School Rankings

Rank California high schools by UC outcomes — statewide or within a county. Click any school to view its full profile.

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🏆 Top 10 in Monterey County — UC Reach

Monterey County · 2025 · ≥50 seniors
What is UC Reach? UC Reach = unique top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class size — the share of a school's entire graduating class that reaches 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 of just 0.6% (6 ÷ 1,000). By contrast, a school where 250 of 1,000 seniors land a top-UC admit has a 25% UC Reach — 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 100% UC Reach.
1 Carmel High School · Carmel 44.0% 2 Pacific Grove High School · Pacific Grove 39.8% 3 Monterey High School · Monterey 38.0% 4 Rancho San Juan High School · Salinas 29.0% 5 Salinas High School · Salinas 24.2% 6 Gonzales High School · Gonzales 23.0% 7 Palma High School · Salinas 22.7% 8 North Monterey County High Sch · Castroville 21.8% 9 Alisal High School · Salinas 20.1% 10 Everett Alvarez High School · Salinas 18.9%

Leaderboards by type — Monterey County (2025)

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

▲ Top 10 Public + Charter

Monterey County

1
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 44.0%
2
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 39.8%
3
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 38.0%
4
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 29.0%
5
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 24.2%
6
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 23.0%
7
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 21.8%
8
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 20.1%
9
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 18.9%
10
Soledad High School
Soledad · Public
 11.6%

▲ Top 10 Private

Monterey County

1
Palma High School
Salinas · Private
 22.7%

▼ Bottom 10 Public + Charter

Monterey County

1
Seaside High School
Seaside · Public
 4.3%
2
Marina High
· Public
 9.2%
3
Greenfield High School
Greenfield · Public
 11.6%
4
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 11.6%
5
Soledad High School
Soledad · Public
 11.6%
6
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 18.9%
7
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 20.1%
8
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 21.8%
9
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 23.0%
10
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 24.2%

▼ Bottom 10 Private

Monterey County

1
Palma High School
Salinas · Private
 22.7%

Top 10 by individual UC campus — Monterey 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
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 5.4%
2
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 4.5%
3
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 3.7%
4
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 2.9%
5
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 2.4%
6
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 1.7%
7
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 1.6%
8
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 1.6%
9
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 1.5%
10
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 1.5%

Top 10 — UCLA Reach

UCLA

1
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 2.4%
2
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 2.0%
3
Marina High
· Public
 2.0%
4
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 1.9%
5
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 1.9%
6
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 1.5%
7
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 1.3%
8
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 1.0%
9
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 0.8%
10
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 0.8%

Top 10 — UCSD Reach

UC San Diego

1
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 7.3%
2
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 6.8%
3
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 5.7%
4
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 5.1%
5
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 4.5%
6
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 4.3%
7
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 4.2%
8
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 3.4%
9
Palma High School
Salinas · Private
 3.4%
10
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 2.7%

Top 10 — UCSB Reach

UC Santa Barbara

1
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 14.0%
2
Palma High School
Salinas · Private
 8.0%
3
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 7.5%
4
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 7.2%
5
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 5.2%
6
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 4.4%
7
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 3.8%
8
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 3.5%
9
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 3.3%
10
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 3.3%

Top 10 — UCI Reach

UC Irvine

1
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 9.9%
2
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 8.1%
3
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 7.5%
4
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 6.2%
5
Palma High School
Salinas · Private
 5.7%
6
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 4.1%
7
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 3.8%
8
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 3.5%
9
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 3.4%
10
Greenfield High School
Greenfield · Public
 3.2%

Top 10 — UCD Reach

UC Davis

1
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 12.0%
2
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 11.5%
3
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 9.9%
4
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 7.6%
5
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 7.4%
6
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 7.3%
7
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 6.3%
8
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 6.3%
9
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 5.9%
10
Palma High School
Salinas · Private
 5.7%

Beyond UC Reach — three more lenses on Monterey 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), and reliability over time (consistency). Click any school for its full profile.

