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Top 10 in Contra Costa County — UC Reach Score

Contra Costa County · 2025 · ≥50 seniors
What is UC Reach? UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class size, summing each campus — measured against a school's entire graduating class, across the six most selective UCs (Berkeley, UCLA, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Davis). It's a better gauge of school-wide success than admit rate, which only reflects the handful of students who applied.
Why it beats admit rate: if 6 students apply to the top UCs and all get in, that's a 100% admit rate — but at a 1,000-senior school it's a UC Reach Score of just 0.6 (6 ÷ 1,000). By contrast, a school where 250 of 1,000 seniors land a top-UC admit has a UC Reach Score of 25 — far stronger, even though its admit rate is lower.
Why some schools are over 100? Out of every 100 seniors at these schools, the class is generating more than 100 admissions to the six most selective UCs — meaning the typical strong student is getting in at multiple top campuses (UCLA + UCSD, or Berkeley + UCSB + Irvine, for example). It's a rare achievement: fewer than 1% of California high schools clear a UC Reach Score of 100.

This board needs a class of 100+ seniors. Schools smaller than that are ranked on the small-schools board below — which is where California's highest UC Reach Score actually sits.

Small schools — Contra Costa County · 2025

Ranked separately because they graduate 25–99 seniors — magnet programs, specialized charters and small privates. A class of 60 swings far more year to year than a class of 600, so mixing them into the boards above would compare unlike things. The state's single highest UC Reach Score sits on this board, not the one above it.

▲ Top 10 Small Public + Charter

Contra Costa County

1
San Pablo · Public
71
2
Richmond · Public
43
3
San Pablo · Public
24
4
Crockett · Public
19
5
Richmond · Public
14
6
El Cerrito · Public
5

▲ Top 10 Small Private

Contra Costa County

1
Lafayette · Private
76
2
Danville · Private
53
3
Walnut Creek · Private
48
4
Richmond · Private
45

Leaderboards by type — Contra Costa County (2025)

Top and bottom schools by UC Reach, split public/charter vs private (≥50 seniors). Scoped to Contra Costa County — change the County filter above to rescope.

▲ Top 10 Public + Charter

Contra Costa County

1
San Ramon · Public
63
2
Orinda · Public
57
3
Moraga · Public
57
4
Danville · Public
47
5
San Ramon · Public
46
6
Lafayette · Public
46
7
Walnut Creek · Public
44
8
Walnut Creek · Public
41
9
El Cerrito · Public
39
10
Richmond · Public
38

▲ Top 10 Private

Contra Costa County

1
Concord · Private
55
2
Concord · Private
23

▼ Bottom 10 Public + Charter

Contra Costa County

1
Antioch · Public
5
2
Antioch · Public
5
3
Concord · Public
5
4
Concord · Public
7
5
Richmond · Public
7
6
Brentwood · Public
10
7
Oakley · Public
11
8
Concord · Public
11
9
Richmond · Public
12
10
Martinez · Public
13

▼ Bottom 10 Private

Contra Costa County

1
Concord · Private
23
2
Concord · Private
55

Top 10 by individual UC campus — Contra Costa County · 2025

Where each UC campus lands its admits, as a share of each high school's senior class. Same 50-senior floor.

Top 10 — UCB Reach

UC Berkeley

1
Moraga · Public
8
2
Concord · Private
8
3
Hercules · Public
7
4
El Cerrito · Public
7
5
Richmond · Public
7
6
Danville · Public
5
7
Richmond · Public
5
8
San Ramon · Public
5
9
Lafayette · Public
5
10
Orinda · Public
5

Top 10 — UCLA Reach

UCLA

1
Orinda · Public
6
2
San Ramon · Public
5
3
Concord · Private
5
4
Danville · Public
4
5
Lafayette · Public
4
6
Moraga · Public
4
7
Concord · Private
3
8
Walnut Creek · Public
3
9
San Ramon · Public
3
10
Walnut Creek · Public
3

Top 10 — UCSD Reach

UC San Diego

1
El Cerrito · Public
10
2
San Ramon · Public
9
3
Concord · Private
9
4
Orinda · Public
9
5
Moraga · Public
9
6
San Ramon · Public
9
7
Walnut Creek · Public
8
8
Danville · Public
7
9
Walnut Creek · Public
7
10
Lafayette · Public
6

