Enrollment
325
California · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Cathedral City, CA
Mt. San Jacinto High
Federal NCES profile for Mt. San Jacinto High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 062955008931
👥 S:T ratio 35
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 84
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Mt. San Jacinto High earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of California schools.
- #1 of 9
- public schools in Cathedral City · Resource Index
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 16.3:1
- small classes for California
- 97.7%
- free-lunch eligible
Mt. San Jacinto High has class sizes smaller than 86% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Mt. San Jacinto High ranks #1 of 9 public schools in Cathedral City, CA.
School address
District: Palm Springs Unified · California
NCES ID 062955008931 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
97.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
+76% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mt. San Jacinto High compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Mt. San Jacinto High
Mt. San Jacinto High is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Cathedral City, California, enrolling 325 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 16.3:1, Mt. San Jacinto High is leaner than roughly 86% of California schools and 24% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 97.7% of students qualify for free meals, 76% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 325 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 98% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 550 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #2, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 22/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 81 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Among Cathedral City's high schools, it stands alongside Cathedral City High (1,334 students): Mt. San Jacinto High is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (16.3:1 vs 19.3:1).
Palm Springs Unified also operates Desert Hot Springs High (1,687 students) and Palm Springs High (1,497 students) alongside Mt. San Jacinto 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 Mt. San Jacinto High compares
Mt. San Jacinto 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 | 16.3:1 | ▼ 24% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 97.7% | ▲ 76% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 325 | top 71% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.3:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
325
Bigger than 36% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
97.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 76% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
- 24% below state mean
Top 14% in California - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$17,520
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
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 81 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 50 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.4 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 88.2%
White 4.4%
African American 4.0%
Two or More 2.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
Asian 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 21.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 21.8, Mt. San Jacinto High is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palm Springs Unified, which includes Mt. San Jacinto High.
$17,520
Per student
+6%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+6%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 36.1%
State 54.5%
Federal 9.5%
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 Mt. San Jacinto High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Hot Springs High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Palm Springs High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Rancho Mirage High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Cathedral City High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| James Workman Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Mt. San Jacinto High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,687
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 1,497
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 1,401
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 1,334
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 1,020
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
Similar high schools in Cathedral City
1 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.
Similar enrollment (~325 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Mt. San Jacinto High's federal record.
- Compare Mt. San Jacinto High against another school. Compare schools
- Palm Springs 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 Mt. San Jacinto High
How many students attend Mt. San Jacinto High?
Mt. San Jacinto High has 325 students enrolled. It is a high school in Cathedral City, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mt. San Jacinto High?
The student-teacher ratio at Mt. San Jacinto High is 16.3:1, which is 24% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 4% 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 Mt. San Jacinto High?
97.7% of students at Mt. San Jacinto High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mt. San Jacinto High?
The largest demographic group at Mt. San Jacinto High is Hispanic or Latino at 88.2% of enrollment, in Cathedral City, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mt. San Jacinto High?
Mt. San Jacinto High has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Mt. San Jacinto High rank among public schools in Cathedral City?
By Resource Investment Index, Mt. San Jacinto High ranks #1 of 9 public schools in Cathedral City, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Cathedral City on the city page.
Is Mt. San Jacinto High a good school?
Mt. San Jacinto High earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% 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 Palm Springs Unified?
Besides Mt. San Jacinto High, Palm Springs Unified also operates Desert Hot Springs High (1,687 students), Palm Springs High (1,497 students), and Rancho Mirage High (1,401 students). See the Palm Springs 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.