, but the gap between top and bottom is wide enough to matter when choosing an address or requesting a transfer.

Practically, families relocating to Huntington should map school attendance boundaries early. The elementary options are strong enough that your assigned school may already rank well — but confirming your specific zone against the top-five list above is worth doing before committing to a neighborhood. For middle and high school placements, check scores directly on each school's MySchoolScout profile, where you can compare academic performance, growth data, and equity metrics side by side. The 50% rate of schools scoring 7-plus means Huntington is competitive with similar-sized West Virginia cities, but the top tier is genuinely excellent — Hite Saunders at 9.1 would stand out in most markets.