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Best High Schools in Monterey County, CA

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its California rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

22,707

Students

Districts

5-star schools

Top rankedCarmel High74^th of 2,135 California high schools

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Biggest riser

Gonzales High up 526 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Central Coast High 8.7 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

3★

2★

1★

0★

8 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 Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CSA Spanish Overall (2026)			CSA Spanish Listening (2026)			CSA Spanish Writing (2026)			CSA Spanish Reading (2026)			CSA Spanish Speaking (2026)		CAST Science (2026)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)				Vaccination (2024-25)		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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CSA Spanish Overall 11th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 12th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 11th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 12th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 11th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 12th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 11th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 12th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CSA Spanish Speaking 11th Grade	CSA Spanish Speaking 12th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 10th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Kindergartners with all required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Gonzales High	Public	9-12	501 Fifth St.	Gonzales	93926	Monterey County	Gonzales Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 675-2495	751	38	19.7	83.9%	8 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	725 (96.5%)	3 (0.4%)	10 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.7%)	62.1	769^th of 2135 public high schools	64.0%		38.8	1295^th of 2162 public high schools	40.1%	526																	37.9		37.7			51.7	51.7			35.1	35.1			$6,707	$5,908	$799
Mission Trails Regional Occupational Program	Public	9-12	867 East Laurel Dr.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Mission Trails Regional Occupational Program	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(831) 753-4209	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Learning for Life Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	3180 Imjin Rd. Ste. 110	Marina	93933	Monterey County	Learning for Life Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 582-9820	160	7	22.8	61.3%	31 (19.4%)	5 (3.1%)	100 (62.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	21 (13.1%)	12.8	1818^th of 2135 public high schools	14.8%		32.3	1443^rd of 2162 public high schools	33.3%	375															15.8				28.6	23.1	22.7	18.8	20.9		10.5	4.4	6.0
Carmel Valley High	Public	9-12	27335 Schulte Rd.	Carmel	93922	Monterey County	Carmel Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 624-4462	10	3	3.5	40.0%	6 (60.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (40.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Carmel High	Public	9-12	3600 Ocean Ave.	Carmel	93922	Monterey County	Carmel Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 624-1821	780	54	14.3	15.1%	497 (63.7%)	5 (0.6%)	153 (19.6%)	39 (5.0%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	83 (10.6%)	95.6	74^th of 2135 public high schools	96.5%		95.4	87^th of 2162 public high schools	96.0%	13																	67.3		67.5			87.0	87.0			61.3	61.3			$49,989	$48,132	$1,857
King City High	Public	9-12	720 Broadway St.	King City	93930	Monterey County	South Monterey County Joint Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 385-5461	1,199	54	22.1	82.2%	85 (7.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1,088 (90.7%)	16 (1.3%)	5 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.4%)	44.1	1163^rd of 2135 public high schools	45.5%		56	907^th of 2162 public high schools	58.0%	256																	24.6		24.1			57.6	57.6			15.6	15.6			$16,158	$5,360	$10,798
Portola-Butler Continuation High	Public	9-12	760 Broadway St.	King City	93930	Monterey County	South Monterey County Joint Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 385-4661	115	7	16.2	82.6%	2 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	111 (96.5%)	1 (0.9%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12	1840^th of 2135 public high schools	13.8%		19.4	1705^th of 2162 public high schools	21.1%	135																	11.5		10.7			17.3	17.3			0.0	0.0			$17,786	$1,448	$16,338
