Santa Cruz County Education: Which school had most students enrolled in 2022-23 school year?

Watsonville High School had the highest enrollment among Santa Cruz County schools, welcoming 2,244 students during the 2022-23 school year, according to the California Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2022-23 school year, 50.1% of them were boys, 49.8% were girls, and 0.1% identified themselves as non-binary or did not specify their gender.

Among the 74 schools in Santa Cruz County, Pajaro Valley High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 1,489 students, while Aptos High School welcomed 1,360 students and ranked third in the 2022-23 school year.

Watsonville High School is part of Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which roughly covers schools within Santa Cruz County and has a main office in Watsonville.

In the previous school year, Watsonville High School also had the highest number of students among Santa Cruz County schools.

In the last decade, enrollment in California elementary and secondary schools rose by at least 5%, while high school enrollment dropped 5%.

However, overall enrollment in California public schools is sliding, and predicted by the Public Policy Institute of California to drop another 8% by the 2031-32 school year.