California · NCES CCD 2024-25
Best-Resourced School Districts in California Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.
Compiled by PlainSchools , Education-data publisher · July 30, 2026
50 Districts ranked
155,444 Students enrolled
47/100 Avg quality score
C Top grade The ranking in one line
Hillsborough City Elementary in Hillsborough leads California's districts with an average school quality score of 57.5/100 across 4 schools.
57.5/100 top district score (grade C)
4 schools in Hillsborough City Elementary
1,294 students in the top district
47/100 average across the top 50 # District Grade Students Schools Avg S:T Per-Pupil $ Avg Quality 1 Hillsborough City Elementary Hillsborough C 1,294 4 14.7:1 $28,278 57.5 2 Los Angeles County Office of Education Downey C 1,533 8 11.7:1 - 56.8 3 Piedmont City Unified Piedmont C- 2,336 6 17:1 $20,957 53.5 4 Holtville Unified Holtville C- 1,573 6 15.9:1 $15,872 52.7 5 Goleta Union Elementary Goleta C- 3,416 9 19.3:1 $22,500 52.2 6 Portola Valley Elementary Portola Valley C- 515 2 14.4:1 $31,688 51.5 7 Manhattan Beach Unified Manhattan Beach C- 5,895 7 23.4:1 $16,366 50.9 8 Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified Palos Verdes Estates C- 10,457 17 22.2:1 $14,775 50 9 Fallbrook Union High Fallbrook C- 2,096 3 22.7:1 $16,598 50 10 Shasta Union High Redding D 4,265 5 18.6:1 $17,087 49.8 11 Tamalpais Union High Larkspur D 4,837 5 15.6:1 $20,137 49.6 12 Kingsburg Elementary Charter Kingsburg D 2,135 7 20.2:1 - 49.4 13 Ventura County Office of Education Camarillo D 601 5 6.8:1 - 49.2 14 Rosedale Union Elementary Bakersfield D 6,041 9 22.3:1 $11,913 48.9 15 Brea-Olinda Unified Brea D 5,811 10 19.7:1 $14,114 48.1 16 Tulare County Office of Education Visalia D 1,636 5 13.7:1 - 47.8 17 Brawley Union High Brawley D 2,055 3 22.3:1 $15,967 47.3 18 San Pasqual Valley Unified Winterhaven D 591 5 12.8:1 $29,005 47.2 19 Kings Canyon Joint Unified Reedley D 9,684 21 22.9:1 $16,344 46.7 20 Santa Barbara Unified Santa Barbara D 12,583 20 16.9:1 $16,366 46.7 21 Columbia Elementary Redding D 754 3 13.6:1 $16,200 46.7 22 Yreka Union High Yreka D 733 3 12.1:1 $15,253 46.7 23 Tahoe-Truckee Unified Truckee D 3,965 11 18:1 $20,636 46.5 24 Lassen Union High Susanville D 864 3 13.5:1 $14,255 46.3 25 Saint Helena Unified St. Helena D 1,121 4 13.2:1 $34,699 46.3 26 Lammersville Joint Unified Mountain House D 7,520 8 22.4:1 $10,700 45.8 27 Jefferson Elementary Tracy D 2,623 4 20.5:1 $11,365 45.8 28 Bishop Unified Bishop D 1,930 6 13.5:1 $13,814 45.7 29 Central Union High El Centro D 4,093 5 17.3:1 $16,425 45.6 30 Petaluma Joint Union High Petaluma D 4,926 10 19.8:1 - 45.3 31 Pacific Grove Unified Pacific Grove D 1,772 5 16:1 $23,215 45.2 32 Orinda Union Elementary Orinda D 2,516 5 21.6:1 $14,746 45 33 Heber Elementary Heber D 1,186 2 21.2:1 $18,420 45 34 Reed Union Elementary Tiburon D 1,024 3 16.2:1 $23,744 45 35 Saugus Union Santa Clarita D 9,097 15 27.2:1 $12,536 44.9 36 Los Altos Elementary Los Altos D 3,355 9 19.1:1 $20,931 44.8 37 Gravenstein Union Elementary Sebastopol D 768 3 18.8:1 $14,530 44.7 38 Fresno County Office of Education Fresno D 748 3 8.4:1 - 44.7 39 Berkeley Unified Berkeley D 9,073 17 16.9:1 $21,454 44.5 40 Las Lomitas Elementary Menlo Park D 1,151 2 17.7:1 $30,394 44.5 41 Oak Park Unified Oak Park D 4,236 7 24.6:1 $12,034 44.1 42 Cypress Elementary Cypress D 3,389 6 24.2:1 $14,303 44 43 Hamilton Unified Hamilton City D 711 3 21.3:1 $13,867 44 44 Madera County Superintendent of Schools Madera D 663 4 16.4:1 $64,738 44 45 Rancho Santa Fe Elementary Rancho Santa Fe D 574 2 11.8:1 $21,886 44 46 Laton Joint Unified Laton D 628 4 15.9:1 $17,651 43.8 47 San Diego County Office of Education San Diego D 1,036 7 8.6:1 - 43.6 48 Modoc Joint Unified Alturas D 832 6 10.8:1 $14,587 43.5 49 Laguna Beach Unified Laguna Beach D 2,456 4 17.4:1 $26,628 43.3 50 Oroville Union High Oroville D 2,346 4 14.4:1 $15,136 43.3
Frequently Asked Questions What are the best school districts in California? ▼ The top-ranked district in California is Hillsborough City Elementary in Hillsborough with 1,294 students across 4 schools. Average quality score: 57.5/100. Rankings are based on average school quality scores from NCES data.
How are district rankings calculated? ▼ Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be ranked.
How many school districts are in California? ▼ California has 50+ school districts serving 5,787,663 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 21.5:1.
Explore More for California Methodology
Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100)
are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio,
school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates.
Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be included. This measures
school-level resources, not test scores. Higher average scores indicate districts where
schools generally have smaller classes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.
Read our methodology
- how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.