📊 The state of California districts

California's public-HS districts are sorting — most are shrinking, but the spread between districts is enormous

Between 2020 and 2025, across 512 measured California HS districts, total public + charter high-school enrollment fell -4.9% — a net change of -111,303 students. But the aggregate hides enormous district-to-district variation:

Shrinking ▼
311

61% of districts lost more than 2% of students. Revenue follows students — these districts face compounding pressure on programs, facilities, and staffing.

Roughly flat ─
78

15% of districts changed within ±2%. Holding ground in a shrinking statewide pool actually counts as relative outperformance.

Growing ▲
123

24% of districts grew more than 2%. Even inside a shrinking statewide pool, hundreds of thousands of CA students are choosing different districts than before.

The spread: from -54.0% (steepest decline) to +91.2% (steepest growth) over the same 5 years, same state, same demographic headwinds. The aggregate trend isn't fate — district choices and positioning matter. This is the dynamic an Enrollment Trend Audit unpacks at the district level →

Method: Total HS enrollment by district (public + charter), comparing 2020 to 2025. Districts with fewer than 200 HS students in 2020 are excluded (drops single-school micro-districts where one absolute change swings the %). Virtual / nonclassroom-based schools excluded throughout. Source: CDE Census Day Enrollment.

Compare districts head-to-head

Type a district and hit Compare 5 nearest neighbors to instantly stack it against the five closest rival districts — or add specific rivals by hand.

Year

Set an anchor district to see its enrollment trend, UC outcomes, and nearest rivals.

District leaderboards — 2025

≥100 district seniors

▲ Top 10 — UC Reach

1
1 school · 209 seniors
72.2%
2
1 school · 799 seniors
67.5%
3
2 schools · 908 seniors
65.6%
4
5 schools · 2,555 seniors
62.9%
5
1 school · 580 seniors
61.6%
6
1 school · 817 seniors
60.6%
7
1 school · 653 seniors
59.9%
8
5 schools · 2,841 seniors
59.7%
9
1 school · 437 seniors
59.7%
10
1 school · 355 seniors
59.4%

▼ Bottom 10 — UC Reach

1
1 school · 164 seniors
2.4%
2
1 school · 118 seniors
2.5%
3
1 school · 109 seniors
2.8%
4
1 school · 143 seniors
2.8%
5
1 school · 177 seniors
2.8%
6
2 schools · 417 seniors
2.9%
7
1 school · 101 seniors
3.0%
8
1 school · 130 seniors
3.1%
9
1 school · 157 seniors
3.2%
10
1 school · 190 seniors
3.2%

▲ Top 10 risers (over time)

1
12% '18 → 62% '25
+49.3pp
2
20% '18 → 54% '25
+34.0pp
3
10% '18 → 40% '25
+30.1pp
4
11% '18 → 40% '25
+29.3pp
5
21% '18 → 45% '25
+24.1pp
6
44% '18 → 68% '25
+23.5pp
7
30% '18 → 54% '25
+23.4pp
8
14% '18 → 36% '25
+21.7pp
9
8% '18 → 27% '24
+19.4pp
10
53% '18 → 72% '25
+19.1pp

▼ Top 10 fallers (over time)

1
44% '18 → 27% '25
-16.8pp
2
72% '18 → 57% '25
-14.9pp
3
76% '18 → 63% '25
-12.8pp
4
32% '18 → 22% '25
-10.2pp
5
22% '18 → 13% '25
-8.8pp
6
20% '18 → 12% '25
-8.7pp
7
17% '18 → 9% '25
-8.6pp
8
12% '18 → 5% '25
-7.9pp
9
61% '18 → 53% '25
-7.8pp
10
35% '18 → 28% '25
-7.0pp