Public schools in Chico, CA
Chico has 33 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 7 high, 3 middle, 19 elementary, 4 other, enrolling 15,340 students. They are run by 12 districts and agencies; Chico Unified runs 22 of them.
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method
The 12 districts and agencies that run Chico's public schools
Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.
| District | Schools in Chico | District students, fall 2022 | Spending per student, FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chico Unified | 22 | 12,088 | $16,422 |
| CORE Butte Charter School | 1 | 848 | $14,058 |
| Chico Country Day School | 1 | 566 | $14,115 |
| Inspire School of Arts and Sciences District | 1 | 366 | $14,885 |
| Achieve Charter School of Chico District | 1 | 225 | $12,556 |
| Blue Oak Charter School | 1 | 263 | $16,221 |
| Nord Country School | 1 | 211 | $13,848 |
| Wildflower Open Classroom District | 1 | 146 | $16,438 |
| Achieve Charter School of Paradise Inc. District | 1 | 123 | $15,862 |
| Sherwood Montessori District | 1 | 98 | $19,510 |
| Pivot Charter School North Valley II District | 1 | 87 | $15,115 |
| Butte County Office of Education | 1 | 358 | not reported |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: school location city and operating agency; NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23: district fall membership and current spending per student. Schools on a city's edge can serve students from outside it.
7 high schools in Chico, 4,379 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Valley High | 1,978 | 22.4 | 36.0% | Chico Unified |
| Chico High | 1,804 | 22.3 | 46.1% | Chico Unified |
| Inspire School of Arts and Sciences | 332 | 14.9 | 37.7% | Inspire School of Arts and Sciences District |
| Pivot Charter School North Valley II | 105 | 22.8 | 63.8% | Pivot Charter School North Valley II District |
| Fair View High (Continuation) | 95 | 9.8 | 86.3% | Chico Unified |
| Center for Alternative Learning | 34 | 12.1 | 91.2% | Chico Unified |
| Academy for Change | 31 | 11.7 | 90.3% | Chico Unified |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
3 middle schools in Chico, 2,589 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bidwell Junior High | 1,012 | 24.2 | 41.5% | Chico Unified |
| Chico Junior High | 861 | 22.1 | 51.0% | Chico Unified |
| Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High | 716 | 19.8 | 48.3% | Chico Unified |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
19 elementary schools in Chico, 7,156 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shasta Elementary | 621 | 21.3 | 34.3% | Chico Unified |
| Emma Wilson Elementary | 597 | 20.5 | 48.9% | Chico Unified |
| Chico Country Day | 585 | 22.5 | 25.5% | Chico Country Day School |
| Marigold Elementary | 571 | 21.1 | 37.8% | Chico Unified |
| Rosedale Elementary | 563 | 23.0 | 43.5% | Chico Unified |
| Little Chico Creek Elementary | 471 | 21.5 | 65.8% | Chico Unified |
| Sierra View Elementary | 428 | 17.8 | 21.5% | Chico Unified |
| Parkview Elementary | 406 | 18.3 | 38.7% | Chico Unified |
| McManus (John A.) Elementary | 397 | 18.0 | 66.0% | Chico Unified |
| Citrus Avenue Elementary | 383 | 19.3 | 77.0% | Chico Unified |
The other 9 elementary schools
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neal Dow Elementary | 364 | 16.9 | 60.4% | Chico Unified |
| Hooker Oak Elementary | 337 | 21.1 | 39.8% | Chico Unified |
| Chapman Elementary | 311 | 20.1 | 85.2% | Chico Unified |
| Achieve Charter School of Chico | 222 | 27.0 | 30.2% | Achieve Charter School of Chico District |
| Blue Oak Charter | 219 | 20.9 | 65.3% | Blue Oak Charter School |
| Nord Country | 213 | 22.4 | 12.7% | Nord Country School |
| Wildflower Open Classroom | 183 | 17.4 | 37.7% | Wildflower Open Classroom District |
| Achieve Charter School of Paradise Inc. | 169 | 29.6 | 51.5% | Achieve Charter School of Paradise Inc. District |
| Sherwood Montessori | 116 | 16.7 | 44.0% | Sherwood Montessori District |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
4 other schools in Chico, 1,216 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CORE Butte Charter | 916 | 17.2 | 43.3% | CORE Butte Charter School |
| Oak Bridge Academy | 188 | 19.0 | 52.7% | Chico Unified |
| Oakdale | 92 | 20.3 | 76.1% | Chico Unified |
| Butte County Community | 20 | 4.0 | 80.0% | Butte County Office of Education |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
How Chico's public schools compare with California's
The median Chico school has 20.3 students per full-time teacher, fewer than the California median of 21.6. Its median school enrolls 364 students (state 471).
| Chico | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Median students per teacher | 20.3 | 21.6 |
| Median school size (students) | 364 | 471 |
| Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22) | not reported | not reported |
| Schools where every student eats free (CEP) | 84% | 74% |
| Charter schools | 30% | 13% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 33 Chico schools and the 9,918 California schools open that year with students); Title I status CCD 2021-22. Students per teacher counts 2024-25 teachers and ratios from 3 to 99.
What to look at next in Chico
- Chico UnifiedRuns 22 of Chico's 33 public schools and spent $16,422 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$16,422
- Pleasant Valley High, the largest high school in Chico1,978 students in 2024-25, 22.4 per teacher.1,978
- Compare Chico Unified with CORE Butte Charter SchoolChico's two largest operators side by side: enrollment, spending and schools.
- The largest public schools in CaliforniaCalifornia's 50 largest schools open in 2024-25, by enrollment.
- Find the school district for a Chico addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools and their operating agencies); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student).
Choosing among them: how to choose a school district with the federal data, and what a Title I school is.
Other cities in California
- Los Angeles564 schools
- San Diego283 schools
- San Jose232 schools
- Sacramento197 schools
- Fresno179 schools
- Bakersfield146 schools
- San Francisco123 schools
- Stockton122 schools
Questions about schools in Chico
How many public schools are in Chico, CA?
33 public schools with an address in Chico were open in 2024-25: 7 high, 3 middle, 19 elementary, 4 other, enrolling 15,340 students. 10 are charter schools.What is the largest high school in Chico?
Pleasant Valley High, with 1,978 students in 2024-25 (Chico Unified).Which districts run Chico's schools?
Chico Unified (22 schools), CORE Butte Charter School (1 school), Chico Country Day School (1 school), Inspire School of Arts and Sciences District (1 school), and 8 more. A school's district, not its city, decides who can enroll.
These figures are for information and are not a substitute for the district's enrollment office, which confirms the school a home is assigned to.
Sources
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Public school search (the official record of each school) · 2024-25