Enrollment
751
California · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Morro Bay, CA
Morro Bay High
Federal NCES profile for Morro Bay High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 063480005875
👥 S:T ratio 33
📚 AP courses 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 25
📋 Attendance 9
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Morro Bay High earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 85% of California schools.
- 29
- Resource Index · Lower
- 16.7:1
- small classes for California
- 33.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 751
- students enrolled
Morro Bay High has class sizes smaller than 85% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: San Luis Coastal Unified · California
NCES ID 063480005875 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
45.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.7:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
-39% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Morro Bay High compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Morro Bay High
Morro Bay High is a mid-sized high school in Morro Bay, California, enrolling 751 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 16.7:1, Morro Bay High is leaner than roughly 85% of California schools and 22% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 33.7% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 751 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Among 1,252 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #914, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (57%) and Hispanic or Latino (32%) (diversity index 57/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 10 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 376 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 36.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The federal civil-rights collection also records 2 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
San Luis Coastal Unified also operates San Luis Obispo High (1,678 students) and Laguna Middle (780 students) alongside Morro Bay 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 Morro Bay High compares
Morro Bay 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 | 16.7:1 | ▼ 22% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.7% | ▼ 39% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 751 | top 20% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.7:1
Leaner classes than 33% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
751
Bigger than 83% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
33.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 39% 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
16.7:1
students per teacher
- 22% below state mean
Top 15% in California - lower ratio than 85% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
36.5%
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
$16,712
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 376 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 61 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
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
White 57.2%
Hispanic or Latino 31.9%
Two or More 5.4%
Asian 4.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
African American 0.3%
Largest group: White at 57.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 56.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 56.6, Morro Bay High is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
AP courses offered 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Luis Coastal Unified, which includes Morro Bay High.
$16,712
Per student
+1%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 77.4%
State 16.0%
Federal 6.7%
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 Morro Bay High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Laguna Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| C L Smith Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Los Ranchos Elementary | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Los Osos Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Morro Bay High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,678
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 780
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 528
- Students per teacher
- 24:1
- Resource Index
- 16/100
- Enrollment
- 521
- Students per teacher
- 27.4:1
- Resource Index
- 22/100
- Enrollment
- 494
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~751 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Morro Bay High's federal record.
- Compare Morro Bay High against another school. Compare schools
- San Luis Coastal Unified's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Morro Bay High
How many students attend Morro Bay High?
Morro Bay High has 751 students enrolled. It is a high school in Morro Bay, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Morro Bay High?
The student-teacher ratio at Morro Bay High is 16.7:1, which is 22% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 6% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Morro Bay High?
33.7% of students at Morro Bay High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Morro Bay High?
The largest demographic group at Morro Bay High is White at 57.2% of enrollment, in Morro Bay, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 56.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Morro Bay High?
Morro Bay High has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (lower 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).
Is Morro Bay High a good school?
Morro Bay High earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 85% of 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 Luis Coastal Unified?
Besides Morro Bay High, San Luis Coastal Unified also operates San Luis Obispo High (1,678 students), Laguna Middle (780 students), and C L Smith Elementary (528 students). See the San Luis Coastal Unified district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.