National Directory / CA
Best Catholic High Schools in California
The best Catholic high school in California depends on your family - so this guide ranks the state's 103 Catholic high schools across 75 cities with a stated criteria framework, gives each major metro its own shortlist, and pairs the top schools with the admissions facts families actually need. Start with the statewide ranking, then jump to your region.
Families applying in California can take the free HSPT practice test first, then use the city lists below to compare schools that actually require the exam.
California is the largest Catholic high school market in the country: 103 schools serving high-school grades across 75 cities, from San Diego to the Oregon border, in 12 dioceses - two archdioceses (Los Angeles and San Francisco) and ten dioceses. The schools families actually compare are almost always local, which is why this page leads with a statewide shortlist and then breaks the state into the four metros where most of the demand lives: Los Angeles, the Bay Area, San Diego, and San Jose, with the rest of the state covered region by region below.
What makes a great Catholic high school is rarely a single headline number. It is school identity - Jesuit, Lasallian, Holy Cross, Marianist, Dominican, Salesian, or diocesan - single-gender versus coed, enrollment size, the strength of academics and college outcomes, the faith environment, and whether the commute and community fit your child. The ranking below states the criteria we used and applies them honestly; the final call is fit, not rank.
Best Catholic high schools in California
There is no official ranking of California's Catholic high schools, and "best" lists from Niche, Yelp, and similar sites use different methodologies and reshuffle every year. This list is a curated, sourced starting point built from three things we can verify: NCES 2023-24 enrollment, source-reviewed HSPT records from each school's own admissions site, and each school's identity and gender structure. It organizes the schools families most often shortlist - the order-run preps and large diocesan schools with the deepest admissions coverage in our directory. The numbering is a convenience, not a verdict; use it to build a compare list, then dig into your region and the HSPT and admissions sections below.
How we ranked these schools
- Catholic identity and charism - Jesuit (Loyola, St. Ignatius, Bellarmine, Verbum Dei, Jesuit Sacramento), Lasallian (De La Salle, St. Mary's College HS, Christian Brothers, La Salle Pasadena), Holy Cross (Sacred Heart Cathedral, Moreau), Marianist (Riordan, Chaminade), Salesian (St. John Bosco, Salesian Richmond), Dominican (Flintridge Sacred Heart, Rosary), and diocesan schools form students differently; the school's own mission and campus ministry matter as much as its name.
- Academics and college outcomes - curriculum depth, AP/IB and dual-credit offerings, and published college placement; we link each school’s own profile rather than relying on a single ranking.
- Single-gender versus coed - California has strong all-boys and all-girls options in every major metro, and that choice shapes the school day more than almost anything else.
- Size and scale - enrollment from NCES 2023–24 data: a signal for campus and class size, not a quality measure.
- Admissions reality - 19 of the 103 schools in this directory hold source-reviewed HSPT records (linked in the HSPT section), and five more marquee schools outside the directory - Loyola, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bellarmine, Servite, and Mater Dei - have dedicated HSPT guides; for the rest, confirm the entrance-exam policy directly with the school.
- Location and community - the commute is the factor families most often underestimate; the region sections below keep the realistic choice set visible.
The statewide top 10
The schools at the top of most California shortlists - marquee Jesuit, Lasallian, and diocesan preps, the largest 9-12 enrollments in the state, and the deepest admissions coverage on this site. Numbered for convenience; order is a starting point, not a verdict.
All-girls Catholic high schools in Los Angeles
Los Angeles has one of the strongest all-girls Catholic school markets in the country - nine schools in and around the city, most of them order-run academies with long histories. If a single-gender girls' school is on your list, these are the options families compare:
More Catholic high schools worth knowing across California
The rest of the statewide conversation - order-run preps, regional standouts, and schools with dedicated HSPT guides on this site. The region sections further down list every school in the directory, including the small academies that are often the right fit for the right family.
A school's absence from the lists above is not a judgment - the region lists below include all 103 Catholic high schools in the California directory, and the smallest schools are often the right fit for the right family. Use the regions to see everything, then compare on the factors in the next section.
