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Best Public Schools in Carlsbad, CA

At a glance

Schools

15,738

Students

Districts

5-star schools

Top rankedEl Camino Creek Elementary58^th of 5,857 California elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Carrillo Elementary up 333 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Kelly Elementary 19.9 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

Carlsbad, California, is served by 23 public schools across four districts, offering education from kindergarten through 12th grade in a community known for its high-performing educational options.

Overall, Carlsbad schools are exceptional, with most ranking in the top 25% of California schools. Families will find a cluster of elite elementary schools, particularly within the Encinitas Union Elementary district, such as Pacific Rim Elementary and El Camino Creek Elementary, which perform in the 99th percentile statewide. The Carlsbad Unified district shows more internal variation, featuring top-tier schools like Sage Creek High alongside others like Jefferson Elementary and Valley Middle that face greater challenges with academic proficiency and chronic absenteeism.

Key trends include a noticeable dip in math scores as students move from elementary to middle school, and graduation rates that far exceed state averages at the comprehensive high schools. The alternative Carlsbad Village Academy operates with a different mission and much higher per-student funding to serve a high-need population, though its academic outcomes are significantly lower. An anomaly in 12th-grade science scores at La Costa Canyon High also stands out for further investigation.

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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 Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)								Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)								% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Buena Vista Elementary	Public	K-5	1330 Buena Vista Way	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5400	281	12	23.4	39.9%	139 (49.5%)	4 (1.4%)	97 (34.5%)	12 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (10.0%)	90.4	632^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	89.2%		91.4	610^th of 5869 public elementary schools	89.6%	22	66.1				66.1	69.6	68.4	71.2					69.9	76.1	60.5	67.8					68.5	94.3			94.3			$35,099	$34,658	$441
Carlsbad High	Public	9-12	3557 Lancer Way	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5100	2,336	98	23.8	31.5%	1,440 (61.6%)	37 (1.6%)	592 (25.3%)	65 (2.8%)	5 (0.2%)	8 (0.3%)	186 (8.0%)	89.3	211^th of 2162 public high schools	90.2%		86.2	303^rd of 2159 public high schools	86.0%	92			51.9	35.3	51.4							76.9	76.9							49.1	49.1							$20,760	$20,308	$452
Jefferson Elementary	Public	K-5	3743 Jefferson St.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5500	471	23	20.2	54.4%	185 (39.3%)	11 (2.3%)	224 (47.6%)	8 (1.7%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (8.1%)	65.1	1832^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	68.7%		62	1981^st of 5869 public elementary schools	66.2%	149	44.1				44.1	48.7	49.2	59.1					52.3	54.1	47.5	42.7					48.3	91.7	96.7	95.0	95.0	93.3	95.0	$28,149	$27,150	$999
Kelly Elementary	Public	K-5	4885 Kelly Dr.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5800	449	22	19.9	20.9%	270 (60.1%)	8 (1.8%)	72 (16.0%)	32 (7.1%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (14.5%)	96.4	202^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	96.6%		95.3	319^th of 5869 public elementary schools	94.6%	117	78.2				78.2	80.8	73.9	84.6					80.0	82.2	79.7	76.9					79.6	96.8						$27,973	$27,602	$371
Carlsbad Village Academy	Public	10-12	3557 Lancer Way	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5200	38	6	6.5	76.3%	11 (28.9%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (57.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.6%)	3 (7.9%)	36.9	1332^nd of 2162 public high schools	38.4%		23.2	1623^rd of 2159 public high schools	24.8%	291			5.6		4.6							61.1	61.1							11.8	11.8							$66,231	$64,540	$1,691
