Catholic high schools in Texas

Best Catholic high schools in Texas

There is no official ranking of Texas's Catholic high schools, and 'best' lists from Niche, Yelp, and similar sites mix different methodologies and reshuffle every year. This list is a curated, sourced starting point. It organizes the schools families most often shortlist along the axes that actually matter, using NCES 2023-24 enrollment figures, grade spans, and HSPT information reviewed from each school's own site. Use it to build a compare list, then dig into the admissions and HSPT sections below.

How we ranked these schools

• Enrollment size - NCES 2023-24 figures; a signal for campus and class size, not a quality measure.
• Grade span - a standalone 9-12 high school versus a PK-12 campus where the high school is part of one application.
• Gender structure - all-boys and all-girls options are a real part of the Houston and San Antonio sets; Dallas's best-known single-gender schools are not yet in this directory (see the honest-gap notes below).
• School identity and charism - Jesuit (Strake, Cristo Rey Jesuit Houston), Benedictine (Cistercian), Marianist (Central Catholic San Antonio), Basilian (St. Pius X), Dominican (St. Agnes), Sacred Heart (Duchesne), Congregation of Holy Cross (Holy Cross of San Antonio).
• Cristo Rey corporate work-study model - Cristo Rey Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston, where students earn part of their tuition through paid internships.
• HSPT and admissions coverage - schools with source-reviewed HSPT records in our directory link straight to their HSPT pages; for the rest, confirm the entrance-exam policy directly with the school.
• College outcomes where published - ask each school for its own profile rather than relying on a single ranking.

Best Catholic high schools in Dallas-Fort Worth

The metro's Catholic high schools are spread across Dallas, Irving, and Fort Worth, and the two schools Dallas families most often ask about first - Jesuit Dallas (all-boys) and Ursuline Academy (all-girls) - are not yet in this NCES-based directory, so check the Diocese of Dallas school finder for them. In the directory:

Best Catholic high schools in Houston

Houston's Catholic high school set has the clearest all-boys/all-girls split in Texas, and several of the schools named on 'best' forum threads (St. Vincent de Paul, St. Anne, St. Michael, St. Cecilia) are PK-8 elementary schools, not high schools - this page is the high-school view. In the directory:

Best Catholic high schools in San Antonio

San Antonio holds the most Catholic high schools of any Texas city (8 in the directory), and the Archdiocese of San Antonio reports nearly 9,000 students across its Pre-K-12 schools. The single-gender set is the city's defining feature:

Best Catholic high schools in Austin and Central Texas

Austin is a small but winnable set: the Diocese of Austin lists about 19 Catholic schools in Central Texas, most of them PK-8, and this directory holds the two that serve high-school grades. The diocese's own site (csdatx.org) is the authority for the complete list; these are the high-school options:

Best Catholic high schools in El Paso and West Texas

El Paso has five Catholic schools serving high-school grades and no strong competitor content page, which makes it an underserved market. Beyond the city, West Texas is a long drive between options:

Best Catholic high schools in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley

South Texas families are choosing among the region's parish and diocesan high schools, most of which are small and locally run. Monsignor Kelly in Beaumont is the standout for HSPT families - it is one of the four Texas schools with a source-reviewed HSPT record:

For the full in-city picture, see the dedicated guides to Catholic high schools in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin — each covers the local schools, admissions mechanics, and HSPT questions in more depth.

Catholic high schools in Texas at a glance

Schools

53 serving high-school grades

Cities

27 across Texas

Students listed

20,810 across 53 schools reporting enrollment

Average enrollment

393 students among schools with published NCES enrollment

Grade span

29 schools serve grades 9–12 only; 24 also span lower grades

Verified HSPT guides

5

Looking for Catholic schools near you?

If your search was for catholic schools near me, start with our Catholic schools near me guide — it turns the search into a local shortlist: find your state, narrow to your metro, then compare the real schools in your commute on HSPT requirements, scholarships, cost, and fit. For Texas specifically, pick a city above for the local list, then open each school page to confirm HSPT dates and admissions deadlines.