Top 10 — A-G Completion

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

1
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 88.1%
2
Marina High
· Public
 77.2%
3
Millennium Charter High School
Salinas · Public
 75.8%
4
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 72.9%
5
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 63.8%
6
Seaside High School
Seaside · Public
 62.6%
7
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 56.7%
8
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 56.6%
9
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 50.1%
10
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 46.6%

Top 10 — UC 6-Yr Grad Rate

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

1
Palma High School
Salinas · Private
 90.5%
2
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 86.4%
3
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 82.3%
4
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 82.1%
5
Soledad High School
Soledad · Public
 80.0%
6
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 77.1%
7
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 75.0%
8
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 73.1%
9
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 72.0%
10
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 71.4%

Top 10 — Best Counselor Capacity

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

1
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 180:1
2
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 240:1
3
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 245:1
4
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 292:1
5
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 304:1
6
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 319:1
7
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 320:1
8
Mary Chapa Academy
· Public
 326:1
9
Seaside High School
Seaside · Public
 327:1
10
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 358:1

Top 10 — Most Consistent

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

1
Alisal High School
avg 19.0% · σ 2.16
 σ 2.16
2
Palma High School
avg 19.4% · σ 3.9
 σ 3.9
3
Salinas High School
avg 18.0% · σ 4.44
 σ 4.44
4
Everett Alvarez High School
avg 19.7% · σ 5.34
 σ 5.34
5
Carmel High School
avg 42.3% · σ 5.79
 σ 5.79
6
Monterey High School
avg 31.6% · σ 6.51
 σ 6.51
7
Pacific Grove High School
avg 21.2% · σ 10.52
 σ 10.52

Top 10 — Private Net Assets

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

1
Santa Catalina School
Monterey · Catholic · FY 2023
 $105.4M
2
York School
Monterey · Nonsectarian · FY 2023
 $16.7M
3
Palma High School
Salinas · Catholic · FY 2023
 $2.5M

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
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 10% '18 → 40% '25 +30.1pp
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 1% '22 → 29% '25 +27.6pp
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 5% '18 → 23% '25 +17.8pp
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 24% '18 → 38% '25 +14.5pp
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 31% '18 → 44% '25 +12.6pp
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 12% '18 → 24% '25 +12.3pp
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 10% '18 → 19% '25 +9.1pp
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 12% '18 → 20% '25 +8.5pp
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 15% '18 → 22% '25 +7.1pp
Greenfield High School
Greenfield · Public
 6% '18 → 12% '25 +5.2pp

▼ Biggest declines

SchoolThen → NowΔ
Palma High School
Salinas · Private
 40% '20 → 23% '25 -17.1pp
Soledad High School
Soledad · Public
 20% '18 → 12% '25 -8.7pp
Seaside High School
Seaside · Public
 5% '18 → 4% '25 -0.9pp
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 11% '18 → 12% '25 0.8pp
Santa Catalina School
Monterey · Private
 41% '21 → 43% '24 2.5pp
Greenfield High School
Greenfield · Public
 6% '18 → 12% '25 5.2pp
Marina High
· Public
 4% '18 → 9% '25 5.2pp
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 15% '18 → 22% '25 7.1pp
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 12% '18 → 20% '25 8.5pp
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 10% '18 → 19% '25 9.1pp

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
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Monterey · Public  Strong demand
 +30.7% vs -5.7% +36.4pp
Marina High
· Monterey · Public  Best in class
 +43.2% vs +9.8% +33.4pp
Greenfield High School
Greenfield · Monterey · Public  Strong demand
 +39.1% vs +9.8% +29.3pp
Monterey High School
Monterey · Monterey · Public  Best in class
 +27.4% vs +9.8% +17.7pp
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Monterey · Public  Strong demand
 +14.8% vs +9.8% +5.0pp
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Monterey · Public  Watch — engagement
 +13.5% vs +9.8% +3.7pp
Alisal High School
Salinas · Monterey · Public  Demand problem
 +0.3% vs +9.8% -9.5pp
Soledad High School
Soledad · Monterey · Public  Demand problem
 +0.0% vs +9.8% -9.8pp
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Monterey · Public  Sharp downturn
 -5.2% vs +9.8% -15.0pp
Carmel High School
Carmel · Monterey · Public  Sharp downturn
 -7.4% vs +9.8% -17.1pp

▼ Underperforming the county the most

SchoolSchool · CountyGap
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Monterey · Public  Material decline
 -10.8% vs +9.8% -20.6pp
Seaside High School
Seaside · Monterey · Public  Material decline
 -10.8% vs +9.8% -20.5pp
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Monterey · Public  Sharp downturn
 -8.9% vs +9.8% -18.7pp
Salinas High School
Salinas · Monterey · Public  Material decline
 -7.6% vs +9.8% -17.3pp
Carmel High School
Carmel · Monterey · Public  Sharp downturn
 -7.4% vs +9.8% -17.1pp
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Monterey · Public  Sharp downturn
 -5.2% vs +9.8% -15.0pp
Soledad High School
Soledad · Monterey · Public  Demand problem
 +0.0% vs +9.8% -9.8pp
Alisal High School
Salinas · Monterey · Public  Demand problem
 +0.3% vs +9.8% -9.5pp
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Monterey · Public  Watch — engagement
 +13.5% vs +9.8% +3.7pp
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Monterey · Public  Strong demand
 +14.8% vs +9.8% +5.0pp

