Best Schools in San Mateo County, California

CASan Mateo

152 ranked schools in San Mateo County

Overall Score Percentile

<20

20+

40+

60+

80+

Introduction

San Mateo County sits in an unusual position on the California education map. It's expensive enough that most families moving here are doing so deliberately, which tends to concentrate engaged, resource-rich communities around its schools. The result is a cluster of public schools — at the elementary, middle, and high school levels — that consistently rank among the highest-performing in the state.

The county stretches from the bayside suburbs of San Mateo and Belmont up through the hillside enclaves of Portola Valley and Hillsborough, and down toward Redwood City and Menlo Park on the Peninsula. Families who've done their homework tend to gravitating toward the Hillsborough City, San Carlos, Belmont-Redwood Shores, and Las Lomitas districts, all of which show up repeatedly at the top of county rankings. But there are strong schools scattered throughout — including a few worth knowing about in districts that don't always get mentioned in the same breath as Hillsborough or San Carlos.

The Districts That Stand Out

Hillsborough City Elementary District — Hillsborough

Hillsborough is one of the wealthiest communities in California, and its elementary district reflects that. Both North Hillsborough and South Hillsborough schools score at the 100th and 99th overall percentiles, respectively. North Hillsborough posts perfect scores in English and Math, with Science close behind at the 99th percentile. South Hillsborough is only a step behind — 99th in English, 100th in Math, 96th in Science.

The district is small, covering only the city of Hillsborough itself. There are no middle or high schools in the district; students typically transition into Burlingame or San Mateo Union high schools. For families with young children, the elementary years here are exceptional. The community skews toward established, high-income households, and parent involvement tends to be high. It's competitive in the way that quiet affluence often is — not loudly, but consistently.

Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary District — Belmont

This district deserves more attention than it typically gets. Central Elementary in Belmont scores at the 100th overall percentile — perfect marks in both English and Math, with Science at the 100th percentile as well. Ralston Intermediate, the district's middle school, posts the highest overall middle school ranking in the county: 100th overall, with English at the 100th, Math at the 99th, and Science at the 99th.

The district serves a mix of Belmont neighborhoods and parts of the Redwood Shores waterfront community. It has a more suburban, family-oriented feel compared to some of the hillside districts — less insular than Hillsborough, more diverse in its housing stock. What's notable here is that performance holds across grade levels. A child moving from Central Elementary to Ralston Intermediate stays in one of the state's strongest academic environments throughout their elementary and middle years. That kind of vertical consistency is worth paying attention to.

San Carlos Elementary District — San Carlos

San Carlos has built a quiet reputation as one of the more family-friendly communities on the Peninsula, and its schools back that up. Arundel Elementary scores at the 100th overall percentile, with perfect marks in both English and Math. At the middle school level, both Tierra Linda Middle and Central Middle rank at the 98th overall percentile, with strong scores across all three subjects.

The city itself has a walkable downtown, a mix of housing options, and a community that tends to attract young families priced out of Hillsborough or Atherton. The schools reflect that demographic shift — they're high-performing and improving, with parent communities that are engaged without being overbearing. Having two strong middle schools in the same district also gives families some flexibility in how they navigate those years.

Las Lomitas Elementary District — Menlo Park

The Las Lomitas district is small and serves the western, hillside portion of Menlo Park — a quieter pocket that sits apart from the more densely developed areas closer to Highway 101. La Entrada Middle School scores at the 99th overall percentile, with English at the 99th, Math at the 98th, and Science at the 97th.

The district has a reputation for being thoughtful about curriculum and community, and its numbers reflect a sustained standard of quality rather than a recent surge. Families in this part of Menlo Park tend to have strong ties to Stanford or the broader tech community, and the schools benefit from that engagement. Because the district is small, it can feel close-knit in a way that larger suburban districts don't.

Sequoia Union High School District — Belmont, Atherton, and surrounding areas

At the high school level, Sequoia Union serves a wide geographic area and shows some of the wider performance variation you'd expect from a larger district. Carlmont High in Belmont sits at the top — 98th overall, with English at the 98th, Math at the 96th, and Science at the 98th. That places it among the strongest public high schools in the county.