Top 10 — UCSB Reach

UC Santa Barbara

1
Concord · Private
17
2
San Ramon · Public
16
3
Orinda · Public
15
4
Moraga · Public
14
5
Walnut Creek · Public
13
6
Danville · Public
13
7
San Ramon · Public
12
8
Lafayette · Public
12
9
Walnut Creek · Public
11
10
El Cerrito · Public
7

Top 10 — UCI Reach

UC Irvine

1
San Ramon · Public
12
2
Moraga · Public
8
3
San Ramon · Public
7
4
Orinda · Public
7
5
Concord · Public
6
6
Richmond · Public
6
7
Danville · Public
6
8
Lafayette · Public
5
9
Walnut Creek · Public
4
10
Walnut Creek · Public
4

Top 10 — UCD Reach

UC Davis

1
San Ramon · Public
16
2
Orinda · Public
15
3
Moraga · Public
15
4
Richmond · Public
15
5
Concord · Private
14
6
Lafayette · Public
14
7
Walnut Creek · Public
12
8
El Cerrito · Public
12
9
Walnut Creek · Public
12
10
Danville · Public
12

Beyond UC Reach — more lenses on Contra Costa County

UC Reach measures who gets in. These lenses measure the upstream pipeline (A-G), the downstream outcome (UC graduation), the capacity that drives the pipeline (counselors), reliability over time (consistency), grade-11 academic preparation (CAASPP SBAC ELA & Math), and private-school financial strength. Click any school for its full profile.

Top 10 — A-G Completion

% of graduates meeting UC/CSU course requirements · 2024-25 cohort

1
Richmond · Public
100.0%
2
San Pablo · Public
100.0%
3
San Pablo · Public
100.0%
4
El Cerrito · Public
100.0%
5
El Cerrito · Public
98.7%
6
Richmond · Public
98.6%
7
Concord · Public
97.8%
8
Richmond · Public
94.3%
9
Orinda · Public
89.9%
10
Richmond · Public
82.5%

Top 10 — UC 6-Yr Grad Rate

% of UC entrants who finished in 6 years · cohort N ≥ 20

1
Lafayette · Public
100.0%
2
Concord · Private
100.0%
3
Walnut Creek · Public
97.4%
4
Pittsburg · Public
97.2%
5
Pleasant Hill · Public
96.9%
6
Brentwood · Public
96.9%
7
Walnut Creek · Public
96.7%
8
Antioch · Public
96.3%
9
San Ramon · Public
95.6%
10
Antioch · Public
95.0%

Top 10 — Best Counselor Capacity

Lowest students-per-counselor (ASCA target 250:1) · public/charter, ≥500 students

1
Concord · Public
255:1
2
Danville · Public
286:1
3
Concord · Public
288:1
4
San Ramon · Public
299:1
5
Orinda · Public
307:1
6
Lafayette · Public
312:1
7
Richmond · Public
313:1
8
Walnut Creek · Public
314:1
9
San Ramon · Public
333:1
10
Pittsburg · Public
334:1

Top 10 — Most Consistent

Lowest UC Reach std-dev across 5 years (above-CA-median mean)

1
avg 44.8 · σ 2.34
σ 2.34
2
avg 43.6 · σ 2.61
σ 2.61
3
avg 23.8 · σ 3.11
σ 3.11
4
avg 39.8 · σ 3.99
σ 3.99
5
avg 39.4 · σ 4.37
σ 4.37
6
avg 42.0 · σ 4.44
σ 4.44
7
avg 54.9 · σ 5.25
σ 5.25
8
avg 43.0 · σ 8.15
σ 8.15
9
avg 40.5 · σ 8.33
σ 8.33
10
avg 56.7 · σ 9.57
σ 9.57

Top 10 — SBAC ELA met/exceeded

% Met or Exceeded Standard · Grade 11 CAASPP · public/charter · tested ≥30

1
San Pablo · n=69 · 2025
94%
2
Orinda · n=295 · 2025
90%
3
Danville · n=494 · 2025
86%
4
Moraga · n=330 · 2025
85%
5
San Ramon · n=673 · 2025
84%
6
Lafayette · n=285 · 2025
82%
7
Danville · n=480 · 2025
82%
8
Brentwood · n=619 · 2025
75%
9
San Ramon · n=697 · 2025
75%
10
Walnut Creek · n=356 · 2025
74%

