These are California's best high schools

The Brief

• Nearly 1,700 California high schools were featured in the new 2025-2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

• Whitney High School in Cerritos was named the best in the state and ranked 16th nationally.

• The rankings were based on six factors, including college readiness, graduation rates, and state test performance.

LOS ANGELES - U.S. News & World Report released their findings for 2025-2026 Best Public High Schools - and nearly 2,000 California high schools made the list!

Overall, the Golden State ranked 24th in the country for education, based on both higher education and kindergarten through 12th grade, according to U.S. News.

The analysis of the best public high schools uses several factors that include college readiness, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, and graduation rate.

What we know

More than 24,000 U.S. public high schools across the U.S. were reviewed. Of that number, 1,646 California schools made the rankings.

Here are California's top 10 high schools, and how they rank nationally, according to U.S. News and World Report:

1. Whitney High School, Cerritos (#16 nationally)

2. Oxford Academy, Cypress (#19 nationally)

3. Science Academy Stem Magnet, North Hollywood (#20 nationally)

4. Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, Wilmington (#29 nationally)

5. California Academy of Mathematics and Science, Carson (#38 nationally)

6. Riverside Stem Academy, Riverside (#43 nationally)

7. University High School (Fresno), Fresno (#63 nationally)

8. Dr. T.J. Owens Gilroy Early College Academy, Gilroy (#64 nationally)

9. Pacific Collegiate Charter, Santa Cruz (#70 nationally)

10. Lynbrook High School, San Jose (#86 nationally)

To see the complete list of California high school rankings, tap or click here.

SUGGESTED: These California colleges are hardest to get into in America

By the numbers

• Districts: 953

• High Schools: 2,586

• Full-Time Teachers: 99,578

• Students Enrolled: 2,114,479

In order to graduate from high school in California, students must complete a minimum of 13 state-mandated courses, including three years of English, two years of math, and two years of science.

SUGGESTED: These are California's best community colleges

Students in California are tested on English language arts and mathematics using the Smarter Balanced assessments, and they must also take the California Science Test.

Local perspective

U.S. News also ranked the top high schools by metro area.

Here are the top 10 schools in the Los Angeles area (including schools from Long Beach, Anaheim, and Los Angeles), and how they ranked nationally:

1. Whitney High School, Cerritos (#16 nationally)

2. Oxford Academy, Cypress (#19 nationally)

3. Science Academy Stem Magnet, North Hollywood (#20 nationally)

4. Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, Wilmington (#29 nationally)

5. California Academy of Mathematics and Science, Carson (#38 nationally)

6. Eunice Sato Academy of Math and Science, Long Beach (#112 nationally)

7. Girls Academy Leadership Academy Dr. Michelle King School STEM, Los Angeles (#154 nationally)

8. La Canada High School, La Canada (#180 nationally)

9. Troy High School, Fullerton (#215 nationally)

10. Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), Santa Ana (#281 nationally)

Here are the top 10 schools in the San Diego metro area (including schools from Chula Vista, Carlsbad, and San Diego), and how they ranked nationally:

1. Canyon Crest Academy: San Diego (#122 nationally)

2. Preuss School UCSD, La Jolla (#177 nationally)

3. Del Norte High School, San Diego (#298 nationally)

4. Mt. Everest Academy, San Diego (#305 nationally)

5. Westview High School, San Diego (#337 nationally)

6. Sage Creek High School, Carlsbad (#474 nationally)

7. Scripps Ranch High School, San Diego (#503 nationally)

8. Chula Vista Learning Community Charter, Chula Vista (#504 nationally)

9. Torrey Pines High School, San Diego (#737 nationally)

10. University City High School, San Diego (#814 nationally)

The other two metro areas reviewed in the study were San Francisco and San Jose.

The Source

This information is based on the 2025-2026 Best Public High Schools rankings, which were compiled and released by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings are derived from the organization's analysis of data from over 24,000 U.S. public high schools.