GPA Performance — over/under their predicted UC admit rate ⓘ

13 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.
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public
 3.91 41.2% +17.6pp
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public
 3.98 37.2% +14.9pp
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 4.08 38.6% +14.2pp
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 3.91 35.4% +14.0pp
Marina High
· Public
 3.85 36.8% +13.3pp
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 3.81 31.4% +10.4pp
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 4.09 31.5% +8.3pp
Soledad High School
Soledad · Public
 3.81 31.7% +8.0pp
Greenfield High School
Greenfield · Public
 3.76 33.3% +6.9pp
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 3.88 25.1% +3.7pp

▼ Top 10 underperformers

School GPA Actual Δ vs exp.
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public
 3.67 25.7% 2.7pp
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Public
 3.77 24.0% 2.8pp
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public
 3.87 25.4% 3.3pp
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public
 3.88 25.1% 3.7pp
Greenfield High School
Greenfield · Public
 3.76 33.3% 6.9pp
Soledad High School
Soledad · Public
 3.81 31.7% 8.0pp
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public
 4.09 31.5% 8.3pp
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public
 3.81 31.4% 10.4pp
Marina High
· Public
 3.85 36.8% 13.3pp
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public
 3.91 35.4% 14.0pp

Full rankings — every Monterey County high school by UC Reach

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

15 schools · 2025 data · 3 hidden (under 50 seniors)
Show all schools (no floor) Compare selected schools →
# School County Seniors ⓘ Total Enroll ⓘ UC Reach ⓘ App Reach ⓘ Admit Rate ⓘ Yield ⓘ Selective Reach ⓘ Elite Reach ⓘ Raw Apps ⓘ Raw Admits ⓘ
1
Carmel High School
Carmel · Public  Sharp downturn
 Monterey 200 780 44.0% 139.5% 31.5% 26.1% 32.5 6.5 279 88
2
Pacific Grove High School
Pacific Grove · Public  Sharp downturn
 Monterey 161 552 39.8% 158.4% 25.1% 28.1% 29.8 5.6 255 64
3
Monterey High School
Monterey · Public  Best in class
 Monterey 332 1,401 38.0% 102.1% 37.2% 23.8% 25.9 4.8 339 126
4
Rancho San Juan High School
Salinas · Public  Strong demand
 Monterey 369 1,600 29.0% 92.4% 31.4% 14.9% 21.4 7.3 341 107
5
Salinas High School
Salinas · Public  Material decline
 Monterey 611 2,380 24.2% 62.7% 38.6% 22.3% 18.3 2.6 383 148
6
Gonzales High School
Gonzales · Public  Sharp downturn
 Monterey 204 751 23.0% 55.9% 41.2% 14.9% 15.7 4.4 114 47
7
Palma High School
Salinas · Private
 Monterey 88 584 22.7% 140.9% 16.1% 15.0% 17.1 — 124 20
8
North Monterey County High Sch
Castroville · Public  Watch — engagement
 Monterey 316 1,250 21.8% 61.7% 35.4% 13.0% 15.5 2.9 195 69
9
Alisal High School
Salinas · Public  Demand problem
 Monterey 662 2,742 20.1% 78.1% 25.7% 27.8% 12.8 2.4 517 133
10
Everett Alvarez High School
Salinas · Public  Material decline
 Monterey 475 1,978 18.9% 74.7% 25.4% 17.8% 12.6 2.3 355 90
11
Soledad High School
Soledad · Public  Demand problem
 Monterey 387 1,546 11.6% 43.4% 26.8% 26.7% 7.5 1.3 168 45
12
North Salinas High School
Salinas · Public  Strong demand
 Monterey 526 2,106 11.6% 48.3% 24.0% 14.8% 7.8 2.1 254 61
13
Greenfield High School
Greenfield · Public  Strong demand
 Monterey 285 1,274 11.6% 55.8% 20.8% 12.1% 8.4 — 159 33
14
Marina High
· Public  Best in class
 Monterey 153 721 9.2% 39.2% 23.3% — 6.5 2.0 60 14
15
Seaside High School
Seaside · Public  Material decline
 Monterey 278 1,073 4.3% 21.6% 20.0% 41.7% 1.4 — 60 12
UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class size. Where UCOP has not published unique-student totals, campus admits are summed — students admitted to more than one of the 6 campuses are counted at each, so values above 100% indicate strong students winning multiple competitive UC offers. Schools with fewer than 50 seniors are excluded from the leaderboard by default — a small cohort with one strong year can otherwise dominate. See methodology →