Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. Mt. Carmel High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Poway Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,865 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Best high schools in the San Diego 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 San Diego 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.
You may also like: Highest-rated chicken wings in San Diego by diners
Anna Jurkovska // Shutterstock
2 / 25#24. Coronado High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Coronado Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,045 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Studio KIWI // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Grossmont Middle College High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Grossmont Union High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 49 (25:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. The Waldorf School of San Diego
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Enrollment: 273 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Achira22 // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Academy of Our Lady of Peace
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Enrollment: 750 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
You may also like: Top 25 songs in San Diego on Shazam in the past week
Roman Kosolapov // Shutterstock
6 / 25#20. Sage Creek High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Carlsbad Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,392 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. The Preuss School UC San Diego
- School type: Public School
- Location: La Jolla, CA
- Enrollment: 826 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Army and Navy Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Carlsbad, CA
- Enrollment: 275 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Cathedral Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Enrollment: 1,640 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LBeddoe // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. Del Norte High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Poway Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,531 (27:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
You may also like: Highest-rated Tex-Mex restaurants in San Diego by diners
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
11 / 25#15. Helix Charter High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: La Mesa, CA
- Enrollment: 2,502 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. High Bluff Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Rancho Santa Fe, CA
- Enrollment: 80 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. San Diego Jewish Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Enrollment: 626 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Mt. Everest Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: San Diego Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 213 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
maroke // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Westview High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Poway Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,257 (25:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
You may also like: How many homes are for sale in San Diego right now?
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. Torrey Pines High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: San Dieguito Union High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,614 (26:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Daniel Hoz // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Children's Creative & Performing Arts Academy of San Diego
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Enrollment: 159 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. La Jolla Country Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: La Jolla, CA
- Enrollment: 1,180 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
sirtravelalot // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. The Grauer School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Encinitas, CA
- Enrollment: 160 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Joyseulay // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Torah High Schools of San Diego
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Enrollment: 37 (2:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
You may also like: Highest-paying computer and engineering jobs in San Diego
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
21 / 25#5. Canyon Crest Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: San Dieguito Union High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,336 (27:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. The Cambridge School
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Enrollment: 408 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Pacific Ridge School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Carlsbad, CA
- Enrollment: 685 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
maroke // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Francis Parker School
- School type: Private School
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Enrollment: 1,331 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. The Bishop's School
- School type: Private School
- Location: La Jolla, CA
- Enrollment: 800 (8:1 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.
You may also like: Best restaurants for 11 cuisines in San Diego