Catholic high schools in Dallas-Fort Worth

The metro holds 10 of the state's 53 Catholic high schools across Dallas, Irving, and Fort Worth, anchored by Bishop Lynch in Dallas and Nolan Catholic in Fort Worth. Cistercian in Irving is the metro school with a source-reviewed HSPT page. Jesuit Dallas and Ursuline Academy, the city's best-known single-gender schools, are not yet in this NCES-based directory — check the Diocese of Dallas school finder for the complete list.

Catholic high schools in Houston and the Gulf Coast

Houston is the state's Catholic high school heavyweight: Strake Jesuit is the largest Catholic high school in Texas, and the city runs one of the clearest all-boys/all-girls splits in the state. Cristo Rey Jesuit Houston has a source-reviewed HSPT page. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston's school finder covers the full picture, including the many PK-8 parish schools.

Catholic high schools in San Antonio

The Archdiocese of San Antonio reports nearly 9,000 students across its Pre-K-12 schools, and the San Antonio city page holds 8 high-school-serving schools plus John Paul II in New Braunfels and Our Lady of the Hills in Kerrville. The all-boys (Central Catholic) and all-girls (Incarnate Word, Providence) options sit alongside coed Antonian and Holy Cross.

Catholic high schools in Austin and Central Texas

Austin's Catholic high school set is small — St. Dominic Savio and St. Gabriel's — and the Diocese of Austin's school finder lists the rest of Central Texas's largely PK-8 options, including the parish schools in Bryan, Temple, Killeen, and Waco.

Catholic high schools in El Paso and West Texas

El Paso's five Catholic high-school-serving schools (Cathedral, Loretto, Father Yermo, plus the Juan Diego options in nearby Mission) make it the state's third-largest city set. Farther west, Holy Cross in Midland and Holy Cross Academy in Amarillo serve the Panhandle.

Catholic high schools in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley

The Rio Grande Valley and South Texas run on small, locally rooted parish and diocesan high schools - St. Joseph in Brownsville, St. Augustine in Laredo, Juan Diego in Mission - with Victoria, Shiner, Hallettsville, Longview, and Tyler completing the region.

Largest Catholic high schools in Texas

When families search 'largest Catholic high school in Texas,' the answer is Strake Jesuit in Houston, the only Texas Catholic high school above 1,000 students at the 9-12 level (about 1,390 per NCES 2023-24). The largest records overall are PK-12 systems - Nobis Pacem in San Antonio (about 1,199) and St. Gabriel's in Austin (about 916) - whose totals include their elementary and middle-school campuses. Enrollment is a scale signal, not a quality measure.

How to compare Catholic high schools in Texas

Start with the schools you can actually reach — usually the Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, or Austin city list. For most Texas families that is two to five schools, and the differences that matter are the ones below.

• Commute and location - Texas metros are sprawled, and a 40-minute campus drive shapes every weekday for four years; the region lists above keep the realistic choice set visible.
• School identity - Strake and Cristo Rey Jesuit Houston are Jesuit, Cistercian is Benedictine, Central Catholic San Antonio is Marianist, St. Pius X is Basilian, St. Agnes is Dominican, Duchesne is a Sacred Heart school, and Holy Cross of San Antonio is run by the Congregation of Holy Cross. The charism shows up in how the school talks about formation, service, and academics.
• Single-gender versus coed - Houston and San Antonio are the cities with real single-gender choice; Dallas's famous all-boys and all-girls schools (Jesuit Dallas, Ursuline) are not yet in this directory.
• Enrollment size - the high schools here range from about 50 students to Strake Jesuit's 1,390; smaller schools usually mean smaller classes and fewer course and athletic offerings.
• Entrance-exam policy - HSPT use varies by school and by year in Texas; confirm the policy, the date, and whether one sitting can be shared across the schools on your list.
• Tuition, aid, and scholarships - tuition varies widely across the state's 15 dioceses, most schools run financial aid, and HSPT scores sometimes factor into merit scholarship consideration.
• Programs and outcomes - AP and dual-credit offerings, arts, athletics, and college placement; ask each school for its own profile rather than relying on a single ranking.

