The present study looked at the school location to indicate the rural-urban prediction of academic achievement of secondary school students. Sample of the study constituted 260 secondary school students belonged to rural and urban areas. The sample was selected randomly from two districts (two secondary schools in each district) of Kashmir valley. An information schedule was used to measure the academic achievement of secondary school students. One hypothesis was formulated and tested. Mean, percentage and t-test were employed for data analysis. The study proven that there is a significant difference between rural and urban secondary school students on various grades of academic achievement. Rural secondary school students were found to have better academic achievement levels than their urban counterparts. It is recommended that academic achievement gap between rural and urban locations should be bridged by providing the favourable school climate facilities and incentives should be granted to teachers teaching in rural areas.