Best Schools in Contra Costa County, California

CAContra Costa

243 ranked schools in Contra Costa County

Overall Score Percentile

<20

20+

40+

60+

80+

Introduction

Contra Costa County sits in the eastern part of the Bay Area, and for families, it offers something the region's more urban counties often don't: space, stability, and a remarkably strong public school system concentrated in a handful of well-resourced communities. From the hillside neighborhoods of Orinda and Moraga to the planned communities of San Ramon and Danville, the county has built a reputation as one of the more reliable places in California to find high-performing neighborhood schools without paying private school tuition.

That said, Contra Costa is not a monolith. The county spans everything from affluent suburban enclaves to working-class cities like Richmond and Antioch, where schools face considerably different challenges. The top-performing schools are clustered in the central and southwestern portions of the county, particularly within the Orinda Union Elementary, San Ramon Valley Unified, Acalanes Union High, and Lafayette Elementary districts. Families doing their research would do well to focus there — and to understand what distinguishes each district from the others.

The Districts That Stand Out

San Ramon Valley Unified

San Ramon Valley Unified is the largest of the high-performing districts in the county, covering Danville, San Ramon, and parts of Alamo. Its size is part of what makes it interesting: across dozens of schools, performance is remarkably consistent. At the elementary level, Coyote Creek Elementary in San Ramon scores at the 97th percentile in English, 98th in Math, and 99th in Science. John Baldwin Elementary in Danville matches that profile nearly identically — 99th in English, 97th in Math, 97th in Science. These aren't outliers; they're representative of what the district tends to produce.

At the middle school level, Windemere Ranch Middle and Gale Ranch Middle, both in San Ramon, come in at the 98th and 97th overall percentiles respectively. Diablo Vista Middle in Danville rounds out the top five for the county at the 96th percentile. For a district this size to place three middle schools in the county's top five is notable.

At the high school level, Dougherty Valley High School is the district's flagship, scoring 98th in both Math and Science with a 97th overall percentile. The district tends to attract families who prioritize academic preparation and extracurricular depth — competitive sports programs, robotics, music. San Ramon in particular has a large population of families in tech and engineering, which shapes the culture in noticeable ways. It's suburban and well-organized without feeling particularly intimate.

Orinda Union Elementary

Orinda Union Elementary is a small district with a short list of schools, but the numbers at the top of that list are hard to argue with. Wagner Ranch Elementary sits at the 100th percentile overall — 100th in English, 99th in Math, 100th in Science. Glorietta Elementary, the district's other elementary school, is at the 98th overall percentile. Orinda Intermediate rounds out the picture at the 98th overall percentile for middle schools, with a 99th in English.

Orinda itself is a small, quiet community tucked into the hills just east of the Caldecott Tunnel. The schools feel like extensions of the community — tight-knit, involved, and highly focused on academics. The parent community tends to be deeply engaged, which contributes to both the school culture and the fundraising capacity that supplements district resources. For families who want a smaller-town feel within striking distance of Oakland and San Francisco, Orinda's schools are a consistent draw.

Acalanes Union High School District

Acalanes Union High covers Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, and Walnut Creek, drawing students from several of the county's top elementary districts. Its three highest-performing schools each carry a distinct identity but share strong overall numbers.

Miramonte High in Orinda leads the county at the 99th overall percentile — 99th in English, Math, and Science across the board. Campolindo High in Moraga and Acalanes High in Lafayette both sit at the 97th overall percentile. What's worth noting about Acalanes Union High is the consistency across its campuses. These aren't schools where one subject dramatically underperforms — the English, Math, and Science scores tend to cluster tightly, which suggests students are getting a well-rounded academic experience rather than one optimized for a single metric.

The district serves communities that tend to value academics without the pressure-cooker reputation that follows some Bay Area high schools. The pace is competitive, but the tone is generally less anxious than what families might find at the county's more intensely tracked public schools elsewhere in the region.

Lafayette Elementary

Lafayette Elementary is a small district anchored by Happy Valley Elementary, which scores at the 98th percentile in English, 98th in Math, and 99th in Science for an overall 99th percentile ranking — second in the county among elementary schools. Lafayette sits between Orinda and Walnut Creek, with a community feel that's slightly more relaxed than Orinda while maintaining similar academic expectations. Families who want strong neighborhood schools with a bit more breathing room in the community culture tend to find Lafayette appealing.

