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Best Public Schools in Santa Cruz County, AZ

Coming soon: We're expecting this year's test scores from the Arizona Department of Education any day now — new rankings will be posted the moment they're released!

Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the Arizona Department of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

At a glance

Schools

10,034

Students

Districts

Top rankedMexicayotl Charter School96^th of 909 Arizona elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Mary L Welty Elementary School up 69 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Elgin Elementary School 7.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

1★

0★

9 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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 (2023)	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 3rd Grade	AASA English Language Arts 4th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 5th Grade	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 3rd Grade	AASA Mathematics 4th Grade	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 11th Grade	AzSCI Science 5th 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
Mexicayotl Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	2059 N Grand Ave	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Mexicayotl Academy Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 624-4018	168	14	12.0	89.2%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	167 (99.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	87	96^th of 909 public elementary schools	89.4%		93.8	47^th of 912 public elementary schools	94.8%	49	55.0			72.0	80.0			70.0										$14,147	$1,081	$2,342	$4,505	$7,465	$3,259	$10,724
Patagonia Montessori School	Public, Charter	K-8	500 N 3rd Ave	Patagonia	85624	Santa Cruz County	Patagonia Montessori Elementary School	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 394-9530	33				13 (39.4%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (60.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																			$00			$00
Montessori De Santa Cruz Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	2875 E Frontage Rd	Amado	85646	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Opportunities in Education Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 398-0536	81	8	10.1		25 (30.9%)	0 (0.0%)	54 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)								(n/a)																			$00			$00
A J Mitchell Elementary School	Public	K-5	855 N Bautista St	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0840	301	18	16.7	91.7%	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	299 (99.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)		29.0																$7,130	$450	$142	$1,043	$5,948	$589	$6,537
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	652 N Tyler Ave	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0870	421	24	17.5	93.8%	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	419 (99.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12.2	843^rd of 909 public elementary schools	7.3%		22.6	657^th of 912 public elementary schools	28.0%	186		25.0	23.0					15.0	24.0	24.0								$7,577	$432	$146	$1,010	$6,403	$596	$6,999
Mary L Welty Elementary School	Public	K-5	1050 W Cimarron St	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0880	381	19	20.0	93.7%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	381 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17.7	736^th of 909 public elementary schools	19.0%		13.9	805^th of 912 public elementary schools	11.7%	69	22.0	38.0	23.0					36.0	22.0	18.0					20.0			$6,707	$383	$71	$838	$5,772	$481	$6,253
Nogales High School	Public	9-12	1905 N Apache Blvd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 377-2021	1,774	75	23.6	69.9%	2 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	1,757 (99.0%)	10 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.1%)	25.9	193^rd of 271 public high schools	28.8%		36.3	158^th of 270 public high schools	41.5%	35							38.0							22.0			7.0	$6,013	$324	$61	$709	$4,874	$754	$5,628
Wade Carpenter Middle School	Public	6-8	595 W Kino St	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0820	547	25	21.8	93.8%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	546 (99.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14	491^st of 552 public middle schools	11.1%		14.2	483^rd of 550 public middle schools	12.2%	8				19.0	30.0	24.0					12.0	16.0	13.0			13.0		$5,882	$359	$44	$762	$4,962	$517	$5,479
Robert Bracker Elementary	Public	K-5	121 Camino Diez Mandamientos	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 397-7213	272	16	17.0	77.4%	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	269 (98.9%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56.4	340^th of 909 public elementary schools	62.6%		52.2	390^th of 912 public elementary schools	57.2%	50	50.0	64.0	40.0					56.0	49.0	40.0					29.0			$7,928	$560	$80	$1,200	$6,714	$574	$7,288
Desert Shadows Middle School	Public	6-8	340 Blvd. del Rey David	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 377-2646	784	34	23.0	74.9%	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	779 (99.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45.8	245^th of 552 public middle schools	55.6%		38.6	284^th of 550 public middle schools	48.4%	39				46.0	55.0	41.0					38.0	32.0	26.0			23.0		$6,426	$333	$34	$701	$5,522	$537	$6,059
