These Are The Top 25 Public High Schools In The Bay Area: New Rankings

BAY AREA, CA — Several San Francisco Bay Area schools are among the best public schools in California and across the nation, according to new rankings from the education platform Niche.

Niche’s 2024 Best Schools and Districts rankings include data on 94,058 public schools, 30,809 private schools and 12,192 school districts.

This year’s rankings include 7,375 newly ranked public schools, including 312 public high schools in the Bay Area.

Here are the Top 25 public high schools in the Bay Area, according to Niche:

1. Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto Unified School District
2. Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto Unified School District
3. Saratoga High School, Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District
4. Lowell High School, San Francisco Unified School District
5. Los Altos High School, Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District
6. Mountain View High School, Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District
7. Redwood High School, Larkspur; Tamalpais Union High School District
8. University Preparatory Academy Charter School, San Jose
9. Lynbrook High School, San Jose; Fremont Union High School District
10. Campolindo High School, Moraga; Acalanes Union High School District
11. Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton Unified School District
12. Cupertino High School, Cupertino; Fremont Union High School District
13. Miramonte High School, Orinda; Acalanes Union High School District
14. Homestead High School, Cupertino; Fremont Union High School District
15. Foothill High School, Pleasanton Unified School District
16. Aragon High School, San Mateo Union High School District
17. Mills High School, Millbrae; San Mateo Union High School District
18. Mission Early College High, Santa Clara Unified School District
19. Piedmont High School, Piedmont City Unified School District
20. Carlmont High School, Belmont; Sequoia Union High School District
21. Burlingame High School, San Mateo Unified School District
22. Alameda Science & Technology Institute, Alameda Unified School District
23. San Mateo High School, San Mateo Union High School District
24. Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District
25. Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon Valley Unified School District

Niche also recognized the most diverse high schools in the Bay Area, the schools with the best teachers, the best schools for college prep, the largest schools and Niche standout schools.

According to Niche, the No. 1 most diverse was Valley High School in Dublin, while the No. 1 Bay Area school with the best teachers was University Preparatory Academy Charter School in San Jose. The No. 1 Bay Area school for college prep was Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto; the No. 1 largest school in the Bay Area was Pittsburg Senior High School in Pittsburg, and the No. 1 standout school in the Bay Area was Oakland Charter High School in Oakland.

Explore more Bay Area high school rankings here.

As for Niche's Top 25 public high schools in California — including five in the Bay Area — here they are:

1. California Academy of Mathematics & Science, Long Beach Unified School District
2. Troy High School, Fullerton Joint Union High School District
3. Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto Unified School District
4. Canyon Crest Academy, San Dieguito Union High School District, San Diego
5. Academy of the Canyons, William S. Hart Union High School District, Santa Clarita
6. California School of the Arts - San Gabriel Valley, Duarte
7. University High School, Fresno
8. Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana
9. Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto Unified School District
10. University High School, Irvine Unified School District
11. Saratoga High School, Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District
12. The Science Academy STEM Magnet, Los Angeles Unified School District
13. Lowell High School, San Francisco Unified School District
14. Soar High (Students On Academic Rise), Lancaster; Antelope Valley Union High School District
15. Torrey Pines High School, San Diego; San Dieguito Union High School District
16. Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Rolling Hills Estates; Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District
17. Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside Unified School District
18. Girls Academic Leadership Academy: Dr. Michelle King School For STEM, Los Angeles Unified School District
19. Mt. Everest Academy, San Diego Unified School District
20. Los Altos High School, Los Altos; Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District
21. Middle College High School, Stockton; Lodi Unified School District
22. High Tech Los Angeles, Lake Balboa
23. Whitney High School, Cerritos, ABC Unified School District
24. Oxford Academy, Cypress; Anaheim Union High School District
25. Westview High School, San Deigo; Poway Unified High School District

You can view the full rankings here.

Niche said its rankings, now in the ninth year, differ from others that rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance in that it also includes input from students, alumni and parents, as well as quantitative data from sources such as the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities.

The company said its rankings were created to provide families with valuable information — both quantitative and qualitative — on schools in their area or in a neighborhood they’re not familiar with yet.

As in previous years, the Best Schools rankings include categories for boarding, charter and magnet schools as well as schools for STEM and the arts among many others.

Check back with Patch this week for coverage on California’s best school districts and best private schools.