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Empire High School

Q: Is Empire High School a good school?

Empire High School ranks 29 th of 271 Arizona high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

29^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 271 Arizona High Schools

Better than 89% of Arizona high schools

Summary

Empire High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in Tucson, Arizona, part of the Vail Unified District. The school has consistently been ranked among the top high schools in Arizona, with a current ranking of 29 out of 271 schools for the 2024-2025 school year and a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger in recent years.

Empire High School outperforms the Vail Unified District and the state of Arizona in academic assessments, with 74% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in English Language Arts, 63% in Mathematics, and 47% in Science. The school also maintains a high graduation rate of 92.9% and a relatively low dropout rate of 5.2%. While the school's performance for Native American students and Special Education students is still strong, it is not as high as for other subgroups, suggesting an area for potential improvement.

Compared to nearby schools like Andrada Polytechnic High School and Cienega High School, Empire High School outperforms them, but the differences in performance are not as significant as one might expect, indicating that the Vail Unified District as a whole is providing a strong educational foundation for its students.

886

Students ?

21.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$6,261

Per pupil spending ?

20.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

10701 E Mary Ann Cleveland Way
Tucson, AZ 85747-8995

(520) 879-3000

District: Vail Unified District

Feeder schools for Empire High School:

Elementary:	Cottonwood Elementary School
	Ocotillo Ridge Elementary
	Senita Valley Elementary School
	Sycamore Elementary School
Middle:	Corona Foothills Middle School
	Desert Sky Middle School

Racial breakdown:

White:

50.8%

Hispanic:

34.8%

Two or more races:

7.0%

See top rated Arizona high schools

Compare Empire High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 80th percentile in 2015 → 89th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Arizona average (61% vs 30% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 11% of Arizona high schools

✓96% graduate in 4 years — above the Arizona average (77%)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school61%

District avg46%

Arizona avg30%

29^th of 271

Arizona public high schools ?

Top 11%▲ up 10 pts since 2015

From top 20% (2015) to top 11% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Arizona High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 4High Schools in the Vail Unified District

61^st of 289Vail Unified District among Arizona districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	88.8	29 of 271	89.3%	★★★★☆
2024	92.0	22 of 270	91.9%	★★★★★
2023	89.2	41 of 469	91.3%	★★★★★
2022	88.2	42 of 464	90.9%	★★★★★
2021	93.9	33 of 509	93.5%	★★★★★
2019	85.4	22 of 285	92.3%	★★★★★
2018	86.7	27 of 420	93.6%	★★★★★
2017	87.7	32 of 416	92.3%	★★★★★
2016	90.0	28 of 406	93.1%	★★★★★
2015	67.5	53 of 261	79.7%	★★★★☆
2014	93.4	13 of 394	96.7%	★★★★★
2013	92.8	17 of 491	96.5%	★★★★★
2012	91.7	25 of 471	94.7%	★★★★★
2011	88.8	43 of 397	89.2%	★★★★☆
2010	92.4	28 of 403	93.1%	★★★★★
2009	89.5	39 of 395	90.1%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	50.9	86 of 201	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	39.0	150 of 301	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	62.9	79 of 306	74.2%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	81.3	20 of 146	86.3%	★★★★☆
2022	65.1	83 of 238	65.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	75.1	57 of 231	75.3%	★★★★☆
2018	86.2	10 of 83	88.0%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	81.8	30 of 207	85.5%	★★★★☆
2024	89.0	21 of 200	89.5%	★★★★☆
2023	91.7	25 of 406	93.8%	★★★★★
2022	87.8	39 of 456	91.4%	★★★★★
2021	94.9	32 of 492	93.5%	★★★★★
2019	88.9	21 of 247	91.5%	★★★★★
2018	88.6	21 of 354	94.1%	★★★★★

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	83.2	3 of 25	88.0%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	92.8	13 of 176	92.6%	★★★★★
2024	94.5	13 of 170	92.4%	★★★★★
2023	71.1	77 of 379	79.7%	★★★★☆
2022	69.4	86 of 441	80.5%	★★★★☆
2021	84.1	46 of 479	90.4%	★★★★★
2019	92.4	5 of 183	97.3%	★★★★★
2018	86.9	19 of 311	93.9%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	83.3	22 of 180	87.8%	★★★★☆
2024	95.9	9 of 172	94.8%	★★★★★
2023	81.5	35 of 347	89.9%	★★★★★
2018	83.5	16 of 253	93.7%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	91.3	20 of 223	91.0%	★★★★★
2024	91.1	16 of 219	92.7%	★★★★★
2023	84.4	54 of 429	87.4%	★★★★☆
2022	85.0	54 of 455	88.1%	★★★★☆
2021	89.4	40 of 492	91.9%	★★★★★
2019	81.9	30 of 238	87.4%	★★★★☆
2018	78.2	53 of 370	85.7%	★★★★☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	67.5	14 of 74	81.1%	★★★★☆
2022	64.7	41 of 125	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	65.4	28 of 102	72.5%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	85.2	12 of 199	94.0%	★★★★★
2022	71.4	66 of 282	76.6%	★★★★☆
2021	76.5	68 of 374	81.8%	★★★★☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	25.1	150 of 255	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	30.3	115 of 256	55.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	68.1	33 of 172	80.8%	★★★★☆
2022	57.4	76 of 380	80.0%	★★★★☆
2021	63.5	70 of 422	83.4%	★★★★☆
2018	63.0	32 of 155	79.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	85.6	19 of 178	89.3%	★★★★☆
2024	93.7	12 of 184	93.5%	★★★★★
2023	89.9	29 of 371	92.2%	★★★★★
2022	88.8	26 of 409	93.6%	★★★★★
2021	91.9	32 of 448	92.9%	★★★★★
2019	82.1	26 of 217	88.0%	★★★★☆
2018	79.2	37 of 291	87.3%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Multi-racial (2023)94th percentile+3 vs school

