Realtor.com’s September analysis set the luxury-listing threshold for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro at $2.62 million. The public elementary schools assigned to listings in the analysis averaged 6.7 out of 10 on GreatSchools; the metro ranked ninth in price among 43 markets studied and in the bottom 10 for assigned-school ratings, according to its September luxury housing report.
What the figures measure
Realtor.com defined luxury as September listings priced at or above the 90th percentile for their local market. The study included markets averaging at least 500 million-dollar listings over the previous 12 months. It matched each property with the GreatSchools rating of its assigned public elementary school and excluded properties without an assigned rating. The thresholds are based on listing prices, not completed sales.
The New York figure covers the broader metropolitan area, including communities in New Jersey. Its 6.7 average is not a rating of New York City’s public school system or of any one school; it summarizes ratings associated with the listings included in the analysis.
How to read the school rating
GreatSchools scores schools on a 1-to-10 scale relative to other schools in the same state, rather than against a single national benchmark. The organization classifies scores of 1–4 as below average, 5–6 as average and 7–10 as above average. Its ratings reflect academic progress and test results, according to GreatSchools’ methodology.
The Realtor.com analysis covers assigned public elementary schools; it excludes private schools, school-choice programs and lottery-based admissions. Its average therefore describes one part of the school information available to a prospective buyer, not the full range of educational options.
National housing context
The national luxury entry threshold was $1,199,321 in September, 3.6% below its level a year earlier and the 30th consecutive month of annual declines, Realtor.com reported. The New York metro’s $2.62 million threshold was well above that national figure.
A separate picture of school enrollment
The listing-based school-rating analysis does not measure enrollment. Separately, The New York Times reported in May 2026 that a forecast showed New York City public schools could lose as many as 153,000 students over the next decade, according to The New York Times. A New York City Public Schools Office of District Planning summary reports that the citywide K-12 residential population declined by 8% since 2019-20. That citywide figure does not break down changes by borough or grade, and the figures cited here do not quantify how the city’s population of children under 5 changed.
