Capistrano Unified
Public school district · Orange County · California · NCES district ID 0607440
Capistrano Unified spent $15,820 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23, below the middle: 66% of the other California districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 spent more (median $16,855). Its 58 schools enrolled 40,251 students in 2024-25; 37.4% of its revenue came from the state. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $17,395 per student, up 10.0% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year). Its four-year graduation rate for the class of 2023 was 96% (California: 86.2%).
NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 · Census Bureau school finances 2023-24 · NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · method
Spending per student among California districts of similar size
Current spending per student excludes construction and debt. The 9 districts closest to Capistrano Unified in enrollment (36,542 to 45,971 students) and Capistrano Unified itself.
Where the money came from
$862,894,000 in revenue: 37.4% state, 55.2% local and 7.3% federal. Total spending including $16,118,000 of capital outlay was $687,584,000, or $16,428 per student; the figure above leaves capital out.
- State$322,946,000 37%
- Local$476,740,000 55%
- Federal$63,208,000 7%
Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23: current expenditures for elementary and secondary education divided by fall membership; the state median covers 646 districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022. Revenue by source (TOTALREV, TFEDREV, TSTREV, TLOCREV).
Enrollment fell from 2022-23 to 2024-25
41,749 students in 2022-23, 40,733 students in 2023-24, 40,251 students in 2024-25, counted across the schools that reported each year.
Teachers and students per teacher
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 41,749 | 1856.4 | 22.5 |
| 2023-24 | 40,733 | 1882.7 | 21.6 |
| 2024-25 | 40,251 | 1756.6 | 22.9 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; sums over the schools reporting each year.
$224,954,000 in teacher salaries in fiscal year 2022-23, $5,375 per student
Capistrano Unified booked $224,954,000 of teacher salaries in its 2022-23 finance report and counted 1,856 full-time teachers in its Common Core of Data district staff file for 2022-23 (the school files behind the staffing figures on this page count teachers separately, so the two can differ), or $121,180 of salary spending per teacher. That is more than 84 in 100 California districts with a figure (state median $99,744, 1,149 districts). It is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, so the result can differ widely from the average salary the district publishes (its salary schedule gives pay); benefits are left out, and states book salaries differently, so compare districts within one state. For pay, the National Education Association put the average California teacher salary at $87,275 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).
| Program | Teacher salaries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Regular programs | $188,048,000 | 83.6% |
| Special education | $33,391,000 | 14.8% |
| Vocational | $790,000 | 0.4% |
| Other programs | $2,725,000 | 1.2% |
Teacher salaries per student, fiscal years 2018-19 to 2022-23
The district's teacher salary bill divided by its fall enrollment each year: $3,774 in 2018-19, $3,971 in 2019-20, $4,193 in 2020-21, $4,854 in 2021-22, $5,375 in 2022-23.
Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal years 2019 to 2023: teacher salaries in regular, special, vocational and other programs (Z35 to Z38) and fall membership (V33); NCES Common Core of Data LEA staff file 2022-23, teachers (full-time equivalent).
State test results, 2021-22
In 2021-22, the students tested in Capistrano Unified scored proficient or above: 68% in reading and 59% in math, against 45% in reading and 34% in math across California. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within California, not across states. Where a state published results by grade only, the grades tested are combined, weighted by the students tested in each.
| Subject | This district | California | Students tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and language arts | 68% | 45% | 18,047 |
| Math | 59% | 34% | 18,099 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22, all students, from ED Data Express (the Data Rescue Project archive; ED has no 2022-23 result for this district): ED shows district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.
Graduation rate, class of 2023
96% of the 4,008 students in Capistrano Unified's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 86.2% across California. The four-year rate follows the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out, and counts those who earned a regular diploma by 2023. Every state computes it the same way under federal law, though each sets its own diploma requirements.
| This district | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Four-year graduation rate | 96% | 86.2% |
| Students in the class | 4,008 | 495,492 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates 2022-23, all students, from ED Data Express: ED shows district rates as ranges (for example 90-94%) and leaves out small classes.