Top 10 — SBAC Math met/exceeded

% Met or Exceeded Standard · Grade 11 CAASPP · public/charter · tested ≥30

1
San Ramon · n=676 · 2025
79%
2
Orinda · n=296 · 2025
79%
3
Moraga · n=328 · 2025
70%
4
Danville · n=497 · 2025
65%
5
Lafayette · n=287 · 2025
63%
6
San Ramon · n=693 · 2025
62%
7
San Pablo · n=69 · 2025
59%
8
Walnut Creek · n=380 · 2025
56%
9
Danville · n=472 · 2025
51%
10
Walnut Creek · n=355 · 2025
51%

Top 10 — Private Net Assets

Wealthiest CA private high schools · IRS Form 990 · latest fiscal year

1
Danville · Nonsectarian · FY 2024
$37.0M
2
Lafayette · Nonsectarian · FY 2023
$6.7M
3
Orinda · Nonsectarian · FY 2023
$346,150

Reach momentum — biggest gains & declines over time

≥50 seniors · earliest→latest year

Which schools are moving a growing — or shrinking — share of their graduating class into the six most selective UCs. Reflects the current county/type filter.

▲ Biggest gains

SchoolThen → NowΔ
Concord · Private
30 '20 → 55 '25 +25.6pp
San Ramon · Public
29 '18 → 46 '25 +17.1pp
Lafayette · Public
31 '18 → 46 '25 +15.1pp
Antioch · Public
16 '18 → 30 '25 +13.9pp
Pleasant Hill · Public
17 '18 → 30 '25 +13.1pp
Walnut Creek · Public
31 '18 → 44 '25 +12.9pp
Walnut Creek · Public
32 '18 → 41 '25 +9.7pp
Moraga · Public
50 '18 → 57 '25 +7.6pp
El Cerrito · Public
32 '18 → 39 '25 +7.2pp
Concord · Public
20 '18 → 26 '25 +6.1pp

▼ Biggest declines

SchoolThen → NowΔ
Richmond · Public
63 '21 → 38 '25 -25.1pp
San Ramon · Public
78 '18 → 63 '25 -15.3pp
Richmond · Private
54 '20 → 43 '24 -10.6pp
Richmond · Public
21 '18 → 12 '25 -8.9pp
Pinole · Public
22 '18 → 13 '25 -8.8pp
Hercules · Public
33 '18 → 24 '25 -8.4pp
Antioch · Public
11 '18 → 5 '25 -5.7pp
Concord · Public
11 '18 → 5 '25 -5.5pp
Concord · Public
16 '18 → 11 '25 -4.7pp
Antioch · Public
8 '18 → 5 '25 -2.9pp

Demand momentum — biggest gaps vs the county baseline

grade-12 enrollment Δ vs. county · ≥80 students

The demographic tide is shrinking CA enrollment ~10% over 7 years statewide, so absolute decline alone is noise. The gap vs the county baseline is the actionable signal — schools losing share faster than their demographic floor are the ones to watch. Reflects the current county/type filter.

▲ Outperforming the county the most

SchoolSchool · CountyGap
Richmond · Contra Costa · Public  Best in class
+63.4% vs -1.5% +64.9pp
Concord · Contra Costa · Public  Best in class
+23.5% vs -1.5% +25.0pp
Pittsburg · Contra Costa · Public  Demand hides churn
+20.0% vs -1.5% +21.5pp
Richmond · Contra Costa · Public  Strong demand
+3.9% vs -11.7% +15.6pp
San Ramon · Contra Costa · Public  Best in class
+13.5% vs -1.5% +15.0pp
Moraga · Contra Costa · Public  Best in class
+10.7% vs -1.5% +12.2pp
Pinole · Contra Costa · Public  Demand hides churn
+10.5% vs -1.5% +12.0pp
Danville · Contra Costa · Public  Best in class
+10.5% vs -1.5% +12.0pp
Brentwood · Contra Costa · Public  Best in class
+5.8% vs -1.5% +7.3pp
Brentwood · Contra Costa · Public  Best in class
+3.1% vs -1.5% +4.6pp

