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Mira Costa High

Public Grades 9-12

119^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 94% of California high schools

Summary

Mira Costa High is a large, comprehensive public high school serving grades 9-12 with about 2,473 students in the affluent coastal community of Manhattan Beach, part of the highly-ranked Manhattan Beach Unified school district.

The school consistently ranks among California's elite, performing in the 94th percentile statewide with graduation rates above 98% and strong test scores. What truly sets Mira Costa apart is its exceptional support for all students; for example, its special education students rank in the 98th percentile statewide, and its Hispanic students rank in the 96th percentile, showing effective systems that benefit every learner. While its math scores are strong, they are an area for potential improvement compared to its own stellar English scores.

Comparisons with nearby schools reveal stark differences. Mira Costa achieves top results with moderate per-student spending, while some schools like R.K. Lloyde High spend far more for dramatically lower outcomes. The school's recent rise in chronic absenteeism to 14.7% is worth monitoring, though it remains below the state average. Overall, Mira Costa stands as a model of consistent excellence within its high-performing district, demonstrating that focused educational practices can lead to outstanding results.

2,473

Students ?

24.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,539

Per pupil spending ?

Free/discounted lunch ?

1401 Artesia Blvd.
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-6968

(310) 318-7337

District: Manhattan Beach Unified

Feeder schools for Mira Costa High:

Elementary:	Aurelia Pennekamp Elementary
	Grand View Elementary
	Meadows Avenue Elementary
	Opal Robinson Elementary
	More...
	Pacific Elementary
Middle:	Manhattan Beach Middle

Racial breakdown:

White:

58.8%

Hispanic:

14.8%

Two or more races:

13.4%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Mira Costa High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 94th percentile in 2015 → 94th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (67% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 6% of California high schools

✓99% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

Worth a look

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

!Large classes — about 25 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school67%

District avg77%

California avg41%

119^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Top 6%▲ up 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

23^rd of 1,543Manhattan Beach Unified among California 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	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.1	119 of 2162	94.5%	★★★★★
2024	89.4	245 of 2159	88.7%	★★★★☆
2023	90.5	214 of 2170	90.1%	★★★★★
2022	94.1	134 of 2123	93.7%	★★★★★
2021	96.2	39 of 1290	97.0%	★★★★★
2019	96.1	80 of 2133	96.2%	★★★★★
2018	95.8	68 of 2017	96.6%	★★★★★
2017	94.9	84 of 2021	95.8%	★★★★★
2016	93.5	110 of 2039	94.6%	★★★★★
2015	92.7	129 of 1994	93.5%	★★★★★
2013	91.6	22 of 2426	99.1%	★★★★★
2012	91.8	19 of 2354	99.2%	★★★★★
2011	92.8	14 of 2367	99.4%	★★★★★
2010	91.8	19 of 2281	99.2%	★★★★★
2009	86.2	36 of 2238	98.4%	★★★★★
2008	88.1	33 of 2117	98.4%	★★★★★
2007	87.6	46 of 2063	97.8%	★★★★★
2006	85.8	61 of 1968	96.9%	★★★★★
2005	81.4	83 of 1901	95.6%	★★★★★
2004	82.5	58 of 1653	96.5%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	90.0	34 of 522	93.5%	★★★★★
2019	88.0	48 of 592	91.9%	★★★★★
2018	97.6	15 of 582	97.4%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	85.5	48 of 585	91.8%	★★★★★
2024	68.9	208 of 573	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	72.0	187 of 591	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	78.5	118 of 581	79.7%	★★★★☆
2019	90.6	23 of 582	96.0%	★★★★★
2018	86.9	46 of 581	92.1%	★★★★★