36 elementary schools, 17,286 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esencia | 996 | 26.9 | 10.9% | Not reported |
| Oso Grande Elementary | 867 | 27.1 | 8.1% | Not reported |
| Las Palmas Elementary | 743 | 25.6 | 41.2% | Not reported |
| Vista del Mar Elementary | 692 | 26.6 | 10.5% | Not reported |
| Don Juan Avila Elementary | 672 | 26.9 | 19.2% | Not reported |
| San Juan Elementary | 662 | 26.5 | 65.1% | Not reported |
| Chaparral Elementary | 604 | 23.2 | 11.8% | Not reported |
| Truman Benedict Elementary | 602 | 25.1 | 13.0% | Not reported |
| Ladera Ranch Elementary | 580 | 24.2 | 18.3% | Not reported |
| Bathgate Elementary | 570 | 25.9 | 24.4% | Not reported |
| Oak Grove Elementary | 569 | 23.7 | 24.8% | Not reported |
| John Malcom Elementary | 553 | 24.1 | 20.3% | Not reported |
The other 24 elementary schools
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moulton Elementary | 538 | 24.5 | 20.4% | Not reported |
| Concordia Elementary | 533 | 26.7 | 19.3% | Not reported |
| Canyon Vista Elementary | 533 | 24.2 | 14.1% | Not reported |
| Arroyo Vista Elementary | 508 | 24.2 | 16.7% | Not reported |
| Castille Elementary | 482 | 23.0 | 18.3% | Not reported |
| Richard Henry Dana Elementary | 461 | 17.8 | 38.6% | Not reported |
| Laguna Niguel Elementary | 456 | 22.8 | 26.1% | Not reported |
| Viejo Elementary | 447 | 24.8 | 42.3% | Not reported |
| Wagon Wheel Elementary | 441 | 23.2 | 12.0% | Not reported |
| Wood Canyon Elementary | 425 | 22.4 | 47.8% | Not reported |
| Marian Bergeson Elementary | 423 | 23.5 | 22.7% | Not reported |
| Philip J. Reilly Elementary | 421 | 22.2 | 16.4% | Not reported |
| George White Elementary | 378 | 23.6 | 29.9% | Not reported |
| Palisades Elementary | 332 | 22.1 | 35.5% | Not reported |
| Hidden Hills Elementary | 330 | 20.6 | 64.8% | Not reported |
| Clarence Lobo Elementary | 328 | 20.5 | 46.6% | Not reported |
| Las Flores Elementary | 328 | 25.2 | 19.2% | Not reported |
| Harold Ambuehl Elementary | 324 | 23.2 | 32.1% | Not reported |
| Tijeras Creek Elementary | 315 | 26.3 | 12.7% | Not reported |
| Del Obispo Elementary | 310 | 20.7 | 57.7% | Not reported |
| Kinoshita Elementary | 302 | 22.4 | 88.4% | Not reported |
| Carl Hankey Elementary | 284 | 23.7 | 45.8% | Not reported |
| Marblehead Elementary | 195 | 24.4 | 39.0% | Not reported |
| Capistrano Home/Virtual | 82 | 17.4 | 24.4% | Not reported |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
13 middle schools, 8,962 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newhart Middle | 1,105 | 21.6 | 23.9% | Not reported |
| Ladera Ranch Middle | 1,064 | 23.0 | 12.3% | Not reported |
| Marco Forster Middle | 930 | 20.4 | 66.2% | Not reported |
| Bernice Ayer Middle | 919 | 22.4 | 31.1% | Not reported |
| Don Juan Avila Middle | 863 | 24.2 | 22.2% | Not reported |
| Aliso Viejo Middle | 803 | 22.3 | 28.1% | Not reported |
| Niguel Hills Middle | 693 | 19.6 | 37.4% | Not reported |
| Shorecliffs Middle | 634 | 19.8 | 34.1% | Not reported |
| Las Flores Middle | 593 | 21.4 | 13.7% | Not reported |
| Vista del Mar Middle | 499 | 22.3 | 12.6% | Not reported |
| Esencia Middle | 349 | 21.7 | 14.9% | Not reported |
| Arroyo Vista Middle | 329 | 20.8 | 11.9% | Not reported |
One more middle school
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Hankey Middle | 181 | 15.7 | 38.7% | Not reported |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
9 high schools, 14,003 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Clemente High | 2,740 | 23.6 | 26.6% | Not reported |
| San Juan Hills High | 2,641 | 23.2 | 29.6% | Not reported |
| Aliso Niguel High | 2,563 | 23.5 | 24.2% | Not reported |
| Tesoro High | 2,030 | 22.7 | 15.2% | Not reported |
| Capistrano Valley High | 1,991 | 21.8 | 31.1% | Not reported |
| Dana Hills High | 1,725 | 21.6 | 32.5% | Not reported |
| California Preparatory Academy | 198 | 22.9 | 17.2% | Not reported |
| Capistrano Union High | 103 | 8.6 | 76.7% | Not reported |
| Bridges Community Day | 12 | 3.8 | 25.0% | Not reported |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
One more school on file: small, closed or in an earlier directory
These records carry fewer federal fields than a full school page needs, so each is summarized here with what NCES reports.
