Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

Salinas Union High

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

At a glance

981^stof 1,543 California districts▼ 3

Better than 36% of California districts

Middle 4 High 8Grades 7-12

431 West Alisal St.
Salinas, CA 93901-1624·(831) 796-7000·All California district rankings →

Statewide performance 2016–2025

2025: better than 36.4% of districts

Schools

15,703

Students

Top rankedSalinas High523^rd of 2,162 California high schools

▲

Biggest riser

Rancho San Juan High up 165 spots statewide this year

◉

Smallest classes

Mount Toro High 14.7 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

0★

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

Compare California districts →See the top-ranked California schools →

Summary:

The Salinas Union High district consists of 12 schools serving middle and high school students in a high-needs area, where most students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Among the eight high schools, Salinas High stands out as the top academic performer with the highest test scores and lowest dropout rate, while Alisal High has the district's highest graduation rate. Schools like Rancho San Juan High are showing notable improvement. In contrast, the smaller alternative schools, including Mount Toro High and El Puente, face significant challenges with very low test scores and high chronic absenteeism.

The district's four middle schools all rank in the lower half statewide, indicating a key area for support. A major finding is that higher per-student spending does not guarantee better results, and mathematics is a district-wide weakness where scores lag significantly behind state averages. However, the district excels in keeping students in school, with graduation rates above and dropout and chronic absenteeism rates below the state average.

Load more schools when map is moved

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)				CAST Science (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				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 (2025)	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 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	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Harden Middle	Public	7-8	1561 McKinnon St.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7300	1,101	52	21.1	82.2%	29 (2.6%)	10 (0.9%)	1,016 (92.3%)	34 (3.1%)	6 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.5%)	22.1	2150^th of 2761 public middle schools	22.1%		24.1	2078^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.3%	72	19.2				19.2	31.9	29.1		30.5	16.3	14.8		15.6	$29,522	$27,946	$1,576
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%)	40.6	1246^th of 2162 public high schools	42.4%		41.9	1193^rd of 2159 public high schools	44.7%	53		16.3	30.2	13.6	21.0			47.9	47.9			14.6	14.6	$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%)	53.8	953^rd of 2162 public high schools	55.9%		53.4	921^st of 2159 public high schools	57.3%	32		22.7	37.1	4.7	28.4			56.5	56.5			20.2	20.2	$26,545	$25,058	$1,487
El Sausal Middle	Public	7-8	1155 East Alisal St.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7200	1,067	48	22.1	91.7%	10 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1,052 (98.6%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	32.8	1723^rd of 2761 public middle schools	37.6%		34.1	1661^st of 2783 public middle schools	40.3%	62	24.5				24.5	36.4	36.9		36.7	23.4	22.3		22.9	$31,165	$29,292	$1,873
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%)	9.3	2052^nd of 2162 public high schools	5.1%		12.8	1902^nd of 2159 public high schools	11.9%	150			1.7	2.2	1.9			6.9	6.9			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%)	39.7	1266^th of 2162 public high schools	41.4%		38	1291^st of 2159 public high schools	40.2%	25		13.6	22.4	6.3	16.8			47.8	47.8			17.4	17.4	$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%)	73.6	523^rd of 2162 public high schools	75.8%		73.2	520^th of 2159 public high schools	75.9%	3		32.0	45.8	11.1	36.9			68.7	68.7			34.5	34.5	$26,699	$25,190	$1,509
Washington Middle	Public	7-8	560 Iverson St.	Salinas	93901	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7100	1,082	51	21.2	81.7%	62 (5.7%)	9 (0.8%)	977 (90.3%)	19 (1.8%)	9 (0.8%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	38.6	1531^st of 2761 public middle schools	44.5%		42.4	1386^th of 2783 public middle schools	50.2%	145	25.2				25.2	46.0	37.7		41.7	27.9	22.7		25.2	$30,230	$28,470	$1,760
La Paz Middle	Public	7-8	1300 North Sanborn Rd.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7900	1,099	55	20.0	93.4%	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	1,092 (99.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	22.8	2119^th of 2761 public middle schools	23.3%		23.7	2102^nd of 2783 public middle schools	24.5%	17	16.0				16.0	34.9	28.7		31.9	18.8	15.7		17.3	$28,891	$27,100	$1,791
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)					0.0									$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%)	26.2	1567^th of 2162 public high schools	27.5%		28.5	1531^st of 2159 public high schools	29.1%	36				16.7	17.5			35.6	39.2			1.0	4.2	$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%)	54	949^th of 2162 public high schools	56.1%		45.5	1114^th of 2159 public high schools	48.4%	165		22.4	36.5	15.4	28.5			55.9	55.9			20.9	20.9	$30,245	$28,660	$1,585

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Salinas City Elementary	0.66 mi	15	1344^th
Santa Rita Union Elementary	0.67 mi	7	1331^st
Monterey County Office of Education	0.96 mi	8
Oasis Charter Public District	1.39 mi	1	1516^th
Alisal Union	1.39 mi	14	1327^th

See the top CA California districts

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.