Best Public Schools in Bel Air, MD

Summary:

The city of Bel Air, Maryland is home to 16 schools that are part of the Harford County Public Schools district, which is ranked 9 out of 25 in the state and rated 4 stars out of 5. The schools include 8 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 4 high schools, and 1 alternative school.

Several schools stand out in the Bel Air area. Bel Air Elementary is the top-performing elementary school, ranking 58 out of 859 Maryland elementary schools and earning a 5-star rating. It has the highest proficiency rates in both math and English language arts across all grade levels. At the middle school level, Southampton Middle is a standout, ranking 44 out of 328 Maryland middle schools and demonstrating significantly higher proficiency rates than the district and state averages. The only magnet school in the area, Harford Technical High, stands out for its higher English language arts proficiency compared to the district and state.

The data also reveals disparities in academic performance, with a correlation between higher free and reduced lunch rates and lower proficiency rates. Schools with more economically disadvantaged students, such as Harford Academy at Campus Hills and Prospect Mill Elementary, tend to have lower proficiency rates. Overall, the Bel Air area offers a mix of high-performing and lower-performing schools, with the top-tier institutions demonstrating strong academic achievement across multiple grade levels.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				MCAP Mathematics (2024)							MCAP English Language Arts (2024)								MCAP Algebra I (2024)	MCAP Algebra II (2024)	MCAP Geometry (2024)	MCAP Science (2024)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2023)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MCAP Mathematics All Grades	MCAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 10th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts All Grades	MCAP Algebra I End of Course	MCAP Algebra II End of Course	MCAP Geometry End of Course	MCAP Science 5th Grade	MCAP Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Fountain Green Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	517 Fountain Green Rd	Bel Air	21015	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4220	477	32	14.7	23.1%	362 (75.9%)	27 (5.7%)	32 (6.7%)	26 (5.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (6.1%)	87.4	99^th of 859 public elementary schools	88.5%		91.2	69^th of 855 public elementary schools	91.9%	30	59.8	64.7	55.3				59.7	67.8	77.9	64.5					69.7				40.0		$17,994	$1,601	$16,393
Emmorton Elementary	Public	K-5	2502 Tollgate Rd	Bel Air	21014	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-3920	548	34	16.0	22.3%	318 (58.0%)	61 (11.1%)	47 (8.6%)	68 (12.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (9.7%)	87.7	98^th of 859 public elementary schools	88.6%		82.2	146^th of 855 public elementary schools	82.9%	48	70.7	54.7	44.7				56.9	67.0	76.0	65.9					70.0				50.6		$15,397	$1,163	$14,234
Bel Air Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	30 E Lee St	Bel Air	21014	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4160	532	34	15.8	32.7%	396 (74.4%)	29 (5.5%)	60 (11.3%)	25 (4.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.9%)	92.3	58^th of 859 public elementary schools	93.2%		91.5	67^th of 855 public elementary schools	92.2%	9	76.1	52.9	67.5				65.8	81.3	77.1	69.5					76.2				47.0		$14,450	$1,114	$13,335
Southampton Middle	Public	6-8	1200 Moores Mill Rd	Bel Air	21014	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4150	1,175	76	15.4	20.8%	895 (76.2%)	81 (6.9%)	72 (6.1%)	65 (5.5%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	58 (4.9%)	84.2	44^th of 328 public middle schools	86.6%		85.7	35^th of 322 public middle schools	89.1%	9				40.5	19.1	6.2	35.7				84.4	74.3	70.2		76.3	57.1		34.5		48.8	$15,799	$1,522	$14,277
Bel Air High	Public	9-12	100 Heighe St	Bel Air	21014	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4600	1,489	91	16.3	21.7%	1,068 (71.7%)	139 (9.3%)	110 (7.4%)	101 (6.8%)	2 (0.1%)	3 (0.2%)	63 (4.2%)	50.5	56^th of 146 public high schools	61.6%		62.2	27^th of 127 public high schools	78.7%	29							13.1							68.7	68.7	9.4	30.8				$15,462	$1,394	$14,067
Hickory Elementary	Public	K-5	2100 Conowingo Rd	Bel Air	21014	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4170	657	44	15.0	21.8%	478 (72.8%)	51 (7.8%)	42 (6.4%)	30 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	55 (8.4%)	83.3	141^st of 859 public elementary schools	83.6%		79.6	168^th of 855 public elementary schools	80.4%	27	57.5	59.8	38.4				52.6	61.1	83.8	65.7					70.5				40.4		$17,380	$1,689	$15,692