Magnolia Elementary	Public	K-5	1905 Magnolia Ave.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5600	488	20	24.4	21.1%	344 (70.5%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (17.6%)	10 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (9.8%)	95.2	310^th of 5857 public elementary schools	94.7%		97.2	146^th of 5869 public elementary schools	97.5%	164	64.8				64.8	77.7	74.8	81.8					77.9	82.4	75.7	78.4					78.6	95.7	95.7	95.7	97.1	95.7	97.1	$21,470	$21,032	$438
Valley Middle	Public	6-8	1645 Magnolia Ave.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5300	807	36	22.2	36.6%	442 (54.8%)	11 (1.4%)	262 (32.5%)	20 (2.5%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	67 (8.3%)	73	621^st of 2761 public middle schools	77.5%		78.4	518^th of 2783 public middle schools	81.4%	103		47.5			47.5				61.6	50.6	53.8		55.4				51.9	45.9	44.9		47.6							$21,503	$21,064	$439
Carlsbad Seaside Academy	Public, Alternative	K-12	3557 Lancer Way	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5200	38	2	16.9	34.2%	27 (71.1%)	3 (7.9%)	7 (18.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.6%)								(n/a)																												$25,034	$24,596	$438
Pacific Rim Elementary	Public	K-5	1100 Camino de las Ondas	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6200	642	26	24.6	17.4%	410 (63.9%)	3 (0.5%)	106 (16.5%)	54 (8.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	67 (10.4%)	98	70^th of 5857 public elementary schools	98.8%		98.3	60^th of 5869 public elementary schools	99.0%	10	72.5				72.5	87.3	91.4	89.0					89.2	90.8	80.0	78.9					83.5	93.8			95.8		95.8	$22,946	$22,508	$438
Aviara Oaks Middle	Public	6-8	6880 Ambrosia Ln.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6100	991	44	22.3	21.9%	572 (57.7%)	15 (1.5%)	207 (20.9%)	89 (9.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	107 (10.8%)	92.2	218^th of 2761 public middle schools	92.1%		94.3	176^th of 2783 public middle schools	93.7%	42		62.5			62.5				74.4	73.7	67.5		71.8				67.9	61.3	63.4		64.2							$20,435	$19,996	$439
Hope Elementary	Public	K-5	3010 Tamarack Ave.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5900	659	30	21.9	27.2%	365 (55.4%)	3 (0.5%)	163 (24.7%)	29 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	96 (14.6%)	90.6	624^th of 5857 public elementary schools	89.3%		90.8	648^th of 5869 public elementary schools	89.0%	24	60.8				60.8	67.5	81.1	68.6					71.8	73.4	78.9	58.8					70.3							$22,859	$22,420	$439
Aviara Oaks Elementary	Public	K-5	6900 Ambrosia Ln.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6000	612	25	24.4	22.1%	343 (56.0%)	9 (1.5%)	123 (20.1%)	64 (10.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	71 (11.6%)	96	241^st of 5857 public elementary schools	95.9%		97.5	123^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	97.9%	118	65.5				65.5	76.3	80.4	85.1					81.2	79.2	76.6	80.1					78.8							$23,250	$22,812	$438
Calavera Hills Elementary	Public	K-5	4100 Tamarack Ave.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6300	441	20	22.0	45.1%	194 (44.0%)	2 (0.5%)	181 (41.0%)	25 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (8.6%)	81.7	1089^th of 5857 public elementary schools	81.4%		83.5	1016^th of 5869 public elementary schools	82.7%	73	43.2				43.2	79.6	57.4	67.1					67.5	83.3	59.0	53.4					63.1							$24,897	$24,040	$857
Calavera Hills Middle	Public	6-8	4104 Tamarack Ave.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6400	655	31	20.8	33.1%	349 (53.3%)	7 (1.1%)	180 (27.5%)	33 (5.0%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	79 (12.1%)	77.2	537^th of 2761 public middle schools	80.6%		82.2	439^th of 2783 public middle schools	84.2%	98		65.0			65.0				55.1	63.3	69.0		62.2				47.6	38.1	47.3		44.4							$21,710	$21,272	$438
Poinsettia Elementary	Public	K-5	2445 Mica Rd.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6500	481	22	22.3	28.9%	237 (49.3%)	4 (0.8%)	136 (28.3%)	41 (8.5%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (12.7%)	95.9	243^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	95.9%		97.3	135^th of 5869 public elementary schools	97.7%	108	62.5				62.5	82.4	89.4	75.0					82.4	88.0	83.3	70.3					81.0							$25,822	$25,384	$438
