2024 Best High Schools in California

What High School Paths Does California Provide?

California has an incredibly vast number of high schools with 3,436, making it the 43rd highest in the nation (per capita) despite being the most populous state. This gives California an impressive 607% more high schools than the average state. On an average level, all of the high schools in California are rated B–, which is the same as the national average.

The majority of these schools are public (70%), and of the 2,389 public schools, the majority are traditional schools (1,789). Of those traditional schools, 56% are rated above the national average, so there are still a good number of quality options to choose from (1,002). There are also 509 charter schools, which ranks California 12th in the nation (per capita) for most charter schools, and 60% of those exceed the national average. There are also 91 magnet schools, with 74 of those having a grade above the national average (81%).

In terms of private high schools, there are 804 total in the state, which is 22% fewer than the average state per capita. However, California actually has an impressive 39% more private schools than the average state per capita, so there are still plenty of options. The median grade of these schools is A, and 51% of them are rated above the national average (408). About 53% of private high schools in California are religiously affiliated, with Christian schools representing the majority of them (332).

California also has 37% fewer all-boys schools than the average state per capita, but there are still 43 to choose from. On the other hand, there are 49% more all-girls schools than the average state (52). Lastly, there are 148 online schools in California, which is 146% more than the average state per capita. This puts California at 14th in the nation for most online schools per capita.