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.

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 GradeAvg Quality
1 Hillsborough City Elementary Hillsborough C 57.5
2 Los Angeles County Office of Education Downey C 56.8
3 Piedmont City Unified Piedmont C- 53.5
4 Holtville Unified Holtville C- 52.7
5 Goleta Union Elementary Goleta C- 52.2
6 Portola Valley Elementary Portola Valley C- 51.5
7 Manhattan Beach Unified Manhattan Beach C- 50.9
8 Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified Palos Verdes Estates C- 50
9 Fallbrook Union High Fallbrook C- 50
10 Shasta Union High Redding D 49.8
11 Tamalpais Union High Larkspur D 49.6
12 Kingsburg Elementary Charter Kingsburg D 49.4
13 Ventura County Office of Education Camarillo D 49.2
14 Rosedale Union Elementary Bakersfield D 48.9
15 Brea-Olinda Unified Brea D 48.1
16 Tulare County Office of Education Visalia D 47.8
17 Brawley Union High Brawley D 47.3
18 San Pasqual Valley Unified Winterhaven D 47.2
19 Kings Canyon Joint Unified Reedley D 46.7
20 Santa Barbara Unified Santa Barbara D 46.7
21 Columbia Elementary Redding D 46.7
22 Yreka Union High Yreka D 46.7
23 Tahoe-Truckee Unified Truckee D 46.5
24 Lassen Union High Susanville D 46.3
25 Saint Helena Unified St. Helena D 46.3
26 Lammersville Joint Unified Mountain House D 45.8
27 Jefferson Elementary Tracy D 45.8
28 Bishop Unified Bishop D 45.7
29 Central Union High El Centro D 45.6
30 Petaluma Joint Union High Petaluma D 45.3
31 Pacific Grove Unified Pacific Grove D 45.2
32 Orinda Union Elementary Orinda D 45
33 Heber Elementary Heber D 45
34 Reed Union Elementary Tiburon D 45
35 Saugus Union Santa Clarita D 44.9
36 Los Altos Elementary Los Altos D 44.8
37 Gravenstein Union Elementary Sebastopol D 44.7
38 Fresno County Office of Education Fresno D 44.7
39 Berkeley Unified Berkeley D 44.5
40 Las Lomitas Elementary Menlo Park D 44.5
41 Oak Park Unified Oak Park D 44.1
42 Cypress Elementary Cypress D 44
43 Hamilton Unified Hamilton City D 44
44 Madera County Superintendent of Schools Madera D 44
45 Rancho Santa Fe Elementary Rancho Santa Fe D 44
46 Laton Joint Unified Laton D 43.8
47 San Diego County Office of Education San Diego D 43.6
48 Modoc Joint Unified Alturas D 43.5
49 Laguna Beach Unified Laguna Beach D 43.3
50 Oroville Union High Oroville D 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.

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.