Greenfield High	Public	9-12	225 South El Camino Real	Greenfield	93927	Monterey County	South Monterey County Joint Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 674-2751	1,274	51	24.8	78.5%	13 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1,255 (98.5%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	31.5	1458^th of 2135 public high schools	31.7%		37.6	1319^th of 2162 public high schools	39.0%	139																	17.0		16.9			45.5	45.5			12.4	12.4			$13,650	$2,628	$11,022
Pinnacle Coastal Valley High	Public, Virtual	9-12	760 Broadway St.	King City	93930	Monterey County	South Monterey County Joint Union High	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(831) 385-4661	77	4	20.3	85.7%	3 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	74 (96.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																														$19,584	$8,088	$11,496
Central Coast High	Public	9-12	200 Coe Ave.	Seaside	93955	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 392-3560	103	12	8.7	91.3%	13 (12.6%)	0 (0.0%)	80 (77.7%)	2 (1.9%)	3 (2.9%)	2 (1.9%)	2 (1.9%)	8.7	2015^th of 2135 public high schools	5.6%		8.4	2098^th of 2162 public high schools	3.0%	83																						5.6	5.6			2.6	2.6			$48,977	$46,450	$2,527
Monterey High	Public	9-12	101 Herrmann Dr.	Monterey	93940	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 392-3801	1,401	61	22.8	58.2%	401 (28.6%)	79 (5.6%)	702 (50.1%)	122 (8.7%)	6 (0.4%)	25 (1.8%)	65 (4.6%)	60.7	801^st of 2135 public high schools	62.5%		68	637^th of 2162 public high schools	70.5%	164																		21.9	25.6			62.6	62.6			25.4	25.4			$18,569	$17,066	$1,503
Seaside High	Public	9-12	2200 Noche Buena St.	Seaside	93955	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 392-3530	1,073	53	20.3	84.4%	60 (5.6%)	47 (4.4%)	869 (81.0%)	59 (5.5%)	2 (0.2%)	15 (1.4%)	20 (1.9%)	26.7	1552^nd of 2135 public high schools	27.3%		29	1501^st of 2162 public high schools	30.6%	51																15.7	14.3		15.6			39.2	39.2			9.9	9.9			$18,685	$16,584	$2,101
Marina High	Public	9-12	298 Patton Pkwy.	Marina	93933	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 583-2060	721	35	20.8	77.9%	76 (10.5%)	47 (6.5%)	453 (62.8%)	104 (14.4%)	2 (0.3%)	16 (2.2%)	16 (2.2%)	41.6	1233^rd of 2135 public high schools	42.2%		42.5	1202^nd of 2162 public high schools	44.4%	31																17.4			17.4			50.8	50.8			21.6	21.6			$16,946	$15,446	$1,500
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Community Day	Public	9-12	200 Coe Ave.	Seaside	93955	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 392-3822	3	1	3.0	—	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Central Bay High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	17500 Pesante Rd.	Salinas	93907	Monterey County	North Monterey County Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 663-2997	23	3	7.6	—	2 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (91.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7.9	2061^st of 2135 public high schools	3.5%		7.1	2143^rd of 2162 public high schools	0.9%	82																	7.1		7.1			0.0	0.0			0.0	0.0			$84,454	$82,090	$2,364
North Monterey County High	Public	9-12	13990 Castroville Blvd.	Castroville	95012	Monterey County	North Monterey County Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 633-5221	1,250	57	21.7	84.5%	94 (7.5%)	2 (0.2%)	1,132 (90.6%)	11 (0.9%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (0.6%)	47.8	1085^th of 2135 public high schools	49.2%		36	1359^th of 2162 public high schools	37.1%	274																	29.2		28.8			57.7	57.7			16.7	16.7			$17,900	$15,918	$1,982
North Monterey County Center for Independent Study	Public	7-12	17500 Pesante Rd.	Salinas	93907	Monterey County	North Monterey County Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 633-7050	96	4	23.5	83.3%	18 (18.8%)	0 (0.0%)	75 (78.1%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	46.2	1116^th of 2135 public high schools	47.7%		42.4	1203^rd of 2162 public high schools	44.4%	87																	32.1		33.3			37.9	41.7			27.6	33.3			$21,126	$20,104	$1,022
Pacific Grove High	Public	9-12	615 Sunset Dr.	Pacific Grove	93950	Monterey County	Pacific Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 646-6590	552	34	16.4	18.7%	311 (56.3%)	11 (2.0%)	100 (18.1%)	78 (14.1%)	6 (1.1%)	3 (0.5%)	40 (7.2%)	93.1	132^nd of 2135 public high schools	93.8%		94.6	106^th of 2162 public high schools	95.1%	26																	66.7		66.7			80.8	80.8			53.8	53.8			$35,944	$34,760	$1,184
Community High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	1004 David Ave.	Pacific Grove	93950	Monterey County	Pacific Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 646-6535	12	2	6.0	41.7%	4 (33.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (33.3%)	1 (8.3%)	1 (8.3%)	1 (8.3%)	1 (8.3%)								(n/a)																														$92,572	$90,936	$1,636
Everett Alvarez High	Public	9-12	1900 Independence Blvd.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7800	1,978	91	21.8	92.7%	21 (1.1%)	9 (0.5%)	1,860 (94.0%)	62 (3.1%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	24 (1.2%)	32.9	1428^th of 2135 public high schools	33.1%		40.6	1246^th of 2162 public high schools	42.4%	182																	18.3	6.8	13.9			41.5	41.5			14.5	14.5			$27,907	$26,138	$1,769
