High School SAT Scores Across Bergen County [Interactive Map]

In Bergen County, income and SAT scores go hand in hand.

All but five of the public high schools in Bergen County where students met the state's average combined SAT benchmark of 1550 live in communities with a median household income greater than $100,000, according to data from the state's recently released New Jersey School Performance Report.

On the flip side, 23 of the 24 public high schools in the county where students failed to meet the state's benchmark came from communities with a median household income below $100,000.

Mahwah, Fort Lee, Leonia, Fair Lawn and Midland Park are the only high schools in towns with median household incomes below $100,000 that met the goal. Waldwick is the only high school in a town with a median household income above $100,000 that did not.

Academically-elite students at the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack registered the highest average combined SAT score in the county, while students at Garfield High School — which draws kids from families with the lowest median household incomes in the county — scored the lowest.

Since SATs correlate closely with median household income, scores at public high schools in wealthier northern Bergen County typically exceed those in the southern part of the county.

For a better visualization of SAT scores by public high school, see the embedded interactive map. Use the (+) and (-) buttons to zoom in and out. Clicking on each data point reveals the name of the high school, its average SAT score and the adjusted median household income of the communities that comprise its student body.

Data: 2011-2012 New Jersey School Performance Report; United States Census Bureau.

*High schools listed in bold met the state's average combined SAT benchmark of 1550.