Leander High vs Round Rock High: Two A Rated Schools Compared (2025 TEA)

What Happens When Two of the Best High Schools North of Austin Share a Zip Code?

Round Rock High School posted a 95 out of 100 on the 2025 TEA accountability rating. Leander High scored a 90. Both earned A grades from the state, and both sit within a 15 minute drive of each other along the 183 corridor north of Austin. If you are shopping for a home in this part of the metro, these two campuses are probably on your short list already.

But the schools feel very different once you dig past the letter grade. Round Rock High is one of the largest campuses in Round Rock ISD with over 3,800 students, a sprawling athletics program, and the kind of institutional depth that comes with being a flagship campus for decades. Leander High serves about 2,130 students within Leander ISD and has grown into its own identity as the Cedar Park and Leander communities have expanded around it. Round Rock’s median home price sits around $592,000. Leander High’s zone comes in at $515,000. So the question for most buyers is not which school is better (both are excellent) but which community and price point fits your life.

I have sold homes in both of these zones for years, and the honest answer is that you cannot go wrong with either one. The real differences are about neighborhood character, commute patterns, and how much house you want for the money. Lets break it down.

Leander High vs Round Rock High: Quick Comparison

TEA School Performance Comparison (2025)

The Texas Education Agency evaluates every public school annually across multiple performance domains. Here is how both campuses performed in the 2025 accountability cycle.

Round Rock High outscored Leander High in every single TEA domain in 2025, and that 95 overall is one of the highest scores for any large high school in the Austin metro. Both schools earned all 7 TEA distinctions, which tells you these are campuses firing on all cylinders. The gap is real but it is not enormous, and Leander High’s 90 is a score most schools in the state would love to have. The Closing the Gaps domain is where Round Rock really separates itself at 96 compared to 90, which speaks to the school’s success in reaching students across all demographic groups.

For the full TEA breakdown on each campus, including rating history and all distinctions, visit the Leander High school page or the Round Rock High school page.

Leander High: The Growing Powerhouse

Leander High has evolved dramatically over the last decade as Leander and Cedar Park transformed from quiet bedroom communities into legitimate cities with their own commercial and cultural identities. The campus serves a zone that stretches into parts of Cedar Park, Georgetown, and even Liberty Hill, which means the student body reflects a growing and increasingly diverse community.

Academically, the school offers a deep lineup of AP courses, dual enrollment options through Austin Community College, and career and technical education pathways that give students real preparation for what comes after graduation. The fine arts and athletics programs are competitive at the district and regional level. And because Leander ISD has invested heavily in new facilities and technology across all its campuses, Leander High benefits from that districtwide commitment to keeping up with growth. The vibe on campus is a blend of small town pride and suburban ambition, which is honestly a pretty good description of Leander itself.

Round Rock High: The Flagship

Round Rock High is the original. The campus that started it all for Round Rock ISD, and it has the history, the traditions, and the community support to show for it. At nearly 3,900 students, this is a big school by any measure, and with that size comes an almost staggering array of academic offerings. AP courses across every discipline, dual enrollment programs, a nationally recognized robotics team, UIL academic competition success, and career pathways in everything from health sciences to digital media and engineering.

The athletic programs are a cornerstone of campus culture. Round Rock High football games are genuine community events, and the soccer, basketball, baseball, and swimming programs have all produced district and state level competitors. But what really sets Round Rock High apart from other large Texas high schools is the academic consistency. A 95 on TEA’s scale with 3,800+ students is exceptionally difficult to achieve, and the school has maintained those high marks year after year. The neighborhoods feeding Round Rock High, including Behrens Ranch, Stone Canyon, and the communities along Sam Bass Road, are well established and deeply invested in the school.

The Neighborhoods

The Leander High zone draws from a mix of newer master planned communities and older neighborhoods in Leander and Cedar Park. You will find a wide range of housing stock from the mid $300s up through the $700s, with most of the inventory falling in that $450,000 to $600,000 sweet spot. The area is more suburban and car dependent than central Austin but significantly more affordable, and the growth in restaurants, retail, and entertainment options along 183 and in downtown Leander has been impressive over the last five years.

Round Rock High’s zone covers some of the most established neighborhoods in Round Rock, plus newer communities that have filled in along the 45 and I-35 corridors. Homes here tend to skew a little older and a little more expensive than the Leander High zone, with a median around $592,000. The trade off is a community with deeper roots, more mature trees, and a downtown Round Rock scene that has genuinely come into its own.

Browse all homes zoned to Leander High or homes zoned to Round Rock High.

Which School Fits You?

This is a good problem to have.

You might lean toward Leander High if:

• You want to keep your budget under $550,000 while staying in an A rated district
• Newer construction and master planned community amenities appeal to you
• You work along the 183 corridor or commute toward Cedar Park and the Domain

You might lean toward Round Rock High if:

• The 95 TEA score and flagship campus identity matter to you
• You prefer established neighborhoods with mature landscaping over newer developments
• You work near I-35, Round Rock, or the tech corridor along La Frontera
• Your student is interested in a specific program like the robotics team or a particular fine arts department

If I had to pick one, I would give Round Rock High a slight edge purely on the numbers. That 95 with nearly 4,000 students is remarkable. But Leander High at a 90 and $77,000 less in median home price is a legitimate value play, and Leander ISD’s trajectory over the last decade suggests the school is only going to keep getting stronger. Either way you are putting your student in an A rated high school, and that is a pretty great starting point for any home search.

Ready to Find Your Home?

Both of these high school zones attract serious buyers, and the best homes in each area do not sit on the market for long. I have been helping people find the right fit in Cedar Park, Leander, and Round Rock for over 19 years, and I know these neighborhoods inside and out. Lets connect and figure out which zone makes the most sense for you. Reach out to me and lets get the search started.

Schedule a Consultation