High school (grades 9-12) · San Diego, CA

Canyon Hills High

Federal NCES profile for Canyon Hills High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 063432005549
0/100100/10042/100
👥 S:T ratio
12
📚 AP courses
65
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
21
📋 Attendance
39
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Canyon Hills High earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#10 of 41
high schools in San Diego · Resource Index
42
Resource Index · Typical
21.9:1
students per teacher
34.7%
free-lunch eligible

Canyon Hills High has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Canyon Hills High ranks #10 of 41 high schools in San Diego, CA.

School address

Enrollment

1,183

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

54.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

21.9:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+2% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

34.7%

vs 55.5% California avg

-37% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Canyon Hills High compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Canyon Hills High

Canyon Hills High is a large high school in San Diego, California, enrolling 1,183 students.

At 21.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 34.7% of students eligible for free meals.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in California, bigger than 91% of state schools at 1,183 students.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 625 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #192.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (37%) and White (29%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 74/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 13 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 394 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.

Among San Diego's high schools, it stands alongside Del Norte High (2,557 students): Canyon Hills High is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (21.9:1 vs 26.9:1).

San Diego Unified also operates Henry High (2,485 students) and Mira Mesa High (2,187 students) alongside Canyon Hills High.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Canyon Hills High compares

Canyon Hills High on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 21.9:1 ▲ 2% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 34.7% ▼ 37% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 1,183 top 9% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

21.9:1
Leaner classes than 11% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,183
Bigger than 94% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
34.7%
free-lunch eligible - 37% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21.9:1
students per teacher - 2% above state mean
Top 52% in California - lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
24.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$18,665
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 394 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
19
in-school suspensions + 21 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 37.4%
White 29.2%
Two or More 13.5%
Asian 11.0%
African American 7.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 37.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 73.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 73.8, Canyon Hills High is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

AP courses offered 13
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Diego Unified, which includes Canyon Hills High.

$18,665
Per student
+13%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+12%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 60.5%
State 25.1%
Federal 14.4%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Canyon Hills High Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Henry High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Mira Mesa High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hoover High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Scripps Ranch High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Point Loma High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Canyon Hills High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

San Diego Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in San Diego

6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Canyon Hills High's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Canyon Hills High

How many students attend Canyon Hills High?

Canyon Hills High has 1,183 students enrolled. It is a high school in San Diego, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Canyon Hills High?

The student-teacher ratio at Canyon Hills High is 21.9:1, which is 2% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 39% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Canyon Hills High?

34.7% of students at Canyon Hills High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Canyon Hills High?

The largest demographic group at Canyon Hills High is Hispanic or Latino at 37.4% of enrollment, in San Diego, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 73.8/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Canyon Hills High?

Canyon Hills High has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Canyon Hills High rank among high schools in San Diego?

By Resource Investment Index, Canyon Hills High ranks #10 of 41 high schools in San Diego, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in San Diego on the city page.

Is Canyon Hills High a good school?

Canyon Hills High earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in San Diego Unified?

Besides Canyon Hills High, San Diego Unified also operates Henry High (2,485 students), Mira Mesa High (2,187 students), and Hoover High (2,011 students). See the San Diego Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

View saved

Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.