Research · High schools - California · October 2026
How Many High Schools Are in California? 2,574 Public and 687 Private
As of October 2026: California has 3,261 high schools: 2,574 public and 687 private. The largest is Granada Hills Charter in Granada Hills, with 4,614 students in grades 9 through 12.
The table lists the 15 largest public high schools in California by the number of students in grades 9 through 12.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
California has 3,261 high schools. 2,574 are public and 687 are private. The 2,372 public high schools that report enrollment hold 1,809,954 students in grades 9 through 12 between them. The private count is a floor, because the federal private school survey is voluntary and a school can skip it.
Granada Hills Charter is the largest public high school in California. It enrolls 4,614 students in grades 9 through 12 in Granada Hills. The 15th largest school on the table, Vista Murrieta High in Murrieta, enrolls 3,328. 3 of the 15 largest are charter schools.
The largest private high school in California is Brookshire International Academy. It enrolls 1,810 students in San Francisco. That is smaller than every public school on the table above. Private schools report total enrollment to the federal survey, so a school that also teaches younger grades counts those students too. Only schools whose lowest grade is 9 are listed here, so each one is a high school.
The 15 largest public high schools in California
Ranked by the number of students in grades 9 through 12.
| High school | City | Students in grades 9-12 | Charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granada Hills Charter | Granada Hills | 4,614 | Yes |
| Eleanor Roosevelt High | Eastvale | 4,353 | No |
| Downey High | Downey | 4,051 | No |
| Polytechnic High | Long Beach | 3,890 | No |
| Warren (Earl) High | Downey | 3,609 | No |
| Santiago High | Corona | 3,577 | No |
| Beaumont Senior High | Beaumont | 3,460 | No |
| Five Keys Independence HS (SF Sheriff's) | San Francisco | 3,447 | Yes |
| Etiwanda High | Etiwanda | 3,446 | No |
| Millikan High | Long Beach | 3,408 | No |
| Pittsburg Senior High | Pittsburg | 3,403 | No |
| Paramount High | Paramount | 3,400 | No |
| Options for Youth - Duarte Inc | Pasadena | 3,350 | Yes |
| Wilson High | Long Beach | 3,349 | No |
| Vista Murrieta High | Murrieta | 3,328 | No |
NCES Common Core of Data, grade 9-12 enrollment. Virtual schools are excluded. Absence from this list means a school is not among the largest, nothing more.
The largest private high schools in California
Private schools whose lowest grade is 9, by total enrollment.
| High school | City | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Brookshire International Academy | San Francisco | 1,810 |
| Archbishop Mitty High School | San Jose | 1,752 |
| St Francis High School | Mountain View | 1,745 |
| Bellarmine College Preparatory | San Jose | 1,665 |
| Cathedral Catholic High School | San Diego | 1,612 |
NCES Private School Universe Survey 2021-22, respondents only. Total enrollment, not a grades 9-12 count.
What these counts cover
A high school here is a school that serves grade 12. Virtual schools are left out, because a school with no building is not comparable to one with a campus. Public counts come from the federal Common Core of Data, which every public district reports to. Private counts come from the federal Private School Universe Survey.
Enrollment for public schools is the number of students in grades 9 through 12, so a school that also teaches middle school grades is not inflated by them. A school that reports no enrollment figure is counted in the state total but cannot be ranked, which is why the number of schools with an enrollment figure is smaller than the public count.
Private high schools in California
The private table below shows the largest private high schools whose lowest grade is 9. The survey is voluntary, so treat these as the largest among the schools that answered, not a complete ranking. A private school that declines the survey does not appear at all.
Private enrollment is a total, not a grades 9 through 12 count, because the survey does not break it out the same way. Limiting the list to schools that start at grade 9 keeps the figures comparable to each other.
What a family should do with this
Size is a starting point, not a verdict. A large school usually offers more courses, more sports and more clubs, and a small school usually gives a student more contact with the adults who write recommendation letters. Both shapes send students to good colleges.
The more useful question is where a school's own graduates actually go. Our page for each California high school carries that school's figures and, where the school publishes one, its own numbered list of the colleges its graduates chose. Start from the school page rather than from the size of the building.
Questions parents ask
How many high schools are in California?
California has 3,261 high schools: 2,574 public and 687 private. The largest is Granada Hills Charter in Granada Hills, with 4,614 students in grades 9 through 12.
What is the largest high school in California?
It enrolls 4,614 students in grades 9 through 12 in Granada Hills.
Are private high schools included in the California count?
2,574 are public and 687 are private. The private count is a floor, because the federal private school survey is voluntary and a school can skip it.
Method & sources: Public school counts and grade 9-12 enrollment come from the NCES Common Core of Data; private counts and enrollment come from the NCES Private School Universe Survey, whose respondents are a floor. A high school is a school serving grade 12; virtual schools are excluded. The public table is ranked by grade 9-12 enrollment, and schools without an enrollment figure are counted in the state total but not ranked.
This brief as data: /research/high-schools-in-california.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
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