Hispanic (2025)93rd percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)91st percentile~ school

White (2025)89th percentile~ school

Foster Care (2023)88th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)88th percentile~ school

Asian (2023)86th percentile-5 vs school

Female (2025)86th percentile-4 vs school

Military Connected (2023)81st percentile-10 vs school

Special Education (2023)81st percentile-10 vs school

African American (2023)57th percentile-34 vs school

Native American (2022)41st percentile-50 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts74%+34 vs state

Mathematics63%+33 vs state

Science47%+28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Empire High School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				AASA English Language Arts (2025)				AASA Mathematics (2025)				AzSCI Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	AASA English Language Arts 6th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 11th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 11th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th Grade	AzSCI Science 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
PCJTED - Empire High School	Public	9-12	10701 E Mary Ann Cleveland Way	Tucson	85747	Pima County	Pima County JTED	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-3000	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)												$00			$00
Empire High School	Public	9-12	10701 E Mary Ann Cleveland Way	Tucson	85747	Pima County	Vail Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-3000	886	41	21.8		450 (50.8%)	31 (3.5%)	308 (34.8%)	27 (3.0%)	6 (0.7%)	2 (0.2%)	62 (7.0%)	88.8	29^th of 271 public high schools	89.3%		92	22^nd of 270 public high schools	91.9%	7				74.0				63.0		47.0	$6,261	$71	$01	$142	$5,777	$413	$6,190
Vail Blended Learning	Public	6-12	10775 E Mary Ann Cleveland Way	Tucson	85747	Pima County	Vail Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-1300	72	1	141.1		52 (72.2%)	1 (1.4%)	12 (16.7%)	1 (1.4%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (6.9%)								(n/a)	62.0	79.0	70.0		58.0	54.0	79.0		62.0		$9,358	$24	$10	$57	$9,201	$124	$9,325
PCJTED - Mica Mountain High School	Public	9-12	10800 E Valencia Rd	Tucson	85747	Pima County	Pima County JTED	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 352-5833	1				1 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)												$00			$00
Mica Mountain High	Public	9-12	10800 E Valencia	Tucson	85747	Pima County	Vail Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-3800	1,319				573 (43.4%)	74 (5.6%)	539 (40.9%)	25 (1.9%)	8 (0.6%)	4 (0.3%)	96 (7.3%)	70.2	67^th of 271 public high schools	75.3%		69.2	64^th of 270 public high schools	76.3%	3				62.0				53.0		28.0	$6,928	$67	$11	$146	$6,271	$579	$6,850
Pantano High School	Public	9-12	12775 E Mary Ann Cleveland Way	Vail	85641	Pima County	Vail Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-1200	95	9	10.3		44 (46.3%)	2 (2.1%)	43 (45.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (6.3%)								(n/a)											$16,519	$382	$58	$823	$15,860	$218	$16,078
PCJTED - Cienega High School	Public	9-12	12775 E Mary Ann Cleveland Way	Vail	85641	Pima County	Pima County JTED	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-2800	1				1 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)												$00			$00
Cienega High School	Public	9-12	12775 E Mary Ann Cleveland Way	Vail	85641	Pima County	Vail Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-2800	1,881	103	18.2		854 (45.4%)	69 (3.7%)	808 (43.0%)	22 (1.2%)	8 (0.4%)	2 (0.1%)	118 (6.3%)	54.8	105^th of 271 public high schools	61.3%		62.6	85^th of 270 public high schools	68.5%	20				54.0				41.0		21.0	$6,182	$94	$06	$194	$5,673	$408	$6,081
PCJTED - Vail High School	Public	9-12	7762 E Science Park Dr	Tucson	85747	Pima County	Pima County JTED	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 352-5833	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)												$00			$00
Andrada Polytechnic High School	Public	9-12	12960 S Houghton Rd	Tucson	85747	Pima County	Vail Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-3300	836	43	19.3		437 (52.3%)	22 (2.6%)	292 (34.9%)	8 (1.0%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	72 (8.6%)	74.7	58^th of 271 public high schools	78.6%		82.5	42^nd of 270 public high schools	84.4%	16				61.0				54.0		35.0	$7,186	$02	$01	$05	$6,810	$373	$7,184

Frequently Asked Questions about Empire High School

What is the racial makeup of Empire High School?

Students at Empire High School are 51% White, 35% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 3% African American, 3% Asian.

What district is Empire High School in?

Vail Unified District

What schools feed into Empire High School?

Empire High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Cottonwood Elementary School
Elementary : Ocotillo Ridge Elementary
Elementary : Senita Valley Elementary School
Elementary : Sycamore Elementary School
Middle : Corona Foothills Middle School
Middle : Desert Sky Middle School

How many students attend Empire High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 886 students attended Empire High School.

Is Empire High School a good school?

Empire High School ranks 29^th of 271 Arizona high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Rate Empire High School!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arizona Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.