Enrollment
2,588
California · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Santa Monica, CA
Santa Monica High
Federal NCES profile for Santa Monica High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 063570006102
👥 S:T ratio 24
📚 AP courses 55
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 60
📋 Attendance 16
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Santa Monica High earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of California schools. It is also one of the largest schools in California.
- #10 of 12
- public schools in Santa Monica · Resource Index
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 18.9:1
- small classes for California
- 27.3%
- free-lunch eligible
Santa Monica High has class sizes smaller than 74% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Santa Monica High ranks #10 of 12 public schools in Santa Monica, CA.
School address
District: Santa Monica-Malibu Unified · California
NCES ID 063570006102 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
137.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.9:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Santa Monica High compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Santa Monica High
Santa Monica High is a large high school in Santa Monica, California, enrolling 2,588 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 18.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 27.3% of students eligible for free meals.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in California, bigger than 99% of state schools at 2,588 students.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 223 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #106.
Its student body is led by White (40%) and Hispanic or Latino (35%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 70/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 11 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 199 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 33.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Santa Monica's high schools, it stands alongside Olympic High (Continuation) (30 students): Santa Monica High is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (18.9:1 vs 15:1).
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified also operates Lincoln Middle (914 students) and John Adams Middle (806 students) alongside Santa Monica 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 Monica High compares
Santa Monica 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 | 18.9:1 | ▼ 12% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.3% | ▼ 51% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 2,588 | top 1% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.9:1
Leaner classes than 20% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
2,588
Bigger than 99% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
27.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% 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
18.9:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 26% in California - lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
33.8%
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
$19,713
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
Counselors13.0 FTE
Per 199 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 303 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.8 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
White 40.3%
Hispanic or Latino 34.5%
Two or More 10.3%
Asian 7.4%
African American 7.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 40.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 69.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 69.7, Santa Monica High is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
AP courses offered 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Monica-Malibu Unified, which includes Santa Monica High.
$19,713
Per student
+19%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 85.5%
State 8.6%
Federal 5.9%
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 Monica High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| John Adams Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Franklin Elementary | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Grant Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Roosevelt Elementary | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Santa Monica High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 914
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 806
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 597
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 562
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 552
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
Similar high schools in Santa Monica
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 (~2,588 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~18.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Santa Monica High's federal record.
- Compare Santa Monica High against another school. Compare schools
- Santa Monica-Malibu 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 Monica High
How many students attend Santa Monica High?
Santa Monica High has 2,588 students enrolled. It is a high school in Santa Monica, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Monica High?
The student-teacher ratio at Santa Monica High is 18.9:1, which is 12% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 20% 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 Monica High?
27.3% of students at Santa Monica High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Santa Monica High?
The largest demographic group at Santa Monica High is White at 40.3% of enrollment, in Santa Monica, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 69.7/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Santa Monica High?
Santa Monica High has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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 Monica High rank among public schools in Santa Monica?
By Resource Investment Index, Santa Monica High ranks #10 of 12 public schools in Santa Monica, 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 Santa Monica on the city page.
Is Santa Monica High a good school?
Santa Monica High earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% 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 Monica-Malibu Unified?
Besides Santa Monica High, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified also operates Lincoln Middle (914 students), John Adams Middle (806 students), and Franklin Elementary (597 students). See the Santa Monica-Malibu 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.