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	98.5	26 of 1161	97.8%	★★★★★
2019	99.2	13 of 1117	98.8%	★★★★★
2018	82.1	127 of 1052	87.9%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.9	76 of 1906	96.0%	★★★★★
2024	86.6	250 of 1915	86.9%	★★★★☆
2023	92.3	151 of 1915	92.1%	★★★★★
2022	93.1	134 of 1858	92.8%	★★★★★
2021	97.1	18 of 1054	98.3%	★★★★★
2019	94.9	79 of 1833	95.7%	★★★★★
2018	93.5	88 of 1760	95.0%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	93.5	83 of 1900	95.6%	★★★★★
2024	86.5	194 of 1902	89.8%	★★★★☆
2023	88.5	164 of 1917	91.4%	★★★★★
2022	93.3	93 of 1861	95.0%	★★★★★
2019	94.8	60 of 1814	96.7%	★★★★★
2018	92.7	102 of 1742	94.1%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	68.6	556 of 2013	72.4%	★★★★☆
2024	87.4	218 of 2026	89.2%	★★★★☆
2023	75.3	402 of 2030	80.2%	★★★★☆
2022	91.4	129 of 1943	93.4%	★★★★★
2019	91.9	108 of 1937	94.4%	★★★★★
2018	92.2	119 of 1862	93.6%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	91.0	166 of 1942	91.5%	★★★★★
2024	88.9	209 of 1948	89.3%	★★★★☆
2023	86.6	261 of 1963	86.7%	★★★★☆
2022	93.4	126 of 1916	93.4%	★★★★★
2021	94.6	61 of 1122	94.6%	★★★★★
2019	95.7	79 of 1880	95.8%	★★★★★
2018	96.7	59 of 1834	96.8%	★★★★★

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	72.5	48 of 190	74.7%	★★★★☆
2022	69.8	48 of 168	71.4%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	83.2	92 of 577	84.1%	★★★★☆
2024	77.7	123 of 574	78.6%	★★★★☆
2023	73.5	136 of 541	74.9%	★★★★☆
2022	84.0	53 of 515	89.7%	★★★★☆
2019	85.2	43 of 422	89.8%	★★★★★
2018	82.5	51 of 366	86.1%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.6	22 of 1252	98.2%	★★★★★
2024	96.4	34 of 1216	97.2%	★★★★★
2023	67.2	246 of 1197	79.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	81.4	182 of 1155	84.2%	★★★★☆
2024	69.3	359 of 1173	69.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	75.9	272 of 1193	77.2%	★★★★☆
2022	81.1	195 of 1204	83.8%	★★★★☆
2019	89.3	86 of 1222	93.0%	★★★★★
2018	91.4	62 of 1173	94.7%	★★★★★

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)

Special Education (2025)98th percentile+4 vs school

Disabled (2022)98th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)96th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)96th percentile~ school

African American (2022)93rd percentile~ school

Asian (2025)92nd percentile-3 vs school

Male (2025)91st percentile-3 vs school

White (2025)84th percentile-10 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)84th percentile-10 vs school

Military Connected (2023)75th percentile-15 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)72nd percentile-22 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy81%+32 vs state

Mathematics62%+25 vs state

Science57%+24 vs state

4.0

4 ratings · 4 written reviews

5★3

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a student
Thursday, December 26, 2019

They are the Worst people in education and I hope that this School is Closed due to legal trouble from MBUSD. Close Quote

by a parent
Friday, December 4, 2015

Costa's graduation rate, and percentage of kids to attend college after graduation is second to none. it's a very safe school, and best of all it's PUBLIC.!!! love it... Close Quote

by a student
Tuesday, December 20, 2011

I graduated in 2007 from Mira Costa. This is a great school full of great teachers in a beautiful city. Close Quote

