These School Districts Have The Best Teachers In NorCal: New Report

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — The teachers in one Northern California district were ranked mong the best in the state in Niche's 2025 Best Schools and Districts rankings compiled this week.

Niche provides profiles, reviews, ratings, and personalized recommendations for K-12 schools, colleges, universities, cities, and towns.

The Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District came out on top among 750 Golden State school districts that earned a mention in Niche's ranking of more than 11,000 school districts nationwide.

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The rankings were based on student and parent ratings of teachers, teacher salaries, teacher absenteeism, teacher tenure, student-teacher ratio, and the Niche Academics Grade for the district. Read more on how this ranking was calculated.

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A total of 77 California districts earned an A+ for their teacher rosters, but not every one of those scored the highest marks for academics. A district's grade for academics was, however, weighted most highly among all the factors in consideration for the teachers score. More information on how Niche calculated their ratings can be found here.

The best teachers in America in 2025 are working in the Mariemont City Schools, in Cincinnati, Ohio, according to Niche. Rye City School teachers, in New York's nearby Westchester County, came in second.

These are the school districts with the best teachers in Northern California, with their state ranking in parenthesis, according to the report. Each of these districts received an A+ score for its teachers.

• Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District (No. 2)
• Palo Alto Unified School District (No. 3)
• Los Altos Elementary School District (No. 4)
• Portola Valley Elementary School District (No. 9)
• Shasta Union High School District (No. 15)
• Pleasanton Unified School District (No. 19)
• Fremont Union High School District (No. 21)
• Santa Clara Unified School District (No. 23)
• Tamalpais Union High School District (No. 27)
• Saint Helena Unified School District (No. 28)
• Acalanes Union High School District (No. 32)
• Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District (No. 33)
• Moraga Elementary School District (No. 35)
• Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District (No. 38)
• Rocklin Unified School District (No. 39)
• Lafayette Elementary School District (No. 44)
• Las Lomitas Elementary School District (No. 45)
• Paradise Unified School District (No. 46)
• San Mateo Union High School District (No. 48)
• Harmony Union Elementary School District (No. 50)
• Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary School District (No. 51)
• Petaluma Joint Union High School District (No. 52)
• Bennett Valley Union Elementary School District (No. 54)
• Arcata Elementary School District (No. 55)
• HiIlsborough City School District (No. 56)
• Placer Union High School District (No. 62)
• Bret Harte Union High School District (No. 64)
• Albany City Unified School District (No. 65)
• Menlo Park City Elementary School District (No. 69)
• Mill Valley Elementary School District (No. 70)
• San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District (No. 71)
• Fremont Unified School District (No. 72)
• Piedmont City Unified School District (No. 73)
• Davis Joint Unified School District (No. 74)
• Waugh Elementary School District (No. 75)
• Redding Elementary School District (No. 76)

View the full rankings here.

The Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District ranked as the best in Northern California and the second best in the state, following La Canada Unified School District in the Los Angeles area, which ranked first.

In addition to ranking No. 2 of 750 California schools, Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District ranked seventh among Best Places to Teach in California and 57th of Best School Districts in California.

The district has 3,920 students in grades K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 19 to 1. According to state test scores, 50% of students are at least proficient in math and 59% in reading. In addition to earning the highest letter grade available for its teachers, the district also received an A+ for administration, as well as an A for academics, clubs and activities, and college prep.