Los Banos High School

Los Banos · Merced County · Los Banos Unified
Public Merced County 🏛 Los Banos Unified → ~352 seniors CDS 2465755…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Pacheco High School → Buhach Colony High School → Livingston High School → Atwater High School → Golden Valley High → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
1,385 (2018)1,568 (2026)
+13.2%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
324 (2018)364 (2026)
+12.3%

If this trend holds (+1.6%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~1,593 +25 $0
3 yr (2029) ~1,643 +75 $0
5 yr (2031) ~1,694 +126 $0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Merced County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Mixed signal
Outperforming on demand; some mid-year churn to look at.

Los Banos High School is recruiting families faster than Merced County is shrinking (school +12.3% vs. county +7.6%), but 193 students didn't make it to year-end. The recruitment engine works; the mid-year exits are worth understanding. Chronic absenteeism is rising (22.9%, +9.1 pts since 2016-17) — a watch signal worth monitoring as a leading indicator.

+12.3%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+7.6%  Merced County baseline
+4.7pp  gap vs. county
88.2%  retention (county median 87.2%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
88.2%
1,444 of 1,637 students

193 of 1,637 students who enrolled at Los Banos High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (11.8% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Merced County median
87.2% · school is in the 68th percentile of 19 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 55th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (1,391) 87.3%
Socio. disadvantaged (1,328) 87.2%
Students w/ disabilities (216) 85.2%
English learners (196) 77.6%
White (188) 95.7%

Nearest peer high schools

Pacheco High School 87.5% Buhach Colony High School 89.0% Livingston High School 91.0% Atwater High School 87.2% Golden Valley High 87.5%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.

Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25

Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.

Chronic absent
22.9%
366 of 1,598 students

Absenteeism is up 9.1 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

Merced County median
26.3% · school is better than 68% of 19 HS
Statewide median
22.9%
Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).

SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025

Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.

ELA — met or exceeded
n = 349
46.7%
incl. 14.6% exceeded
+4.1 pts above Merced County median (42.6%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 348
13.8%
incl. 4.0% exceeded
On the Merced County median (13.6%) · CA median 21.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 53.6%

Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.

Student composition — 2025-26

HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.

Race / ethnicity

Hispanic / Latino 85% +2.2
White 12% -1.4
Black / African Am. 1%
Filipino 1%
Two or more 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 80% +10.4
Socioeconomically disadv. 12% -1.4
English learners 11%

Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.

District financial profile — Los Banos Unified (FY2020)

From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.

Total revenue
$189.3M
+32.4% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$17,431
10,858 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 69.9%
Local: 17.0%
Federal: 13.1%
Instruction share
58.4%
of current spending · $8,516/pupil
Long-term debt
$76.4M
+8.6% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($M)
Total expenditure by year ($M)

Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Los Banos Unified as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach
12%
43 admits / 352 seniors
On the peer median (11.2%) · Ranked #6 of 11 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 6.7% 2025 · 12.2%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
11.2%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
12.2%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 12.2%

Higher than 29% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Los Banos High School's UC Reach of 12.2% is below the California median (18.5%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53.3% or higher.

Overall, Los Banos High School's UC Reach is higher than 29% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach
52.0%
183 applications
In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · higher than 29% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
23.5%
43 / 183 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 35% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
N/A
None enrolled of 43 admitted
Yield vs. Enrollment Reach: Yield answers "of UC admits, what % chose UC?" — denominator is just the admits. A small admitted cohort can post a low yield even when the school sends a healthy share of its class to UC.
UC Enrollment Reach
N/A
None enrollees / 352 seniors
Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what % ended up at UC?" — denominator is everyone. High Yield with low Enrollment Reach is common at elite privates: most admits matriculate, but the school sends most of its class to non-UC selective colleges.
Student-Counselor Ratio
392:1
4.0 FTE counselors · 1,568 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 54 more students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
40%
137 of 347 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -16.4 pp vs. median · Merced Co. 39.5%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
74%
56% finished in 4 yrs · N=23 entered 2007
In context: CA median 84.8% · -10.9 pp vs. median.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
8.8
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 18% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
1.4
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 14% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
352
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
1,543
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
0.76
25th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