▼ Underperforming the county the most

SchoolSchool · CountyGap
Richmond · Contra Costa · Public  Compounding decline
-34.5% vs -1.5% -33.0pp
Concord · Contra Costa · Public  Compounding decline
-32.6% vs -1.5% -31.1pp
Crockett · Contra Costa · Public  Material decline
-24.0% vs -1.5% -22.5pp
Hercules · Contra Costa · Public  Material decline
-23.3% vs -1.5% -21.8pp
Antioch · Contra Costa · Public  Compounding decline
-22.7% vs -1.5% -21.2pp
Richmond · Contra Costa · Public  Material decline
-20.2% vs -1.5% -18.7pp
Walnut Creek · Contra Costa · Public  Sharp downturn
-13.6% vs -1.5% -12.1pp
Richmond · Contra Costa · Public  Compounding decline
-12.4% vs -1.5% -10.9pp
Lafayette · Contra Costa · Public  Sharp downturn
-11.6% vs -1.5% -10.1pp
Martinez · Contra Costa · Public  Demand problem
-11.0% vs -1.5% -9.5pp

GPA Performance — over/under their predicted UC admit rate

35 schools eligible · 2025

Each dot is one school. The diagonal is the per-campus GPA expectation — points above it admit students at higher rates than their GPA mix predicts; points below admit at lower rates. Schools need ≥30 top-6 UC applications and data across ≥3 campuses to appear.

▲ Top 10 outperformers

School GPA Actual Δ vs exp.
Crockett · Public
3.99 46.7% +22.4pp
Martinez · Public
4.03 44.3% +15.7pp
Richmond · Public
3.87 33.3% +13.6pp
Richmond · Public
3.71 34.9% +11.8pp
Concord · Public
3.84 30.7% +9.6pp
Antioch · Public
3.84 30.7% +8.5pp
Concord · Public
3.70 36.7% +6.7pp
Pittsburg · Public
3.86 27.0% +6.4pp
Oakley · Public
3.88 25.5% +4.3pp
Richmond · Public
3.85 25.9% +4.2pp

▼ Top 10 underperformers

School GPA Actual Δ vs exp.
Hercules · Public
3.86 15.9% -8.0pp
Brentwood · Public
3.82 13.5% -7.4pp
Antioch · Public
3.54 23.9% -6.9pp
San Ramon · Public
3.89 15.3% -5.7pp
Concord · Public
3.60 22.2% -4.0pp
San Ramon · Public
3.95 17.9% -3.6pp
Danville · Public
3.91 17.5% -3.4pp
Orinda · Public
4.04 19.5% -3.1pp
Brentwood · Public
3.86 19.0% -2.5pp
Walnut Creek · Public
4.03 20.3% -2.4pp

Full rankings — every Contra Costa County high school by UC Reach Score

Sortable by any column. Click a column header to sort. Click any school row to open its profile.