by a parent
Sunday, September 11, 2011

Principal Dale is OUTSTANDING! Close Quote

Schools Near Mira Costa High

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 (2024)
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 10th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	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
Mira Costa High	Public	9-12	1401 Artesia Blvd.	Manhattan Beach	90266	Los Angeles County	Manhattan Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 318-7337	2,473	100	24.6	7.0%	1,455 (58.8%)	30 (1.2%)	365 (14.8%)	275 (11.1%)	2 (0.1%)	5 (0.2%)	331 (13.4%)	94.1	119^th of 2162 public high schools	94.5%		89.4	245^th of 2159 public high schools	88.7%	126		56.9		56.9	81.2	81.2	62.1	62.1	$16,539	$1,267	$15,272
Patricia Dreizler Continuation High	Public	9-12	1000 Del Amo St.	Redondo Beach	90277	Los Angeles County	Redondo Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 798-8690	41	5	8.5	26.8%	18 (43.9%)	2 (4.9%)	14 (34.1%)	1 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (7.3%)	15.6	1783^rd of 2162 public high schools	17.5%		21.9	1657^th of 2159 public high schools	23.3%	126				38.5	27.3	27.3	0.0	0.0	$31,230	$1,051	$30,179
Redondo Beach Learning Academy	Public	9-12	1000 Del Amo St.	Redondo Beach	90277	Los Angeles County	Redondo Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 798-8690	6	1	5.8		4 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (33.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)									$73,516	$1,051	$72,465
R. K. Lloyde High	Public	9-12	4951 Marine Ave.	Lawndale	90260	Los Angeles County	Centinela Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 263-3264	230	19	11.8	80.4%	3 (1.3%)	50 (21.7%)	159 (69.1%)	6 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.7%)	8 (3.5%)	9	2066^th of 2162 public high schools	4.4%		13.3	1878^th of 2159 public high schools	13.0%	188	9.1		0.0	1.5	4.6	4.6	0.0	0.0	$35,317	$9,432	$25,885
Centinela Valley Independent Study	Public, Virtual	9-12	4951 Marine Ave.	Lawndale	90260	Los Angeles County	Centinela Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(310) 263-3264	62	2	29.1	77.4%	2 (3.2%)	5 (8.1%)	49 (79.0%)	3 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (4.8%)	19.1	1712^th of 2162 public high schools	20.8%		34.6	1384^th of 2159 public high schools	35.9%	328	9.5		7.7	8.8	31.3	31.3	0.0	0.0	$23,562	$11,894	$11,668
Environmental Charter High - Lawndale	Public, Charter	9-12	16315 Grevillea Ave.	Lawndale	90260	Los Angeles County	Environmental Charter High - Lawndale District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 214-3400	488	31	15.9	75.8%	11 (2.3%)	20 (4.1%)	433 (88.7%)	11 (2.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.5%)	85.2	308^th of 2162 public high schools	85.8%		80.1	413^th of 2159 public high schools	80.9%	105			36.3	36.3	78.2	78.2	41.1	41.1	$20,782	$1,826	$18,956
Redondo Union High	Public	9-12	One Sea Hawk Way	Redondo Beach	90277	Los Angeles County	Redondo Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 798-8665	2,921	115	25.3	18.4%	1,231 (42.1%)	115 (3.9%)	753 (25.8%)	382 (13.1%)	3 (0.1%)	5 (0.2%)	427 (14.6%)	91.1	180^th of 2162 public high schools	91.7%		89.8	235^th of 2159 public high schools	89.1%	55		60.2		60.2	74.1	74.1	52.4	52.4	$16,397	$1,068	$15,329
Lawndale High	Public	9-12	14901 South Inglewood Ave.	Lawndale	90260	Los Angeles County	Centinela Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 263-3102	1,403	70	19.9	78.3%	20 (1.4%)	322 (23.0%)	961 (68.5%)	42 (3.0%)	2 (0.1%)	8 (0.6%)	48 (3.4%)	39.6	1268^th of 2162 public high schools	41.4%		46.1	1097^th of 2159 public high schools	49.2%	171	14.5		12.5	13.4	50.3	50.3	18.7	18.7	$24,479	$5,061	$19,418
West High	Public	9-12	20401 Victor St.	Torrance	90503	Los Angeles County	Torrance Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 533-4299	1,775	72	24.7	24.7%	366 (20.6%)	96 (5.4%)	458 (25.8%)	655 (36.9%)	5 (0.3%)	6 (0.3%)	189 (10.6%)	93	146^th of 2162 public high schools	93.2%		92.1	178^th of 2159 public high schools	91.8%	32		58.8	20.0	57.4	77.6	77.6	60.1	60.1	$17,219	$523	$16,696
Da Vinci Design	Public, Charter	9-12	201 North Douglas	El Segundo	90245	Los Angeles County	Da Vinci Design District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 725-5800	536	28	19.4	52.8%	40 (7.5%)	95 (17.7%)	347 (64.7%)	12 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	37 (6.9%)	49.1	1058^th of 2162 public high schools	51.1%		45.7	1109^th of 2159 public high schools	48.6%	51		23.5		22.8	52.0	52.0	23.2	23.2	$19,035	$861	$18,174

Frequently Asked Questions about Mira Costa High

What district is Mira Costa High in?

Manhattan Beach Unified

What schools feed into Mira Costa High?

Mira Costa High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Aurelia Pennekamp Elementary
Elementary : Grand View Elementary
Elementary : Meadows Avenue Elementary
Elementary : Opal Robinson Elementary
Elementary : Pacific Elementary
Middle : Manhattan Beach Middle

What is the racial makeup of Mira Costa High?

Students at Mira Costa High are 59% White, 15% Hispanic, 13% Two or more races, 11% Asian, 1% African American.

How many students attend Mira Costa High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 2,473 students attended Mira Costa High.

Is Mira Costa High a good school?

Yes. Mira Costa High ranks in the top 5.5% of California high schools.

Rate Mira Costa High!

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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.