Sage Creek High	Public	9-12	3900 Bobcat Blvd.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6600	1,289	52	24.7	29.8%	622 (48.3%)	15 (1.2%)	330 (25.6%)	173 (13.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	143 (11.1%)	94.7	101^st of 2162 public high schools	95.3%		97	69^th of 2159 public high schools	96.8%	32				59.8	59.8							76.9	76.9							59.5	59.5							$20,985	$20,546	$439
Olivenhain Pioneer Elementary	Public	K-6	8000 Calle Acervo	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Encinitas Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 943-2000	520	22	23.6	6.5%	386 (74.2%)	6 (1.2%)	52 (10.0%)	19 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (11.0%)	95.4	299^th of 5857 public elementary schools	94.9%		95.3	322^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	94.5%	23	62.4				62.4	78.5	83.6	83.5	74.4				79.9	80.0	77.9	70.2	76.8				75.9							$23,486	$23,048	$438
El Camino Creek Elementary	Public	K-6	7885 Paseo Aliso	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Encinitas Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 943-2051	409	16	25.5	5.1%	306 (74.8%)	1 (0.2%)	38 (9.3%)	15 (3.7%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (11.2%)	98.2	58^th of 5857 public elementary schools	99.0%		96.6	203^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	96.5%	145	72.2				72.2	89.3	85.3	85.7	89.3				87.4	91.1	96.7	76.7	80.0				85.2							$22,157	$21,796	$361
La Costa Heights Elementary	Public	K-6	3035 Levante St.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Encinitas Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 944-4375	552	23	24.0	14.5%	369 (66.8%)	2 (0.4%)	82 (14.9%)	21 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (14.1%)	94.7	360^th of 5857 public elementary schools	93.9%		95.4	311^th of 5869 public elementary schools	94.7%	49	66.7				66.7	75.0	79.6	77.7	85.2				79.6	69.2	71.3	73.8	82.5				74.3							$24,419	$23,620	$799
Mission Estancia Elementary	Public	K-6	3330 Calle Barcelona	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Encinitas Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 943-2004	355	16	22.1	12.7%	239 (67.3%)	5 (1.4%)	40 (11.3%)	30 (8.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (11.3%)	90	657^th of 5857 public elementary schools	88.8%		91.4	616^th of 5869 public elementary schools	89.5%	41	55.2				55.2	70.8	83.9	72.4	74.5				75.8	79.2	72.6	51.7	57.5				65.1							$28,278	$27,656	$622
La Costa Canyon High	Public	9-12	1 Maverick Way	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	San Dieguito Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 436-6136	1,774	80	22.1	18.3%	1,232 (69.4%)	19 (1.1%)	318 (17.9%)	72 (4.1%)	7 (0.4%)	2 (0.1%)	123 (6.9%)	88	247^th of 2162 public high schools	88.6%		82.3	369^th of 2159 public high schools	82.9%	122			51.1	7.7	49.8							73.7	73.7							50.6	50.6							$22,540	$22,034	$506
Carrillo Elementary	Public	K-5	2875 Poinsettia Ln.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2900	725	29	25.0	22.6%	384 (53.0%)	6 (0.8%)	174 (24.0%)	77 (10.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	81 (11.2%)	90.3	639^th of 5857 public elementary schools	89.1%		84.5	972^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	83.4%	333	54.9				54.9	70.6	71.8	69.7					70.7	78.0	70.2	65.6					71.0	93.8	96.1	96.9	95.3	94.5	96.1	$24,692	$24,116	$576
La Costa Meadows Elementary	Public	K-5	6889 El Fuerte St.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2121	725	31	23.6	17.1%	470 (64.8%)	2 (0.3%)	131 (18.1%)	41 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	80 (11.0%)	91.4	586^th of 5857 public elementary schools	90.0%		91.3	622^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	89.4%	36	61.3				61.3	71.0	68.6	74.5					71.4	78.0	66.7	69.5					71.4	95.6				97.1		$24,852	$24,276	$576

Cities Near Carlsbad

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Oceanside	2.45 mi	44	388^th
Vista	3.18 mi	32	462^nd
Encinitas	5.08 mi	12	117^th
San Marcos	5.81 mi	29	307^th
Cardiff by the Sea	8.23 mi	2	60^th

See the top CA California cities

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