Highest Spending Districts in California

Per-pupil expenditure ranking. Districts with 500+ enrollment. Data from NCES F-33 Finance Survey.

$604,552
Top Spender
San Diego County Office of Education
$123,247
Avg Per-Pupil
50
Districts Listed
500+
Min Enrollment
# District Per-Pupil $
1. San Diego County Office of Education San Diego $604,552
2. Ventura County Office of Education Camarillo $429,133
3. El Dorado County Office of Education Placerville $395,988
4. Los Angeles County Office of Education Downey $381,682
5. Fresno County Office of Education Fresno $377,192
6. Stanislaus County Office of Education Modesto $346,324
7. Riverside County Office of Education Riverside $338,741
8. San Bernardino County Office of Education San Bernardino $280,774
9. Monterey County Office of Education Salinas $248,676
10. Santa Clara County Office of Education San Jose $248,066
11. Kern County Office of Education Bakersfield $188,117
12. Tulare County Office of Education Visalia $180,083
13. San Joaquin County Office of Education Stockton $174,199
14. Imperial County Office of Education El Centro $172,102
15. Sacramento County Office of Education Mather $171,664
16. Orange County Department of Education Costa Mesa $162,553
17. Merced County Office of Education Merced $103,029
18. Madera County Superintendent of Schools Madera $97,438
19. Portola Valley Elementary Portola Valley $73,031
20. Santa Cruz County Office of Education Santa Cruz $67,163
21. Beverly Hills Unified Beverly Hills $61,911
22. Mount Pleasant Elementary San Jose $53,553
23. Las Lomitas Elementary Menlo Park $47,426
24. Paradise Unified Paradise $45,828
25. Mountain View-Los Altos Union High Mountain View $43,128
26. San Pasqual Valley Unified Winterhaven $42,298
27. Lawndale Elementary Lawndale $40,946
28. Desert Sands Charter District Lancaster $40,532
29. Muroc Joint Unified North Edwards $40,064
30. Nevada County Office of Education Grass Valley $39,763
31. Ravenswood City Elementary East Palo Alto $38,335
32. Santa Clara Unified Santa Clara $37,917
33. Robla Elementary Sacramento $36,564
34. Saint Helena Unified St. Helena $36,392
35. Val Verde Unified Perris $34,930
36. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified Santa Monica $34,894
37. Del Mar Union Elementary San Diego $34,103
38. Jefferson Union High Daly City $33,180
39. Carmel Unified Carmel $32,841
40. Healdsburg Unified Healdsburg $32,690
41. San Rafael City High San Rafael $32,413
42. Hillsborough City Elementary Hillsborough $32,335
43. John Swett Unified Rodeo $32,241
44. Trinity Alps Unified Weaverville $31,740
45. Hermosa Beach City Elementary Hermosa Beach $31,503
46. Palo Alto Unified Palo Alto $31,452
47. San Mateo Union High San Mateo $31,118
48. Emery Unified Emeryville $30,711
49. SIATech District Oceanside $30,603
50. Solana Beach Elementary Solana Beach $30,440

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Methodology

Per-pupil expenditure data comes from the NCES F-33 Finance Survey. Only districts with 500 or more students are included to ensure meaningful comparisons. Spending figures include all current operational expenditures divided by total enrollment.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.