San Diego Unified is the second-largest school district in California, serving 93,893 students across 177 schools in San Diego County. The district experienced a 1.4% enrollment decline from the prior year, reflecting broader demographic trends in the region. With 4,290 teachers, the district maintains a student-teacher ratio of 21.9:1, slightly above typical benchmarks for large urban districts.
Academic performance shows San Diego Unified graduating 90.3% of students, marginally above California's 89.9% state average. However, chronic absenteeism at 19.0% represents a significant challenge affecting instructional continuity. The student population is economically and linguistically diverse: 56.2% are economically disadvantaged, 19.4% are English learners, and 21.7% have identified disabilities. Racial composition is 47.2% Hispanic, 22.8% White, 12.9% Asian, and 7.5% Black.
Financially, San Diego Unified operates with per-pupil spending of $21,952, exceeding California's $19,711 average by approximately $2,200 per student. The district's $2.247 billion total budget relies heavily on local funding sources (65.2%), with 24.2% from state sources and 10.6% from federal funding. This local revenue dependency is notable; districts relying more heavily on state and federal funding face greater budget volatility. The combination of above-average per-pupil spending and significant populations requiring specialized services reflects the district's resource allocation priorities.
This summary was generated by AI from public data sources. Last updated May 4, 2026.
This data is aggregated from state and federal public datasets. While we believe it is accurate, we always recommend confirming it on the corresponding state or federal site. See Data Notes for more.
Total Students
93,893
Schools
177
Per-Pupil Spending
$21,952
Data Sources: NCES Common Core of Data, NCES F-33 Finance Survey, EDFacts
Federal Data Year: 2024-25
State Data Year: 2024-25
Note: Some data may be unavailable for certain districts or years. Proficiency rates reflect state-specific assessment standards.
Math Proficiency
N/AThis data is either not available at a state or per-district level, or will be added in the future.
Staff counts are Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) from NCES 2024-25 data.
California uses a color-coded Dashboard system to measure school and district performance.
Colors are determined by combining current status with year-over-year change.
Gap between highest and lowest performing student groups (Asian vs African American)
Gap interpretation:Large gaps (>20 points/%) indicate significant disparities between student groups that may benefit from targeted intervention programs.
Distance from Standard (DFS): 0 = at standard, positive = above, negative = below
About the California School Dashboard
The Dashboard uses a 5x5 grid that combines current status (performance level) with change (improvement or decline from the prior year) to determine colors. Blue is the highest performance level; Red indicates the lowest. Dashboard colors help identify both high-performing districts and those needing support.
Source: California Department of Education, California School Dashboard, 2024-25 School Year