Best High Schools in California

Best High Schools
in California

We reviewed 21,035 U.S. public high schools; 630 California schools made our rankings. View Rankings

Before graduating from a California high school, students must take 13 specific yearlong courses and pass the California High School Exit Examination that covers English language arts and math, according to the California Department of Education.

California is home to more than 600 schools ranked among the U.S. News Best High Schools in 2013. One of California's gold medal schools is the highly ranked Oxford Academy, which is located in the Anaheim Union High School District &endash; about 25 miles from Los Angeles and roughly 400 miles from the state capital of Sacramento.

Top Ranked CA Schools

To be eligible for a state ranking, a school must be awarded a national gold or silver medal.

#1

Pacific Collegiate School

255 SWIFT ST, SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060

#2

Oxford Academy

5172 ORANGE AVE, CYPRESS, CA 90630

#3

Whitney High School

16800 SHOEMAKER AVE, CERRITOS, CA 90703

#4

The Preuss School

9500 GILMAN DR MC 0536, LA JOLLA, CA 92093

#5

American Indian Public High School

3626 35TH AVE, OAKLAND, CA 94619

#6

Lennox Mathematics, Science & Technology Academy

11036 HAWTHORNE BLVD, LENNOX, CA 90304

#7

University High School

2611 EAST MATOIAN, FRESNO, CA 93740

#8

Lowell High School

1101 EUCALYPTUS DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132

#9

Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy

251 BAYSIDE RD, ARCATA, CA 95521

#10

Mission San Jose High School

41717 PALM AVE, FREMONT, CA 94539

See complete California High School Rankings

CA by the Numbers

Districts 503
High Schools 2,039
Full-Time Teachers 0
Students Enrolled 1,988,871

Featured Districts
Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District are among the 2013 U.S. News Best High Schools.
Los Angeles Unified School District

The Los Angeles Unified School District supports 210 high schools that serve 208,665 students.

Schools in the San Diego Unified School District are among the 2013 U.S. News Best High Schools.
San Diego Unified School District

There are 46 high schools in the San Diego Unified School District, serving 40,096 students.

Antelope Valley Union High

Chaffey Joint Union High

East Side Union High

Kern Union High

Long Beach Unified School District

Los Angeles Unified School District

San Diego Unified School District

Sweetwater Union High

See all districts

High School News

U.S. News Releases 2013 Best High Schools Rankings

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About the Best High Schools Rankings

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