Best Private Schools under $20K

244 schools match. Top 10 ranked by size, tuition fit, and freshness of our data.

Our directory includes 244 private schools across Florida (Tampa Bay) and New York (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens). Annual tuition ranges from $1.5K/yr to $20.0K/yr, with a median of $9.7K/yr across schools that publish a number. 179 of these schools accept Florida Step Up / FES scholarships — roughly 73% of the list — so families using state-funded scholarships have real choice here.

Private schools on this page set their own admissions criteria. Most ask for a school visit, prior records, and a family interview; competitive K and 6th-grade entry points often fill 6-9 months before the start of school. Every school is re-verified through direct outreach to admissions teams; data is refreshed on a 180-day cadence and timestamped on each profile.

See also: Scholarship-friendly, Tuition-Free.

  1. 1

    St. Francis Preparatory School

    Fresh Meadows, Queens County · Grades 9-12

    Tuition
    $12.1K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~2,500 students
  2. 2

    Archbishop Molloy High School

    Briarwood, Queens County · Grades 9-12

    Tuition
    $12.6K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~1,550 students
  3. 3

    Indian Rocks Christian School

    Largo, Pinellas County · Grades PK-12

    Tuition
    $18.5K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~1,300 students
  4. 4

    Seffner Christian Academy

    Seffner, Hillsborough County · Grades PK-12

    Tuition
    $14.5K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~1,250 students
  5. 5

    American Youth Academy

    Tampa, Hillsborough County · Grades PK-12

    Tuition
    $12.2K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~1,200 students
  6. 6

    Xaverian High School

    Brooklyn, Kings County · Grades 9-12

    Tuition
    $14.3K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~1,100 students
  7. 7

    St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School

    Staten Island, Richmond County · Grades 9-12

    Tuition
    $11.5K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~1,100 students
  8. 8

    Northside Christian School

    St. Petersburg, Pinellas County · Grades PK-12

    Tuition
    $18.8K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~900 students
  9. 9

    Monsignor Farrell High School

    Staten Island, Richmond County · Grades 9-12

    Tuition
    $12.5K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~900 students
  10. 10

    Calvary Christian High School

    Clearwater, Pinellas County · Grades 9-12

    Tuition
    $18.9K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~900 students
How we rank these schools

Built relationships, not scrapers. AdmitCompass ranks schools using a composite score that blends four signals: enrollment size (a proxy for stability and program breadth), tuition reasonableness within the local market, freshness of our most recent verification, and a small bonus for schools with full admissions detail published on their profile.

Public data comes from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and each school's own admissions pages. The information that actually matters to most families — acceptance rates, deadlines, what a director cares about — comes from direct interviews with school directors and admissions coaches across our active markets.

We do not publish scoring weights or per-axis thresholds. That keeps the moat intact: the rankings reflect actual conversations with people inside schools, not a formula anyone with a crawler could clone. Every profile is re-verified on a 180-day cadence, and the "last updated" date is timestamped on every school page.

Read the full methodology.

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Frequently asked questions

What's the average tuition for schools?
Across the 244 schools on this list, annual tuition ranges from $1.5K/yr to $20.0K/yr, with a median of $9.7K/yr. Many schools offer financial aid, sibling discounts, or accept Florida Step Up / FES scholarships — check each school's detail page for current aid policy.
How competitive is admission to private schools?
Selective private schools review transcripts, teacher recommendations, an admissions test (ISEE or SSAT for grades 5-12), and an in-person visit. Acceptance rates vary widely — some schools accept nearly every qualified applicant, while top-tier programs admit fewer than 25%. Apply 9-12 months ahead of the start date.
Do these schools accept Step Up / FES scholarships?
179 of the 244 schools on this page accept Florida's Step Up For Students / FES-EO / FES-UA scholarships. That covers most or all of tuition for income-eligible families. Each school's detail page lists the specific scholarship programs accepted.
What's the smallest and largest school on this list?
Faith Christian Academy - Falcon Academy is the smallest with 1 students; St. Francis Preparatory School is the largest at 2500. Smaller schools tend to offer more direct teacher contact and tighter community; larger schools usually have more elective and extracurricular breadth.
Is this list updated?
Yes. We re-verify school data on a 180-day cadence through direct contact with admissions teams, plus cross-checks against FLDOE, NCES, and published school sources. Each school profile shows the date of its most recent verification.

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