44 schools · 2025 data
Apply 50-senior floor Compare selected schools →
# School County Seniors Total Enroll UC Reach Score App Reach Score Admit Rate Yield Selective Reach Elite Reach Raw Apps Raw Admits
1
Lafayette · Private
Contra Costa 78 293 76 323 23.4% 8.5% 62.8 20.5 252 59
2
San Pablo · Public  Weak at the gate
Contra Costa 72 294 71 328 21.6% 37.2% 43.1 13.9 236 51
3
San Ramon · Public  Weak at the gate
Contra Costa 837 3,039 63 412 15.3% 30.1% 47.4 10.3 3,451 528
4
Orinda · Public  Weak at the gate
Contra Costa 309 1,167 57 294 19.5% 22.6% 42.1 11.0 908 177
5
Moraga · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 324 1,340 57 272 21.0% 27.6% 42.3 11.4 881 185
6
Concord · Private
Contra Costa 207 840 55 204 27.0% 23.7% 40.6 12.6 422 114
7
Danville · Private
Contra Costa 93 528 53 370 14.2% 8.2% 37.6 6.5 344 49
8
Walnut Creek · Private
Contra Costa 96 408 48 122 39.3% 10.9% 35.4 9.4 117 46
9
Danville · Public  Weak at the gate
Contra Costa 516 2,042 47 269 17.5% 28.4% 35.5 9.7 1,389 243
10
San Ramon · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 721 2,894 46 259 17.9% 29.6% 35.9 7.8 1,868 335
11
Lafayette · Public  Sharp downturn
Contra Costa 345 1,256 46 216 21.5% 26.9% 32.2 9.3 744 160
12
Richmond · Private
Contra Costa 96 428 45 223 20.1% 25.6% 26.0 7.3 214 43
13
Walnut Creek · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 433 1,577 44 209 21.1% 27.8% 31.6 7.2 905 191
14
Richmond · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 72 590 43 140 30.7% 25.8% 26.4 13.9 101 31
15
Walnut Creek · Public  Sharp downturn
Contra Costa 377 1,546 41 204 20.3% 30.1% 29.7 6.4 770 156
16
El Cerrito · Public  Weak at the gate
Contra Costa 394 1,460 39 171 23.0% 33.5% 27.7 9.4 674 155
17
Richmond · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 136 1,078 38 148 25.9% 17.3% 23.5 8.8 201 52
18
Pleasant Hill · Public  Demand problem
Contra Costa 477 1,948 30 127 23.5% 29.6% 19.7 4.0 605 142
19
Antioch · Public  Holding share
Contra Costa 156 681 29 96 30.7% 17.4% 17.9 7.0 150 46
20
Danville · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 510 2,036 26 137 19.3% 33.3% 19.6 7.2 700 135
21
Concord · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 582 2,373 26 122 21.0% 29.5% 20.1 3.4 709 149
22
Richmond · Public  Strong demand
Contra Costa 130 546 25 103 24.6% 9.1% 16.1 7.7 134 33
23
Hercules · Public  Material decline
Contra Costa 163 767 25 179 13.8% 37.5% 15.9 7.4 291 40
24
San Pablo · Public  Watch — engagement
Contra Costa 96 629 24 134 17.8% 34.8% 13.5 5.2 129 23
25
Concord · Private
Contra Costa 252 1,025 23 132 17.5% 25.9% 17.9 6.8 332 58
26
Crockett · Public  Material decline
Contra Costa 75 351 19 80 23.3% 9.3 4.0 60 14
27
Pittsburg · Public  Demand hides churn
Contra Costa 803 3,403 15 57 27.0% 30.9% 11.0 2.5 456 123
28
Richmond · Public  Strong demand
Contra Costa 76 333 14 76 19.0% 27.3% 7.9 4.0 58 11
29
Richmond · Public  Compounding decline
Contra Costa 337 1,280 14 62 23.1% 29.2% 7.7 3.0 208 48
30
Brentwood · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 598 2,566 14 105 13.5% 31.8% 9.7 2.3 628 85
31
Pinole · Public  Demand hides churn
Contra Costa 311 1,245 13 83 15.9% 46.3% 6.4 1.9 258 41
32
Martinez · Public  Demand problem
Contra Costa 242 1,028 13 56 23.0% 12.9% 7.0 135 31
33
Richmond · Public  Material decline
Contra Costa 288 1,047 12 68 18.5% 41.7% 6.6 2.8 195 36
34
Concord · Public  Compounding decline
Contra Costa 275 1,137 11 43 26.5% 45.2% 7.3 2.9 117 31
35
Oakley · Public  Demand problem
Contra Costa 602 2,460 11 44 25.5% 37.3% 7.0 1.5 263 67
36
Brentwood · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 683 2,836 10 52 19.0% 23.9% 5.7 1.5 352 67
37
Richmond · Public  Compounding decline
Contra Costa 203 740 7 34 22.1% 46.7% 3.9 2.0 68 15
38
Concord · Public  Both ends slipping
Contra Costa 247 1,059 7 50 14.5% 4.5 1.6 124 18
39
Concord · Public  Demand hides churn
Contra Costa 334 1,397 5 31 17.6% 33.3% 3.3 102 18
40
Antioch · Public  Compounding decline
Contra Costa 417 1,812 5 33 16.1% 27.3% 3.4 0.7 137 22
41
El Cerrito · Public  Best in class
Contra Costa 78 554 5 117 4.4% 91 4
42
Antioch · Public  Mid-year churn
Contra Costa 399 1,776 5 33 14.5% 2.8 0.8 131 19
43
Walnut Creek · Private
Contra Costa 295 29
44
El Cerrito · Public  Demand hides churn
Contra Costa 62 403 81 50
UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class size. Campus admits are SUMMED — UC publishes no per-school unique-student count, so a senior admitted to more than one of the 6 campuses is counted at each, and values above 100 indicate strong students winning multiple competitive UC offers. See methodology →

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