Public schools in San Diego, CA
San Diego has 283 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 50 high, 40 middle, 178 elementary, 15 other, enrolling 163,135 students. They are run by 57 districts and agencies; San Diego Unified runs 170 of them.
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method
The 57 districts and agencies that run San Diego's public schools
Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.
| District | Schools in San Diego | District students, fall 2022 | Spending per student, FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego Unified | 170 | 93,893 | $20,783 |
| Poway Unified | 28 | 34,900 | $15,127 |
| Sweetwater Union High School District | 7 | 36,109 | $15,327 |
| Del Mar Union School District | 7 | 3,748 | $20,785 |
| South Bay Union | 6 | 5,859 | $22,191 |
| San Dieguito Union High School District | 4 | 12,615 | $14,491 |
| San Diego County Office of Education | 4 | 1,036 | not reported |
| Solana Beach School District | 4 | 2,725 | $22,324 |
| Chula Vista Elementary School District | 4 | 22,226 | $15,904 |
| San Ysidro School District | 2 | 4,260 | $19,277 |
| The O'Farrell Charter District | 1 | 1,818 | $13,647 |
| Albert Einstein Academies | 1 | 1,440 | $15,229 |
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.
50 high schools in San Diego, 51,415 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Del Norte High | 2,557 | 23.8 | 9.3% | Poway Unified |
| Torrey Pines High | 2,536 | 25.1 | 13.6% | San Dieguito Union High |
| Henry High | 2,485 | 26.3 | 30.8% | San Diego Unified |
| Rancho Bernardo High | 2,210 | 24.5 | 14.2% | Poway Unified |
| Mira Mesa High | 2,187 | 25.3 | 39.5% | San Diego Unified |
| Canyon Crest Academy | 2,147 | 25.8 | 8.8% | San Dieguito Union High |
| Westview High | 2,116 | 24.4 | 11.6% | Poway Unified |
| Hoover High | 2,011 | 22.9 | 79.0% | San Diego Unified |
| San Ysidro High | 1,941 | 23.2 | 67.6% | Sweetwater Union High |
| Scripps Ranch High | 1,890 | 27.0 | 12.9% | San Diego Unified |
The other 40 high schools
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.
40 middle schools in San Diego, 27,298 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Valley Middle | 1,503 | 24.9 | 8.2% | Poway Unified |
| Bernardo Heights Middle | 1,487 | 22.6 | 13.0% | Poway Unified |
| Marshall Middle | 1,390 | 25.9 | 13.7% | San Diego Unified |
| Mesa Verde Middle | 1,178 | 25.1 | 10.8% | Poway Unified |
| Black Mountain Middle | 1,077 | 22.7 | 19.7% | Poway Unified |
| Lewis Middle | 1,013 | 23.9 | 34.7% | San Diego Unified |
| Pershing Middle | 980 | 24.8 | 23.5% | San Diego Unified |
| Pacific Trails Middle | 971 | 24.4 | 9.3% | San Dieguito Union High |
| Challenger Middle | 960 | 24.6 | 33.9% | San Diego Unified |
| Standley Middle | 813 | 22.0 | 32.7% | San Diego Unified |
The other 30 middle schools
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.
178 elementary schools in San Diego, 78,221 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Einstein Academies | 1,448 | 23.3 | 42.6% | Albert Einstein Academies |
| Design 39 Campus | 1,216 | 23.6 | 6.3% | Poway Unified |
| Nestor Language Academy Charter | 1,079 | 25.0 | 45.0% | South Bay Union |
| Ocean View Hills | 1,020 | 22.2 | 30.1% | San Ysidro |
| Language Academy | 1,015 | 23.7 | 31.6% | San Diego Unified |
| Del Sur Elementary | 891 | 24.0 | 8.8% | Poway Unified |
| Westwood Elementary | 832 | 22.1 | 12.6% | Poway Unified |
| Zamorano Elementary | 823 | 24.9 | 50.9% | San Diego Unified |
| Monterey Ridge Elementary | 770 | 25.1 | 14.5% | Poway Unified |
| Grant K-8 | 743 | 21.5 | 21.0% | San Diego Unified |
The other 168 elementary schools
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.
15 other schools in San Diego, 6,201 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The O'Farrell Charter | 1,862 | 18.7 | 40.5% | The O'Farrell Charter District |
| Logan Memorial Educational Campus | 1,467 | 20.8 | 83.6% | San Diego Unified |
| San Diego County Community | 510 | 11.7 | 90.4% | San Diego County Office of Education |
| Audeo Charter | 450 | 30.7 | 55.8% | Altus Schools Audeo |
| America's Finest Charter | 396 | 14.9 | 87.9% | America's Finest Charter School |
| Urban Discovery Academy Charter | 330 | 18.8 | 58.8% | Urban Discovery Academy Charter District |
| Mt. Everest Academy | 232 | 19.2 | 17.2% | San Diego Unified |
| Monarch | 225 | 14.5 | 100.0% | San Diego County Office of Education |
| San Diego County Court | 219 | 6.7 | 98.6% | San Diego County Office of Education |
| Learning Choice Academy | 177 | 16.3 | 44.6% | Learning Choice Academy District |
The other 5 other schools
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riley/New Dawn | 142 | 6.5 | 75.4% | San Diego Unified |
| Whittier K-12 | 77 | 8.5 | 53.2% | San Diego Unified |
| Home & Hosp/Transition Support | 66 | 4.3 | 63.6% | San Diego Unified |
| San Diego County Special Education | 28 | 5.6 | 25.0% | San Diego County Office of Education |
| Alba | 20 | 2.4 | 65.0% | San Diego 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.
How San Diego's public schools compare with California's
The median San Diego school has 22.6 students per full-time teacher, more than the California median of 21.6. Its median school enrolls 435 students (state 471).
| San Diego | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Median students per teacher | 22.6 | 21.6 |
| Median school size (students) | 435 | 471 |
| Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22) | not reported | not reported |
| Schools where every student eats free (CEP) | 81% | 74% |
| Charter schools | 17% | 13% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 283 San Diego 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 San Diego
- San Diego UnifiedRuns 170 of San Diego's 283 public schools and spent $20,783 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$20,783
- Del Norte High, the largest high school in San Diego2,557 students in 2024-25, 23.8 per teacher.2,557
- Compare San Diego Unified with Poway UnifiedSan Diego'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 San Diego 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 Jose232 schools
- Sacramento197 schools
- Fresno179 schools
- Bakersfield146 schools
- San Francisco123 schools
- Stockton122 schools
- Oakland116 schools
Questions about schools in San Diego
How many public schools are in San Diego, CA?
283 public schools with an address in San Diego were open in 2024-25: 50 high, 40 middle, 178 elementary, 15 other, enrolling 163,135 students. 48 are charter schools.What is the largest high school in San Diego?
Del Norte High, with 2,557 students in 2024-25 (Poway Unified).Which districts run San Diego's schools?
San Diego Unified (170 schools), Poway Unified (28 schools), Sweetwater Union High School District (7 schools), Del Mar Union School District (7 schools), and 53 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