Challenger Elementary School	Public	K-5	901 E Calle Mayer	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 377-0544	380	24	15.8	84.8%	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	379 (99.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15.8	769^th of 909 public elementary schools	15.4%		22.3	661^st of 912 public elementary schools	27.5%	108	29.0	31.0	23.0					25.0	24.0	17.0								$8,420	$612	$61	$1,285	$7,252	$495	$7,747
Francisco Vasquez De Coronado Elementary School	Public	K-5	2301 N Al Harrison Rd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 377-2885	508	26	19.5	62.7%	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	502 (98.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	55.2	348^th of 909 public elementary schools	61.7%		59.7	334^th of 912 public elementary schools	63.4%	14	43.0	61.0	43.0					53.0	52.0	45.0					26.0			$6,391	$505	$39	$1,049	$5,367	$480	$5,847
Pierson High School	Public	7-12	451 N. Arroyo Blvd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0915	119	8	14.8	85.2%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	119 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																		$10,718	$2,156	$193	$4,506	$6,711	$1,658	$8,369
NUSD Online	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	451 N Arroyo Blvd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	Yes	Yes	(520) 287-0915	209	4	52.2		2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	207 (99.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																		$1,612	$00	$203	$203	$1,409		$1,409
Patagonia Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	Highway 82	Patagonia	85624	Santa Cruz County	Patagonia Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 394-3000	124	10	11.8	66.3%	29 (23.4%)	0 (0.0%)	94 (75.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)								(n/a)																		$15,561	$953	$930	$2,835	$7,013	$6,666	$13,679
Patagonia Union High School	Public	9-12	200 Naugle Avenue	Patagonia	85624	Santa Cruz County	Patagonia Union High School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 394-3000	71	10	7.4	58.2%	17 (23.9%)	1 (1.4%)	49 (69.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	3 (4.2%)								(n/a)																			$00			$00
Little Red Schoolhouse	Public	PK, KG-8	7 Duquesne Rd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0737	131	9	14.2	70.5%	3 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	127 (96.9%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)						50.0													$00			$00
Calabasas School	Public	PK, KG-8	1374 W Frontage Rd	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8600	917	42	21.9	80.9%	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	907 (98.9%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13.1	823^rd of 909 public elementary schools	9.5%		11.8	843^rd of 912 public elementary schools	7.6%	20	21.0	20.0	24.0	27.0	29.0	32.0		19.0		25.0	16.0		11.0		20.0	24.0		$7,405	$644	$199	$1,487	$5,750	$812	$6,562
Mountain View School	Public	K-5	1374 W Frontage Rd	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8401	406	21	19.0	82.7%	6 (1.5%)	2 (0.5%)	396 (97.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22.1	673^rd of 909 public elementary schools	26.0%		21.7	673^rd of 912 public elementary schools	26.2%		26.0	43.0	22.0					33.0	26.0	28.0					24.0			$7,991	$796	$291	$1,883	$5,985	$919	$6,904
San Cayetano Elementary School	Public	K-5	1412 W Frontage Rd	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8300	395	19	20.4	68.7%	11 (2.8%)	1 (0.3%)	382 (96.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	16	766^th of 909 public elementary schools	15.7%		19.7	703^rd of 912 public elementary schools	22.9%	63	21.0	28.0	27.0					23.0	23.0	34.0					16.0			$8,250	$509	$165	$1,184	$6,303	$1,272	$7,575
Rio Rico High School	Public	9-12	590 N. Camino Galindo	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8700	1,397	56	24.8	71.9%	29 (2.1%)	2 (0.1%)	1,356 (97.1%)	4 (0.3%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	18	224^th of 271 public high schools	17.3%		15.8	236^th of 270 public high schools	12.6%	12							29.0							13.0			9.0	$5,911	$356	$138	$850	$4,494	$923	$5,417
Coatimundi Middle School	Public	6-8	490 Avenida Coatimundi	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8300	497	22	23.1	68.7%	10 (2.0%)	2 (0.4%)	480 (96.6%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	23.9	385^th of 552 public middle schools	30.3%		27.9	354^th of 550 public middle schools	35.6%	31				37.0	34.0	31.0					26.0	14.0				14.0		$7,568	$388	$207	$983	$6,305	$668	$6,973
Elgin Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	23 Upper Elgin Rd	Elgin	85611	Santa Cruz County	Sonoita Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 455-5514	118	17	7.1	24.2%	78 (66.1%)	2 (1.7%)	36 (30.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.7%)								(n/a)				65.0														$19,081	$2,057	$1,210	$5,325	$12,008	$3,806	$15,814

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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.