Los Banos High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Los Banos · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Los Banos High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #6 of 11): 12% vs. a peer median of 11%.
  • Its UC Reach has risen 4 points since 2018.
  • Senior-class enrollment is up 12% (324→364 from 2018 to 2026), tracking the peer-group median of +11%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+1.6%/yr); projects to ~1643 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

1568 students (2026)
~1643 projected (2029)
at +1.6%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Los Banos High School Public 1568 12.2% +12%
Peer-group median 11.2% +11%
Pacheco High School Public 1721 8.1% +2%
Buhach Colony High School Public 1670 5.5% -9%
Livingston High School Public 1154 9.8% +1%
Atwater High School Public 2058 9.8% +27%
Golden Valley High Public 1931 15.2% +14%
Dos Palos High School Public 632 8.6% -14%
Merced High School Public 1975 12.5% +18%
Orestimba High School Public 902 15.2% +21%
El Capitan High Public 1852 20.0% +10%
Patterson High School Public 1830 12.8% +11%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
3.74
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.19

Admit rate vs. CA peer average, by campus

How does this school's admit rate at each UC compare to other CA schools whose applicant pool averages the same GPA?

Campus Applicant GPA (avg) Actual admit rate CA peer avg Δ Verdict
UC Berkeley 3.76 18.5% 12.2% +6.3pp Over
UC San Diego 3.71 27.3% 27.7% -0.4pp On target
UC Santa Barbara 3.86 37.9% 27.4% +10.5pp Over
UC Irvine 3.76 20.7% 19.0% +1.7pp On target
UC Davis 3.65 31.6% 32.3% -0.7pp On target
"Applicant GPA" is the average GPA of this school's UC applicant pool — not an individual student GPA. "CA peer avg" is the application-weighted statewide admit rate at this school-pool GPA, fit separately per campus. At any given pool GPA, real admit rates span widely (UCSD ranges 8% → 65% across CA schools) because UCs use comprehensive review — context-of-opportunity, geography, demographics, and applicant essays all weigh in beyond GPA. A large negative residual flags this school is admitted at a meaningfully lower rate than other CA schools at the same pool GPA — not that students here were "rejected at expected rate X." "Over" / "Under" use a ±5-point band. Campuses with fewer than 5 applicants are omitted.

Where Los Banos High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (27.6% actual vs. 24.5% expected).

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %
UC Reach % (where available)
UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.

Campus Breakdown — 2025

Campus Applicants Admits Enrollees Admit Rate UC Reach Yield Avg GPA (App) Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Berkeley → Elite 27 5 18.5% 1.4% 3.76 4.26
UCLA → Elite 27 3.74
UC San Diego → Selective 33 9 27.3% 2.6% 3.71 4.23
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 29 11 37.9% 3.1% 3.86 4.23
UC Irvine → Selective 29 6 20.7% 1.7% 3.76 4.13
UC Davis → 38 12 31.6% 3.4% 3.65 4.11
⚠ Campus-level totals may count one student admitted to multiple UC campuses more than once. Admit Volume metrics are not the same as UC Reach, which requires unique-student counts. See methodology →

What This Means

A large share of the senior class applies to UC, indicating strong college-going culture and UC pipeline development.
A large share of the class applies to UC, so the admit rate runs lower than the application volume alone might suggest — expected when many students apply broadly, including to reach campuses. UC Reach (which credits every admit relative to the class) is the truer read of how the class fares: a strong Reach alongside a moderate admit rate is healthy, not a contradiction.
Fewer than 15% of seniors are earning UC admission. This may reflect a high non-UC college-going rate, significant A-G completion gaps, or an early-stage UC pipeline. A deeper review of A-G readiness and counseling capacity is warranted.
Note: admit counts used here are campus-level totals. A student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted twice. When UCOP unique-student data becomes available it will be loaded automatically and the labels will update.
Compare with other schools → See Merced County rankings →

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