Alisal High	Public	9-12	777 Williams Rd.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7600	2,742	120	22.9	95.2%	9 (0.3%)	4 (0.1%)	2,685 (97.9%)	31 (1.1%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (0.3%)	44.2	1162^nd of 2135 public high schools	45.6%		53.8	953^rd of 2162 public high schools	55.9%	209																21.2	21.6	2.2	20.0			55.0	55.0			21.2	21.2			$26,545	$25,058	$1,487
Mount Toro High	Public	9-12	10 Sherwood Pl.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7700	204	14	14.7	96.1%	3 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	199 (97.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	8.2	2041^st of 2135 public high schools	4.4%		9.3	2052^nd of 2162 public high schools	5.1%	11																		2.3	2.3			2.5	2.5			0.0	0.0			$78,647	$70,020	$8,627
North Salinas High	Public	9-12	55 Kip Dr.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7500	2,106	105	20.1	93.5%	52 (2.5%)	13 (0.6%)	1,933 (91.8%)	71 (3.4%)	3 (0.1%)	5 (0.2%)	25 (1.2%)	43.1	1192^nd of 2135 public high schools	44.2%		39.7	1266^th of 2162 public high schools	41.4%	74																	37.7	7.4	29.2			50.4	50.4			14.4	14.4			$28,872	$27,186	$1,686
Salinas High	Public	9-12	726 South Main St.	Salinas	93901	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7400	2,380	110	21.6	77.5%	401 (16.8%)	20 (0.8%)	1,810 (76.1%)	71 (3.0%)	4 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	72 (3.0%)	64.6	724^th of 2135 public high schools	66.1%		73.6	523^rd of 2162 public high schools	75.8%	201																	41.1	23.5	37.0			64.4	64.4			27.7	27.7			$26,699	$25,190	$1,509
Carr Lake Community Day	Public	7-12	10 Sherwood Pl.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7700	18	2	9.0	94.4%	1 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (88.9%)	1 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																														$92,819	$89,736	$3,083
El Puente	Public	7-12	20 Sherwood Pl.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7700	326	20	16.3	93.6%	13 (4.0%)	1 (0.3%)	304 (93.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.8%)	28.2	1520^th of 2135 public high schools	28.8%		26.2	1567^th of 2162 public high schools	27.5%	47															14.3			16.7	16.3		50.0	40.2	41.8		6.7	1.3	3.0			$40,030	$38,668	$1,362
Rancho San Juan High	Public	9-12	1100 Rogge Rd.	Salinas	93901	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 273-7700	1,600	77	20.7	84.1%	73 (4.6%)	9 (0.6%)	1,449 (90.6%)	41 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.1%)	26 (1.6%)	53.8	955^th of 2135 public high schools	55.3%		54	949^th of 2162 public high schools	56.1%	6																	34.6	0.0	29.9			55.8	55.8			23.8	23.8			$30,245	$28,660	$1,585
Soledad High	Public	9-12	425 Gabilan Dr.	Soledad	93960	Monterey County	Soledad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 678-6400	1,546	70	21.9	85.1%	27 (1.7%)	5 (0.3%)	1,481 (95.8%)	24 (1.6%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	6 (0.4%)	31.7	1454^th of 2135 public high schools	31.9%		33.7	1409^th of 2162 public high schools	34.8%	45			27.3			9.1			10.0			10.0				15.2		21.9	18.2			40.4	40.4			9.2	9.2			$18,712	$16,884	$1,828
Pinnacles High	Public	9-12	690 Main St.	Soledad	93960	Monterey County	Soledad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 678-6301	41	4	9.9	85.4%	2 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (95.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15.8	1736^th of 2135 public high schools	18.7%		25.7	1579^th of 2162 public high schools	27.0%	157																0.0		3.5	2.5			16.7	16.7			13.0	13.0			$63,210	$59,826	$3,384
Soledad Transition Center	Public	12	310 Main St.	Soledad	93960	Monterey County	Soledad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 678-8373	12	1	12.0	25.0%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Salinas Community	Public	7-12	615 Leslie Dr.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Monterey County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 755-9520	101	5	20.4	88.1%	5 (5.0%)	3 (3.0%)	93 (92.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16.5	1720^th of 2135 public high schools	19.4%		17.7	1729^th of 2162 public high schools	20.0%	9																		5.6	4.2			10.0	8.5			12.5	11.4			$57,013	$47,710	$9,303
Open Door Charter	Public, Charter	9-12	901 Blanco Cir.	Salinas	93901	Monterey County	Monterey County Office of Education	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 840-8199	53	3	18.0	90.6%	4 (7.5%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (92.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																		14.3	14.3											$34,806	$34,620	$186

SchoolDigger rankings lists for California:

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts 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.