Schools Worth Knowing About

Middle College High School (West Contra Costa Unified, San Pablo)

Middle College High is an interesting outlier in this list. Located in San Pablo — a city that doesn't typically appear in conversations about the county's top schools — it places fifth among Contra Costa's high schools with a 95th overall percentile and a 97th in English. The school operates on a college campus model, giving high school students early access to college coursework. It attracts motivated, independent students who do well in a less structured environment and appeals to families looking for an alternative to the traditional high school track.

Joaquin Moraga Intermediate (Moraga Elementary, Moraga)

Moraga is a small community that sometimes gets overlooked in favor of its neighbors Orinda and Lafayette, but Joaquin Moraga Intermediate is worth paying attention to. It sits at the 97th overall percentile, with a particularly strong 98th in Science. The school serves a close-knit community and tends to have high parent involvement. Families already considering the Acalanes Union High feeder pathway — particularly Campolindo High — often find Moraga's middle school an underrated option for the years before high school.

Dougherty Valley High School (San Ramon Valley Unified, San Ramon)

Dougherty Valley has been climbing steadily within the district and now ranks second among Contra Costa's high schools at the 97th percentile overall, with a 98th in both Math and Science. The school is newer than many of its peers, opened to serve the growing Dougherty Valley neighborhood, and it has built a strong reputation quickly. It draws a significant number of families with backgrounds in STEM fields, and its course offerings reflect that. For families moving to the eastern San Ramon area, it's a school that consistently outperforms what its age might suggest.

How We Rank Schools

The School Advocate ranks every public school in California using a weighted formula that emphasizes English (40%), Math (40%), and Science (20%). More recent years are weighted more heavily to reflect current performance rather than historical reputation. The result is a percentile ranking for each school relative to all other public schools in the state — which is what those 97th, 99th, and 100th percentile figures represent throughout this post.

Compare Schools Yourself

If you want to dig deeper and compare two specific schools side by side — whether that's two middle schools in the same district or elementary schools across neighboring cities — the comparison tool at /compare lets you do exactly that with current ranking data.

Top Elementary Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Wagner Ranch Elementary	Orinda Union Elementary	Orinda	100	99	100
2	Happy Valley Elementary	Lafayette Elementary	Lafayette	98	98	99
3	Coyote Creek Elementary	San Ramon Valley Unified	San Ramon	97	98	98
4	Glorietta Elementary	Orinda Union Elementary	Orinda	99	97	98
5	John Baldwin Elementary	San Ramon Valley Unified	Danville	99	97	98
6	Sleepy Hollow Elementary	Orinda Union Elementary	Orinda	98	98	98
7	Del Rey Elementary	Orinda Union Elementary	Orinda	98	97	98
8	Lafayette Elementary	Lafayette Elementary	Lafayette	98	98	97
9	Burton Valley Elementary	Lafayette Elementary	Lafayette	96	98	97
10	Bella Vista Elementary	San Ramon Valley Unified	San Ramon	95	98	97

Top Middle Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Windemere Ranch Middle	San Ramon Valley Unified	San Ramon	98	98	98
2	Orinda Intermediate	Orinda Union Elementary	Orinda	99	98	98
3	Gale Ranch Middle	San Ramon Valley Unified	San Ramon	98	97	97
4	Joaquin Moraga Intermediate	Moraga Elementary	Moraga	97	94	97
5	Diablo Vista Middle	San Ramon Valley Unified	Danville	96	97	96
6	Pine Valley Middle	San Ramon Valley Unified	San Ramon	96	95	95
7	Iron Horse Middle	San Ramon Valley Unified	San Ramon	95	95	95
8	M. H. Stanley Middle	Lafayette Elementary	Lafayette	91	95	92
9	Los Cerros Middle	San Ramon Valley Unified	Danville	90	91	91
10	Charlotte Wood Middle	San Ramon Valley Unified	Danville	91	88	88

Top High Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Miramonte High	Acalanes Union High	Orinda	99	99	99
2	Dougherty Valley High	San Ramon Valley Unified	San Ramon	95	98	97
3	Campolindo High	Acalanes Union High	Moraga	96	97	97
4	Acalanes High	Acalanes Union High	Lafayette	96	96	97
5	Middle College High	West Contra Costa Unified	San Pablo	97	91	95
6	Monte Vista High	San Ramon Valley Unified	Danville	94	94	94
7	Las Lomas High	Acalanes Union High	Walnut Creek	86	91	90
8	Northgate High	Mt. Diablo Unified	Walnut Creek	86	90	89
9	San Ramon Valley High	San Ramon Valley Unified	Danville	90	88	89
10	California High	San Ramon Valley Unified	San Ramon	85	93	88