Catholic high schools in California at a glance
- Schools
- 103 serving high-school grades
- Cities
- 75 across California
- Students listed
- 58,378 across 103 schools reporting enrollment
- Average enrollment
- 567 students among schools with published NCES enrollment
- Grade span
- 81 schools serve grades 9–12 only; 22 also span lower grades
- Verified HSPT guides
- 33
Find schools by city
Applying to a Catholic high school in California?
Use the free diagnostic to establish an HSPT baseline before deciding how much preparation is necessary.
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Looking for Catholic schools near you?
If your search was for catholic schools near me, start with our Catholic schools near me guide — it turns the search into a local shortlist: find your state, narrow to your metro, then compare the real schools in your commute on HSPT requirements, scholarships, cost, and fit. For California specifically, pick a city above for the local list, then open each school page to confirm HSPT dates and admissions deadlines.
Catholic high schools in Los Angeles
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest Catholic archdiocese in the country, and its high schools run the full range the archdiocese itself describes: archdiocesan schools, parish schools, and private order-run preps. The city's most-discussed shortlist usually starts with Loyola High School (all-boys, Jesuit), Cathedral High School near downtown, and Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, alongside the all-girls set - Immaculate Heart, Marymount, Mayfield, and Flintridge Sacred Heart - and suburban standouts like Bishop Montgomery in Torrance, St. John Bosco in Bellflower, and Chaminade in West Hills. Single-gender options are unusually strong here, and Orange County's Mater Dei, Servite, and JSerra draw LA families too.
Catholic high schools in the Bay Area
The Bay Area's Catholic high schools spread across the Archdiocese of San Francisco (San Francisco, the Peninsula, and Marin), the Diocese of Oakland (the East Bay), and the Diocese of Santa Rosa (the North Bay). San Francisco families choose among St. Ignatius, Sacred Heart Cathedral, and Archbishop Riordan in the city; the Peninsula adds Junipero Serra in San Mateo, Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton, and Woodside Priory; and the East Bay runs from De La Salle and Carondelet in Concord to Bishop O'Dowd and Holy Names in Oakland, St. Mary's College High School in Berkeley, and Moreau Catholic in Hayward. Marin Catholic in Kentfield and Cardinal Newman in Santa Rosa anchor the North Bay. San Jose's schools - including Archbishop Mitty and Bellarmine - are covered in their own section below.
Catholic high schools in San Diego
The Diocese of San Diego's high schools cluster in the city and its southern suburbs: Cathedral Catholic is the largest Catholic high school in the county, Academy of Our Lady of Peace is the long-established all-girls option, St. Augustine is the all-boys diocesan school, and Mater Dei Catholic in Chula Vista serves the South Bay. Cristo Rey San Diego runs the corporate work-study model, in which students earn part of their tuition through paid internships. North County families will find St. Joseph Academy in San Marcos and Pamoosa Creek Academy in Valley Center in the directory below.
Catholic high schools in San Jose and the South Bay
The Diocese of San Jose is small in geography but holds two of the most selective Catholic high schools in the state: Archbishop Mitty (coed) and Bellarmine College Preparatory (all-boys, Jesuit), with Presentation High School as the all-girls option and Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School running the corporate work-study model. St. Thomas More School and the St. Francis Salesian school in Watsonville round out the South Bay.
Catholic high schools in Sacramento, Orange County, and the rest of California
Beyond the four big metros, California's Catholic high schools cluster around Sacramento, Orange County, and the Central Valley. The Sacramento area has Christian Brothers (all-boys, Lasallian), St. Francis (all-girls), Jesuit High School in Carmichael, and Cristo Rey Sacramento; Orange County adds Rosary Academy and JSerra in the directory, with Mater Dei in Santa Ana and Servite in Anaheim covered on their own school pages. Stockton, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Modesto anchor the Central Valley; Salinas, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara anchor the Central Coast; and Riverside, San Bernardino, and Palm Desert cover the Inland Empire, with Eureka serving the far north.
A note on the data: this directory is built from NCES Private School Locator records, so a handful of entries carry quirks worth knowing. Mater Dei Catholic High School in Chula Vista appears twice - once as the PK-12 system record and once as the standalone 9-12 high school; treat them as one school. JSerra Catholic High School similarly appears under both San Juan Capistrano and a legacy San Mateo record; the school is in San Juan Capistrano. St. Mary's High School in Stockton also appears under two slightly different records. Several well-known schools are not in the NCES directory at all - Loyola, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bellarmine, Servite, and Mater Dei in Santa Ana among them - and are covered on their own school pages. Many entries span lower grades (PK-12, KG-12, or 6-12 systems), and Nativity HS in San Francisco is a 9th-grade-only record; the grades shown are the full NCES span.
