High school (grades 9-12) · Salinas, CA

Rancho San Juan High

Federal NCES profile for Rancho San Juan High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 063398014401
0/100100/10036/100
👥 S:T ratio
17
📚 AP courses
65
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
47
📋 Attendance
23
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Rancho San Juan High earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#6 of 8
high schools in Salinas · Resource Index
36
Resource Index · Typical
20.8:1
students per teacher
67.3%
free-lunch eligible

Rancho San Juan High has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Rancho San Juan High ranks #6 of 8 high schools in Salinas, CA.

School address

Enrollment

1,600

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

77.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

20.8:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-3% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

67.3%

vs 55.5% California avg

+21% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Rancho San Juan High compares with California and U.S. medians

At or below 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 Rancho San Juan High

Rancho San Juan High is a higher-need, large high school in Salinas, California, enrolling 1,600 students.

At 20.8:1, 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 above the state's typical profile, with 67.3% of students eligible for free meals.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in California, bigger than 94% of state schools at 1,600 students.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 379 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #194.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (91% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 18/100).

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

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 267 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 31.0% 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.

Among Salinas's high schools, it stands alongside Alisal High (2,742 students): Rancho San Juan High is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (20.8:1 vs 22.7:1).

Salinas Union High also operates Alisal High (2,742 students) and Salinas High (2,380 students) alongside Rancho San Juan 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 Rancho San Juan High compares

Rancho San Juan 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 20.8:1 ▼ 3% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 67.3% ▲ 21% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 1,600 top 6% - -

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

20.8:1
Leaner classes than 13% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,600
Bigger than 97% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
67.3%
free-lunch eligible - 21% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
20.8:1
students per teacher - 3% below state mean
Top 42% in California - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
31.0%
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
$14,795
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 267 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 45 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.9 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

Hispanic or Latino 90.6%
White 4.6%
Asian 2.6%
Two or More 1.6%
African American 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 90.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 17.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 17.6, Rancho San Juan High is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

AP courses offered 13

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Salinas Union High, which includes Rancho San Juan High.

$14,795
Per student
-10%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-11%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.3%
State 65.8%
Federal 11.0%

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 Rancho San Juan High Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Alisal High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Salinas High Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
North Salinas High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Everett Alvarez High Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Harden Middle Smaller Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Salinas Union High · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Salinas

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 Rancho San Juan 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 Rancho San Juan High

How many students attend Rancho San Juan High?

Rancho San Juan High has 1,600 students enrolled. It is a high school in Salinas, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Rancho San Juan High?

The student-teacher ratio at Rancho San Juan High is 20.8:1, which is 3% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 32% 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 Rancho San Juan High?

67.3% of students at Rancho San Juan High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rancho San Juan High?

The largest demographic group at Rancho San Juan High is Hispanic or Latino at 90.6% of enrollment, in Salinas, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Rancho San Juan High?

Rancho San Juan High has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (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 Rancho San Juan High rank among high schools in Salinas?

By Resource Investment Index, Rancho San Juan High ranks #6 of 8 high schools in Salinas, 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 Salinas on the city page.

Is Rancho San Juan High a good school?

Rancho San Juan High earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less 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 Salinas Union High?

Besides Rancho San Juan High, Salinas Union High also operates Alisal High (2,742 students), Salinas High (2,380 students), and North Salinas High (2,106 students). See the Salinas Union High 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.