Best High Schools in Zip Code 02740

Zip code 02740 contains two high schools, both part of the New Bedford district: New Bedford High, serving grades 9–12 with 2,878 students, and Whaling City Junior/Senior High School, serving grades 6–12 with 200 students. Together they enroll 3,078 students, and New Bedford High accounts for 93.5% of that total — roughly 14.4 times the size of Whaling City. The district ranks 327th of 351 in Massachusetts, at the 7th percentile with 0 stars, and both schools share that context even though their individual results differ sharply.

New Bedford High is the relatively stronger of the two. Its graduation rate is 84.8%, above the district's 79.9%, and its dropout rate is 11.4%, below the district's 13.7%. In 2025–2026 it ranked 319th of 353 (10th percentile, 0 stars) and had 1 star in 2024–2025. Whaling City Junior/Senior High School is the extreme outlier: ranked 353rd of 353 in 2025–2026 at the 0th percentile with 0 stars, a 50.6% graduation rate — 29.3 points below the district — and a 29.9% dropout rate, more than double the district's and 2.6 times New Bedford High's. It also ranked 350th of 354 in 2014–2015 and 344th of 344 in 2012–2013, so this is not a one-year anomaly.

On tests, both schools trail the state, but differently. New Bedford High's 2025–2026 10th-grade proficiency runs from 9.71% in biology end-of-course to 18.57% in ELA — about 26–30 points below state averages — with ELA falling 6.16 points and science falling 4.83 points from 2024–2025, while math edged up slightly. Whaling City Junior/Senior High School reports 0% proficiency in several 2025–2026 core areas, including ELA and math at both all-grades and 10th-grade levels, 8th-grade math, and biology, with only 10% in science all grades and 8th-grade science. Notably, Whaling City spends more per student ($27,576 vs. $16,469, 2020–2021 figures) and has the lower student-teacher ratio (11.4 vs. 13.5), yet weaker outcomes. Whaling City also serves grades 6–12, and its small enrollment means percentages can swing widely; free/reduced lunch data are unavailable for both schools, and the spending figures predate the outcome data.