Enrollment
1,663
California · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Santa Clara, CA
Santa Clara High
Federal NCES profile for Santa Clara High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 063543007868
👥 S:T ratio 28
📚 AP courses 30
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 52
📋 Attendance 48
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Santa Clara High earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of California schools. It is also one of the largest schools in California.
- #3 of 4
- high schools in Santa Clara · Resource Index
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 18.1:1
- small classes for California
- 31.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Santa Clara High has class sizes smaller than 78% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Santa Clara High ranks #3 of 4 high schools in Santa Clara, CA.
School address
District: Santa Clara Unified · California
NCES ID 063543007868 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
92.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.1:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Santa Clara High compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Santa Clara High
Santa Clara High is a large high school in Santa Clara, California, enrolling 1,663 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 18.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 31.5% of students eligible for free meals.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in California, bigger than 95% of state schools at 1,663 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 350 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #73.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (39%) and Asian (34%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 70/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 6 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 238 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Santa Clara Unified spends $24,038 per pupil, 46% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Santa Clara's high schools, it stands alongside Adrian Wilcox High (1,614 students): Santa Clara High is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (18.1:1 vs 17.5:1).
Santa Clara Unified also operates Adrian Wilcox High (1,614 students) and Juan Cabrillo Middle (796 students) alongside Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara High compares
Santa Clara 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 | 18.1:1 | ▼ 16% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.5% | ▼ 43% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,663 | top 5% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.1:1
Leaner classes than 24% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,663
Bigger than 97% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
31.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 43% 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
18.1:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 22% in California - lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
21.0%
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
$24,038
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 238 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 71 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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 38.5%
Asian 33.6%
White 18.6%
Two or More 5.7%
African American 2.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 38.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 70.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 70.0, Santa Clara High is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
AP courses offered 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Clara Unified, which includes Santa Clara High.
$24,038
Per student
+46%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+45%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 81.9%
State 13.2%
Federal 4.9%
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 Santa Clara High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian Wilcox High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Juan Cabrillo Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Marian a. Peterson Middle | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Buchser Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Kathleen Macdonald High | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Santa Clara High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,614
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 796
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 759
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 711
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 683
- Students per teacher
- 48.8:1
- Resource Index
- 0/100
Similar high schools in Santa Clara
3 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 (~1,663 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~18.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Santa Clara High's federal record.
- Compare Santa Clara High against another school. Compare schools
- Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara High
How many students attend Santa Clara High?
Santa Clara High has 1,663 students enrolled. It is a high school in Santa Clara, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Clara High?
The student-teacher ratio at Santa Clara High is 18.1:1, which is 16% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 15% 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 Santa Clara High?
31.5% of students at Santa Clara High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Santa Clara High?
The largest demographic group at Santa Clara High is Hispanic or Latino at 38.5% of enrollment, in Santa Clara, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 70.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Santa Clara High?
Santa Clara High has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Santa Clara High rank among high schools in Santa Clara?
By Resource Investment Index, Santa Clara High ranks #3 of 4 high schools in Santa Clara, 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 Santa Clara on the city page.
Is Santa Clara High a good school?
Santa Clara High earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of California schools. It is also one of the largest schools in California. 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 Santa Clara Unified?
Besides Santa Clara High, Santa Clara Unified also operates Adrian Wilcox High (1,614 students), Juan Cabrillo Middle (796 students), and Marian a. Peterson Middle (759 students). See the Santa Clara 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.