The best public high school in every state

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The best public high schools offer a quality education for free.

• School-ranking company Niche rated the best public high schools in every US state.
• To determine the best public high schools, the company looked at everything from academics to teachers to facilities.
• The best public high school in the US is Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago.

The best public high school in America is Walter Payton College Prep, according to school-ranking company Niche.

Students at Walter Payton, a high school that's part of Chicago Public Schools, earn high standardized test scores and nearly all of them graduate.

But Illinois isn't the only state with great public schools, so Business Insider used Niche's list to find the best high school in every state.

The ranking analyzed 17,867 public high schools and rated schools in areas like academics, teachers, student culture and diversity, and resources and facilities. You can read more about the methodology here.

Below, find the best public high school in every US state and the District of Columbia.