Homestead/Wakefield Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	900 S Main St	Bel Air	21014	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4175	1,057	61	17.3	18.1%	742 (70.2%)	64 (6.1%)	93 (8.8%)	78 (7.4%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	76 (7.2%)	85.1	118^th of 859 public elementary schools	86.3%		84.4	122^nd of 855 public elementary schools	85.7%	4	70.7	61.6	40.6				57.4	73.7	81.1	60.4					71.6				36.4		$14,390	$1,296	$13,095
C. Milton Wright High	Public	9-12	1301 N Fountain Green Rd	Bel Air	21015	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4110	1,266	84	15.0	22.7%	955 (75.4%)	98 (7.7%)	74 (5.8%)	67 (5.3%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (5.2%)	34.7	109^th of 146 public high schools	25.3%		46.2	68^th of 127 public high schools	46.5%	41							18.9							52.9	52.9	15.0	33.6	6.4			$16,117	$1,390	$14,728
Bel Air Middle	Public	6-8	99 Idlewild Street	Bel Air	21014	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4140	1,138	79	14.3	22.9%	821 (72.1%)	95 (8.3%)	90 (7.9%)	80 (7.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (4.5%)	76.9	61^st of 328 public middle schools	81.4%		78	55^th of 322 public middle schools	82.9%	6				27.5	13.1	14.7	27.7				71.7	70.4	69.5		70.5	42.7		41.6		46.3	$16,027	$1,465	$14,563
Patterson Mill High School	Public	9-12	85 Patterson Mill Rd	Bel Air	21015	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4640	819	53	15.3	24.2%	539 (65.8%)	81 (9.9%)	71 (8.7%)	58 (7.1%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.6%)	64 (7.8%)	39.8	89^th of 146 public high schools	39.0%		62	28^th of 127 public high schools	78.0%	61							14.1							62.6	62.6	12.1	32.1				$17,734	$1,579	$16,154
Patterson Mill Middle School	Public	6-8	85 Patterson Mill Rd	Bel Air	21015	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4640	760	49	15.4	19.6%	528 (69.5%)	61 (8.0%)	59 (7.8%)	56 (7.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (7.0%)	66.2	88^th of 328 public middle schools	73.2%		74.8	64^th of 322 public middle schools	80.1%	24				21.5	9.9	11.6	22.8				68.7	67.5	64.8		66.9	43.6		31.0		31.9	$14,259	$1,064	$13,195
Red Pump Elementary School	Public	K-5	600 Red Pump Road	Bel Air	21014	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 809-6244	753	50	15.1	18.9%	623 (82.7%)	33 (4.4%)	49 (6.5%)	10 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (5.0%)	83.7	134^th of 859 public elementary schools	84.4%		82.3	145^th of 855 public elementary schools	83.0%	11	66.7	48.8	42.4				52.5	78.5	69.3	68.8					72.2				36.6		$16,230	$1,166	$15,065
Ring Factory Elementary	Public	K-5	1400 Emmorton Rd	Bel Air	21014	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-4186	534	36	14.6	18.0%	424 (79.4%)	22 (4.1%)	28 (5.2%)	25 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (6.6%)	86.3	108^th of 859 public elementary schools	87.4%		78.4	175^th of 855 public elementary schools	79.5%	67	58.4	49.0	57.6				54.6	75.0	71.0	73.9					73.1				39.1		$16,562	$1,296	$15,266
Harford Academy at Campus Hills	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	100 Thomas Run Rd	Bel Air	21015	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-3810	141	51	2.7	55.3%	69 (48.9%)	43 (30.5%)	14 (9.9%)	6 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (6.4%)								(n/a)
Prospect Mill Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	101 Prospect Mill Rd	Bel Air	21015	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 638-3817	587	40	14.5	28.3%	405 (69.0%)	56 (9.5%)	38 (6.5%)	42 (7.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (7.7%)	88.4	95^th of 859 public elementary schools	88.9%		88.3	95^th of 855 public elementary schools	88.9%		67.4	53.1	55.2				58.4	67.4	79.6	72.6					73.3				39.8		$16,734	$1,478	$15,256
Harford Technical High	Public, Magnet	9-12	200 Thomas Run Rd	Bel Air	21015	Harford County	Harford County Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(410) 638-3804	979	63	15.6	22.2%	679 (69.4%)	123 (12.6%)	75 (7.7%)	33 (3.4%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	60 (6.1%)	45.6	69^th of 146 public high schools	52.7%		50.2	55^th of 127 public high schools	56.7%	14							18.9							74.5	74.5	19.6	25.7				$16,436	$1,334	$15,102

Cities Near Bel Air

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Forest Hill	2.67 mi	2	42^nd
Fallston	3.1 mi	3	37^th
Abingdon	4.47 mi	3	145^th
Churchville	6.21 mi	1	38^th
Kingsville	6.45 mi	1	21^st

See the top MD Maryland cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maryland State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.