Admissions deadlines and HSPT dates are worth collecting early - most Texas schools test in the fall and winter of 8th grade. Treat them as planning inputs, not reasons to pick one school over another: choose on fit, where your child will be comfortable, challenged, and known.

Best Catholic schools: how to choose — The choosing-a-school guide turns rankings into a real comparison, and the FAQ below covers the state-specific questions Texas families ask.

How Catholic high school admissions work in Texas

Texas's Catholic high schools sit in 15 dioceses, and each school runs its own admissions office; the archdioceses of Galveston-Houston and San Antonio plus the dioceses of Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso, and Victoria are the ones covering most of the schools in this directory. The shape of the process is similar across the state: research in 7th grade, apply in 8th grade, test in the fall or winter, and receive decisions in the spring.

Most schools require an application, prior school records or transcripts, and some form of entrance assessment; some add family interviews or placement testing. Tuition and financial-aid applications run on separate deadlines from the admissions application, so collect every deadline in one place early. Ask each admissions office whether one HSPT sitting can be shared across the schools on your list - policies differ even within the same diocese.

A typical Texas Catholic high school admissions timeline

1. Spring-summer of 7th grade: shortlist schools within commuting distance and note each one's entrance-test policy and tuition and aid dates.
2. Fall of 8th grade: applications open, campuses hold open houses, and families register for entrance exams.
3. November-January: entrance testing (HSPT or a school-specific exam) and most application deadlines.
4. Winter-spring: financial-aid and scholarship applications are due; admission decisions arrive.
5. Spring: enroll, complete placement paperwork, and confirm testing or waiting-list status at any remaining schools.

Which Texas Catholic high schools use the HSPT?

The HSPT (High School Placement Test) is the entrance exam most Catholic high schools use nationwide, and Texas schools have used it for decades - but the policy differs by school and by application year, and Catholic affiliation alone does not establish which test a school requires.

Our honest status for Texas

As of this update, four Texas schools in our directory have source-reviewed HSPT records - Monsignor Kelly in Beaumont, Cistercian in Irving, Cristo Rey Jesuit in Houston, and Holy Cross of San Antonio. For every other school, confirm the current entrance-test policy directly with the admissions office - "which entrance test does your school use this cycle, and what date?" - before building a prep plan.

Texas schools with verified HSPT information

How to prepare for the HSPT in Texas

If your target schools do use the HSPT, start with the free diagnostic to establish a baseline, then build a study plan around the earliest test date on your list. These guides cover the practical questions Texas families ask:

HSPT scholarships for Texas families

Some Texas Catholic high schools factor HSPT scores into merit scholarship consideration, but the policy differs by school and year — ask each school's admissions and financial-aid offices directly. There is no statewide voucher program in Texas, so aid is school- and diocese-run. Start with HSPT scores and scholarships, then the scholarships by city guide, and build a study plan around the earliest confirmed test date on your list.

Planning a Catholic high school application in Texas

Entrance-test rules are set by the school or diocese and can differ even within the same city, so check each school's admissions site before registering. Work this checklist regardless of which schools end up on your list:

1. Confirm whether each school requires the HSPT or another entrance test for the current cycle.
2. Record application, transcript, recommendation, financial-aid, and scholarship deadlines separately for every school.
3. Ask whether one HSPT sitting can be shared across the schools you are applying to, especially within the same diocese.
4. Compare the daily commute, school size, academic programs, and tuition and aid - not just the name.
5. Build HSPT prep around the earliest test date on your list, starting with a free diagnostic to set a baseline.

Texas Catholic high school admissions FAQ