countyscore

Schools · California

Best School Counties in California 2026

Ranked by graduation rates, per-pupil spending, and educational attainment.

Top 10 — Schools in California

Score reflects schools only — not overall county quality.

1Alpine County, CA
100
2Sierra County, CA
83.3
3Mariposa County, CA
69.3
4Humboldt County, CA
67.7
5Merced County, CA
67.5
6Santa Barbara County, CA
67.5
7Orange County, CA
67.3
8Riverside County, CA
66.5
9Calaveras County, CA
65.3
10Tulare County, CA
65

All California Counties — Schools Rankings

58 counties ranked by schools score. Overall Score shown for context.

#CountySchools ScoreOverall Score
1Alpine County, CA
100
51.2
2Sierra County, CA
83.3
52.4
3Mariposa County, CA
69.3
43.9
4Humboldt County, CA
67.7
40
5Merced County, CA
67.5
35.3
6Santa Barbara County, CA
67.5
43.1
7Orange County, CA
67.3
44.3
8Riverside County, CA
66.5
37.1
9Calaveras County, CA
65.3
43
10Tulare County, CA
65
35.2
11Napa County, CA
64.8
43.7
12San Mateo County, CA
64.8
47.6
13San Luis Obispo County, CA
64.2
42.9
14Marin County, CA
63
47.4
15Colusa County, CA
62.9
41.8
16El Dorado County, CA
62.5
49.8
17Del Norte County, CA
61
39.9
18Kings County, CA
60.5
38.2
19Placer County, CA
59.9
46.5
20Tehama County, CA
59.8
36.7
21Glenn County, CA
59.4
41.8
22Butte County, CA
58.5
39.3
23San Francisco County, CA
58.4
43.6
24San Diego County, CA
56.8
42.3
25Nevada County, CA
56.6
45.2
26Alameda County, CA
55.6
40.6
27Imperial County, CA
55.5
33.7
28Sacramento County, CA
54.4
38.3
29Los Angeles County, CA
53.9
36.9
30Ventura County, CA
53.8
44.3
31Contra Costa County, CA
53.5
40.1
32Monterey County, CA
53.5
39
33Inyo County, CA
53.1
41
34Yolo County, CA
53
38
35Shasta County, CA
52.7
52.3
36Fresno County, CA
52.2
33
37Mono County, CA
51.4
38.5
38Madera County, CA
50.6
35.5
39Santa Clara County, CA
49.9
42.2
40Trinity County, CA
49.6
48.3
41Stanislaus County, CA
49.1
35.6
42Tuolumne County, CA
49.1
41.7
43San Bernardino County, CA
48.9
33.7
44Sonoma County, CA
48
44.8
45Siskiyou County, CA
47.2
37.9
46Kern County, CA
46.8
27.8
47Lassen County, CA
46
40.4
48Amador County, CA
44.5
41.9
49Solano County, CA
44.2
36.4
50Santa Cruz County, CA
43.9
41.6
51Plumas County, CA
43.8
40.9
52Sutter County, CA
43.3
35
53Mendocino County, CA
43
44.1
54Yuba County, CA
42.6
37.7
55Modoc County, CA
39.1
49.6
56San Joaquin County, CA
38.9
33.1
57San Benito County, CA
37.9
43.3
58Lake County, CA
30.7
31.6

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Best overall counties in CaliforniaFull Schools data on SchoolsByCounty