Public schools in Merced, CA
Merced has 35 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 7 high, 5 middle, 19 elementary, 4 other, enrolling 22,862 students. They are run by 6 districts and agencies; Merced City Elementary runs 19 of them.
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method
The 6 districts and agencies that run Merced's public schools
Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.
| District | Schools in Merced | District students, fall 2022 | Spending per student, FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced City Elementary | 19 | 10,973 | $15,186 |
| Merced Union High School District | 6 | 11,226 | $16,578 |
| Merced County Office of Education | 5 | 1,706 | $65,270 |
| Weaver Union | 3 | 3,130 | $16,359 |
| McSwain Union Elementary | 1 | 883 | $13,945 |
| Plainsburg Union Elementary | 1 | 108 | $14,111 |
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 Merced, 6,287 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merced High | 1,943 | 22.6 | 69.5% | Merced Union High |
| Golden Valley High | 1,917 | 21.4 | 73.4% | Merced Union High |
| El Capitan High | 1,793 | 21.2 | 64.4% | Merced Union High |
| Yosemite High (Continuation) | 342 | 16.1 | 79.8% | Merced Union High |
| Come Back Charter | 128 | 27.2 | 79.7% | Merced County Office of Education |
| Independence High (Alternative) | 87 | 8.3 | 80.5% | Merced Union High |
| Sequoia High | 77 | 9.0 | 88.3% | Merced Union High |
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.
5 middle schools in Merced, 3,541 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weaver Middle | 1,073 | 22.2 | 87.4% | Weaver Union |
| Herbert Hoover Middle | 629 | 29.6 | 78.1% | Merced City Elementary |
| Herbert H. Cruickshank Middle | 624 | 30.1 | 47.6% | Merced City Elementary |
| Rudolph Rivera Middle | 608 | 28.7 | 73.2% | Merced City Elementary |
| Tenaya Middle | 607 | 27.2 | 84.2% | Merced City Elementary |
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 Merced, 11,639 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Elementary | 1,055 | 20.3 | 84.9% | Weaver Union |
| Farmdale Elementary | 919 | 20.8 | 85.2% | Weaver Union |
| Rudolph Rivera Elementary | 917 | 27.0 | 64.3% | Merced City Elementary |
| McSwain Elementary | 912 | 20.9 | 30.6% | McSwain Union Elementary |
| Donn B. Chenoweth Elementary | 722 | 24.9 | 51.1% | Merced City Elementary |
| Luther Burbank Elementary | 716 | 25.6 | 58.4% | Merced City Elementary |
| Allan Peterson Elementary | 690 | 25.6 | 55.4% | Merced City Elementary |
| Joe Stefani | 641 | 27.6 | 79.3% | Merced City Elementary |
| John Muir Elementary | 613 | 25.6 | 81.7% | Merced City Elementary |
| Franklin Elementary | 602 | 22.3 | 72.4% | Merced City Elementary |
The other 9 elementary schools
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John C. Fremont Elementary | 580 | 25.3 | 77.4% | Merced City Elementary |
| Ada Givens Elementary | 579 | 23.2 | 69.3% | Merced City Elementary |
| Alicia Reyes Elementary | 540 | 24.6 | 89.3% | Merced City Elementary |
| Charles Wright Elementary | 527 | 22.0 | 75.0% | Merced City Elementary |
| Leontine Gracey Elementary | 509 | 23.1 | 77.0% | Merced City Elementary |
| Don Stowell Elementary | 501 | 21.8 | 93.2% | Merced City Elementary |
| Margaret Sheehy Elementary | 481 | 24.1 | 90.9% | Merced City Elementary |
| Plainsburg Union Elementary | 113 | 19.5 | 41.6% | Plainsburg Union Elementary |
| Merced City School District Community Day | 22 | 7.7 | 86.4% | Merced City Elementary |
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 Merced, 1,395 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merced County Special Education | 942 | 13.0 | 65.4% | Merced County Office of Education |
| Merced Scholars Charter | 334 | 16.5 | 71.0% | Merced County Office of Education |
| Valley Merced Community | 99 | 20.2 | 90.9% | Merced County Office of Education |
| Merced County Juvenile Court | 20 | 18.0 | 85.0% | Merced 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 Merced's public schools compare with California's
The median Merced school has 22.3 students per full-time teacher, more than the California median of 21.6. Its median school enrolls 607 students (state 471).
| Merced | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Median students per teacher | 22.3 | 21.6 |
| Median school size (students) | 607 | 471 |
| Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22) | not reported | not reported |
| Schools where every student eats free (CEP) | 93% | 74% |
| Charter schools | 5.7% | 13% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 35 Merced 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 Merced
- Merced City ElementaryRuns 19 of Merced's 35 public schools and spent $15,186 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$15,186
- Merced High, the largest high school in Merced1,943 students in 2024-25, 22.6 per teacher.1,943
- Compare Merced City Elementary with Merced Union High School DistrictMerced'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 Merced 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 Merced
How many public schools are in Merced, CA?
35 public schools with an address in Merced were open in 2024-25: 7 high, 5 middle, 19 elementary, 4 other, enrolling 22,862 students. 2 are charter schools.What is the largest high school in Merced?
Merced High, with 1,943 students in 2024-25 (Merced Union High School District).Which districts run Merced's schools?
Merced City Elementary (19 schools), Merced Union High School District (6 schools), Merced County Office of Education (5 schools), Weaver Union (3 schools), and 2 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