Richard Henry Dana Exceptional Needs
Elementary school in Dana Point; 30 students; 5.0 students per teacher.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 and earlier directories: the last year each school was listed, its students and its teachers.
Contact Capistrano Unified
- Website: capousd.org
- Phone: (949) 234-9200
- Office: 33122 Valle Rd., San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, local education agency directory 2024-25. Enrollment, boundaries and school assignment are the district's to confirm.
What to look at next about Capistrano Unified
- California districts by spending per studentCapistrano Unified ranks 429 of 646 California districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 on current spending per student in fiscal year 2022-23 ($15,820).#429 of 646
- Every school district in CaliforniaCapistrano Unified is the number 11 by size of 1,991 California districts, with 41,855 students in fall 2022 (F-33).#11 of 1,991
- Clovis UnifiedThe next larger California district: 42,802 students in fall 2022, $15,101 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$15,101
- Santa Ana UnifiedThe next smaller California district: 39,935 students in fall 2022, $22,289 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$22,289
- Compare Capistrano Unified with Clovis UnifiedEnrollment, spending, revenue sources and schools, side by side.
- San Clemente High, its largest high school2,740 students in 2024-25, 23.6 per teacher.2,740
- Teacher salary spending across CaliforniaCapistrano Unified spent $121,180 in salaries per full-time teacher in fiscal year 2022-23 (state median $99,744); spending, not a salary.$121,180
- Find the school district for an addressA home's district decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student and fall 2022 membership; ranks among the state's districts that reported them); NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools).
Questions about Capistrano Unified
How many schools and students are in Capistrano Unified?
58 schools were open in 2024-25 (36 elementary, 13 middle, 9 high), enrolling 40,251 students, according to the NCES Common Core of Data.How much does Capistrano Unified spend per student?
$15,820 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), which leaves out construction and debt; the California median for districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 is $16,855 and the U.S. figure is $16,260. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $17,395 per student, up 10.0% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).Where does Capistrano Unified's money come from?
$862,894,000 in revenue in fiscal year 2022-23: 37.4% state, 55.2% local and 7.3% federal (NCES F-33).How many children in Capistrano Unified live in poverty?
The Census Bureau estimates that 3,524 of the 56,578 children aged 5 to 17 living within the district's boundaries in 2024, 6.2%, were in families in poverty (Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). It is a model-based estimate for everyone living in the district, not a count of its students; the free-meal shares in the school tables are counts of enrolled students.How much does Capistrano Unified spend on teacher salaries?
$224,954,000 in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), or $5,375 per student. Divided by the 1,856 full-time teachers in the NCES Common Core of Data for 2022-23 that is $121,180 per teacher, more than 84 in 100 California districts (state median $99,744). That is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, and the result can differ widely from the average salary a district publishes. The district's salary schedule gives pay. For pay, the National Education Association put the average California teacher salary at $87,275 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).How do students in Capistrano Unified do on state tests?
In 2021-22, the students tested in Capistrano Unified scored proficient or above: 68% in reading and 59% in math, against 45% in reading and 34% in math across California. California's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22.What is the graduation rate in Capistrano Unified?
96% of the 4,008 students in Capistrano Unified's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 86.2% across California. The four-year rate follows the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23.What is Capistrano Unified's NCES district ID?
0607440. Each of its schools' 12-digit NCES IDs begins with these seven digits.
Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.
Sources
Every federal file behind this record
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
- Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
- EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
- EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23: the class of 2023 for the district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22: reading and math proficiency for the district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- NCES Digest of Education Statistics, table 211.60 (2021-22): the state's average teacher salary, from the National Education Association. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024: children aged 5 to 17 and those in families in poverty, by school district. census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2023-24: per pupil current spending for 2023-24 and 2022-23. census.gov
- NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances Per pupil current spending by school system · FY 2023-24
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey Revenue and expenditures by district · FY 2022-23
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25