1
The Dalton School
New York·New York County·Grades K-12·~1,330 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorCo-ed
Tuition$65.8K/yr
TypePrivate
Students~1,330
MANHATTAN
Best Private Pre-K Schools in Manhattan
Independent rankings of Private Pre-K schools in Manhattan, built from director interviews and verified data — never from school payments.
59 schools indexed13 director-verifiedUpdated this week
Not sure which fits your child? Take the 2-minute match quiz.
Get your top 5 matches — ranked by grades, budget, location, and your child's strengths.
AdmitCompass tracks 59 private pre-k-level schools in Manhattan. Annual tuition ranges from $32K/yr to $145K/yr, with a median of $63.4K/yr across schools that publish a number. New York has the highest concentration with 59 schools.
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: Charter.
Showing 10 of 59 Manhattan schools
- 2Trinity School
New York·New York County·Grades K-12·~995 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorEpiscopalCo-edTuition$64.9K/yrTypeEpiscopalStudents~995 - 3The Spence School
New York·New York County·Grades K-12·~760 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorTuition$64.6K/yrTypePrivateStudents~760 - 4City and Country School
New York·New York County·Grades PK-8·~200 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorCo-edTuition$60.5K/yrTypePrivateStudents~200 - 5The IDEAL School of Manhattan
New York·New York County·Grades K-12·~220 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorCo-edTuition$71.5K/yrTypePrivateStudents~220 - 6The Churchill School and Center
New York·New York County·Grades K-12·~430 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorCo-edTuition$82.5K/yrTypePrivateStudents~430 - 7Stephen Gaynor School
New York·New York County·Grades PK-8·~360 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorCo-edTuition$85K/yrTypePrivateStudents~360 - 8Winston Preparatory School
New York·New York County·Grades 5-12·~280 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorCo-edTuition$86K/yrTypePrivateStudents~280 - 9Cooke School and Institute
New York·New York County·Grades PK-12·~230 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorCo-edTuition$110K/yrTypePrivateStudents~230 - 10The Aaron School
New York·New York County·Grades K-12·~180 students
Director-verified
Verified by directorCo-edTuition$78.5K/yrTypePrivateStudents~180
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.
Narrow your search
Combine filters to get a tighter shortlist.
Frequently asked questions
What's the average tuition for pre-k schools in Manhattan?
Across the 59 schools on this list, annual tuition ranges from $32K/yr to $145K/yr, with a median of $63.4K/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 in Manhattan?
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.
What's the smallest and largest school on this list?
The Lang School is the smallest with 75 students; Ethical Culture Fieldston School is the largest at 1700. 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.
Related lists
Adjacent searches families often run from here.
See your child's personalized match
Our 2-minute quiz factors in grades, budget, location, and goals to surface the best-fit schools from this list.