panitanphoto // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. Independence High (Alternative)
- School type: Public School
- Location: Merced Union High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 119 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Best high schools in the Modesto metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Modesto metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Patterson High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Patterson Joint Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,888 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
maroke // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Connecting Waters Charter School - Central Valley
- School type: Public School
- Location: Modesto, CA
- Enrollment: 624 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Buhach Colony High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Merced Union High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,746 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Turlock High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Turlock Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,475 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
6 / 25#20. Oakdale Charter School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Oakdale Joint Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 53 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Fred C. Beyer High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Modesto City High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,575 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Orestimba High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,045 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Big Valley Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Modesto, CA
- Enrollment: 861 (36:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Daniel Hoz // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. Hilmar High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hilmar Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 693 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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Anna Jurkovska // Shutterstock
11 / 25#15. Modesto Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Modesto, CA
- Enrollment: 303 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. Ripon Christian Schools
- School type: Private School
- Location: Ripon, CA
- Enrollment: 925 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Studio KIWI // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Hughson High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hughson Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 835 (25:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Escalon High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Escalon Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 812 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Central Valley High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Ceres Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,309 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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LBeddoe // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. Oakdale High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Oakdale Joint Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,644 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. El Capitan High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Merced Union High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,839 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Turlock Christian Schools
- School type: Private School
- Location: Turlock, CA
- Enrollment: 464 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
sirtravelalot // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. John H. Pitman High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Turlock Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,082 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Achira22 // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Central Valley Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Ceres, CA
- Enrollment: 218 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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maroke // Shutterstock
21 / 25#5. Joseph A. Gregori High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Modesto City High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,332 (25:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Joyseulay // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. James C. Enochs High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Modesto City High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,420 (28:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Whitmore Charter High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Ceres Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 98 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Ripon High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Ripon Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 998 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Central Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Modesto, CA
- Enrollment: 379 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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