Menlo-Atherton High, also in the Sequoia Union district, tells a different story — 88th overall, with English at the 84th and Math at the 90th. The school serves a more economically diverse student population, and its numbers reflect that complexity. For families moving specifically for high school access, Carlmont stands out. For families already in Atherton or East Palo Alto, Menlo-Atherton has programs worth investigating, but it's not a comparable academic environment on the current data.

Schools Worth Knowing About

Design Tech High School (San Mateo Union High, Redwood City) — This is one of the few high schools in the state built around a design thinking and project-based learning model. Scores are strong — 95th overall, with English at the 94th and Math at the 93rd — but the school's appeal goes beyond the percentiles. Families drawn to non-traditional academic structures, and students who do well in collaborative, applied settings, tend to thrive here. It's a genuinely different kind of public high school.

Corte Madera School (Portola Valley Elementary, Portola Valley) — Serving students through 8th grade in one of the Peninsula's most tucked-away communities, Corte Madera scores at the 99th overall percentile at the middle school level, with Science hitting the 100th percentile. The Portola Valley district doesn't come up as often in Peninsula school conversations as San Carlos or Hillsborough, which makes this school something of a hidden gem. The community is small, semi-rural, and less transient than many Bay Area suburbs.

Ralston Intermediate (Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary, Belmont) — Middle schools rarely get the same attention as elementary or high schools, but Ralston is worth naming explicitly. It ranks at the 100th overall percentile, which is rare for a middle school at the state level. Families focused on maintaining academic continuity through the middle years — often the most uneven in terms of school quality — should have this school on their radar.

How We Rank Schools

The School Advocate ranks every public school in California using a weighted formula: English scores count for 40%, Math for 40%, and Science for 20%. Recent test years are weighted more heavily than older data to reflect current performance. Percentile scores show how a school compares to all other public schools statewide — so a school at the 99th percentile is outperforming 99% of California public schools.

Compare Schools Yourself

Rankings are a starting point, but every family's priorities are different. Use the school comparison tool at /compare to put any two schools side by side — across subjects, grade levels, or districts — and see exactly where the differences show up.

Top Elementary Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	North Star Academy	Redwood City Elementary	Redwood City	100	100	100
2	Arundel Elementary	San Carlos Elementary	San Carlos	100	100	100
3	Central Elementary	Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary	Belmont	100	100	100
4	North Hillsborough	Hillsborough City Elementary	Hillsborough	100	100	100
5	South Hillsborough	Hillsborough City Elementary	Hillsborough	99	100	99
6	Fox Elementary	Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary	Belmont	98	99	99
7	West Hillsborough	Hillsborough City Elementary	Hillsborough	99	99	99
8	Ormondale Elementary	Portola Valley Elementary	Portola Valley	98	98	99
9	Mariposa	San Carlos Elementary	San Carlos	98	98	99
10	Hoover Elementary	Burlingame Elementary	Burlingame	98	99	98

Top Middle Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Ralston Intermediate	Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary	Belmont	100	99	100
2	Corte Madera	Portola Valley Elementary	Portola Valley	99	98	99
3	La Entrada Middle	Las Lomitas Elementary	Menlo Park	99	98	99
4	Tierra Linda Middle	San Carlos Elementary	San Carlos	99	97	98
5	Central Middle	San Carlos Elementary	San Carlos	98	97	98
6	Crocker Middle	Hillsborough City Elementary	Hillsborough	95	99	97
7	Hillview Middle	Menlo Park City Elementary	Menlo Park	94	96	96
8	Bowditch Middle	San Mateo-Foster City	Foster City	91	96	94
9	Burlingame Intermediate	Burlingame Elementary	Burlingame	91	94	94
10	Taylor Middle	Millbrae Elementary	Millbrae	84	87	86

Top High Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Carlmont High	Sequoia Union High	Belmont	98	96	98
2	Aragon High	San Mateo Union High	San Mateo	95	94	96
3	Design Tech High	San Mateo Union High	Redwood City	94	93	95
4	Mills High	San Mateo Union High	Millbrae	91	94	91
5	Menlo-Atherton High	Sequoia Union High	Atherton	84	90	88
6	Burlingame High	San Mateo Union High	Burlingame	78	85	86
7	Summit Public School: Shasta	Jefferson Union High	Daly City	86	83	85
8	El Camino High	South San Francisco Unified	South San Francisco	83	77	81
9	Hillsdale High	San Mateo Union High	San Mateo	73	75	75
10	Westmoor High	Jefferson Union High	Daly City	73	73	74