Largest Catholic high schools in California
Enrollment is a useful scale signal - it tells you how big the campus and, roughly, how big the classes are - but it is not a quality measure. These are the largest Catholic high school records in California by NCES 2023-24 enrollment. Some entries span lower grades (Chaminade is grades 6-12, Sacred Heart Atherton is PK-12), so among schools serving grades 9-12 only, St. Francis in Mountain View is the largest at about 1,777 students.
Catholic school resources for California families
How to compare Catholic high schools in California
There is no official ranking of California's Catholic high schools - and "best" lists from Niche and similar sites mix public and private schools and reshuffle every year. What families can do is compare schools on the factors that actually decide whether a school works for their child:
- Location and commute - California traffic makes the daily drive a real decision factor; most families end up choosing among two or three commutable schools.
- School identity and charism - Jesuit (Loyola, St. Ignatius, Bellarmine, Verbum Dei, Jesuit Sacramento), Lasallian (De La Salle, St. Mary's College HS, Christian Brothers, La Salle Pasadena), Holy Cross (Sacred Heart Cathedral, Moreau), Marianist (Riordan, Chaminade), Salesian (St. John Bosco, Salesian Richmond), Dominican (Flintridge Sacred Heart, Rosary), and diocesan schools all talk about formation, service, and academics differently.
- Single-gender versus coed - Los Angeles, the Bay Area, San Diego, and San Jose all offer all-boys, all-girls, and coed options; that choice shapes the school day more than almost anything else on this list.
- Enrollment size - the high schools in this directory range from small academies to 1,800-student campuses; smaller schools usually mean smaller classes and fewer course and athletic offerings.
- Entrance-exam policy - most California Catholic high schools use the HSPT, but confirm the policy, the date, and whether one sitting can be shared across the schools on your list.
- Tuition, aid, and scholarships - tuition varies widely across the state, most schools run financial aid, and HSPT scores sometimes factor into merit scholarship consideration.
- Programs and outcomes - AP and IB offerings, arts, athletics, and college placement; ask each school for its own profile rather than relying on a single ranking.
- Catholic identity - how faith, service, and campus ministry show up day to day differs a lot between schools; a visit and a conversation with current families will tell you more than any list.
Admissions deadlines and HSPT dates are worth collecting early - most California schools test in the fall of 8th grade, typically between November and January - but treat them as planning inputs, not reasons to pick one school over another. Choose on fit: where your child will be comfortable, challenged, and known.
Best Catholic schools: how to choose — Our choosing-a-school guide turns rankings into a real comparison, and the FAQ below covers the practical admissions questions California families ask.
How Catholic high school admissions work in California
California's Catholic high schools sit within 12 dioceses - the Archdioceses of Los Angeles and San Francisco plus the Dioceses of Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Stockton, Monterey, Fresno, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Orange - and each school runs its own admissions office. The shape of the process is similar statewide: research in 7th grade, apply and test in 8th grade, and receive decisions in the winter and spring.
Most schools require an application, prior school records or transcripts, and some form of entrance assessment; some add family interviews or placement testing. Tuition and financial-aid applications run on separate deadlines from the admissions application, so collect every deadline in one place early. Within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and several other dioceses, families applying to multiple schools should ask whether one HSPT sitting can be shared across their list.
A typical California Catholic high school admissions timeline
- Spring-summer of 7th grade: shortlist schools within commuting distance and note each one's entrance-test policy and tuition and aid dates.
- Fall of 8th grade: applications open, campuses hold open houses, and families register for entrance exams.
- November-January: entrance testing (HSPT or a school-specific exam) and most application deadlines.
- Winter-spring: financial-aid and scholarship applications are due; admission decisions arrive.
- Spring: enroll, complete placement paperwork, and confirm testing or waiting-list status at any remaining schools.
Which California Catholic high schools use the HSPT?
The HSPT (High School Placement Test) is the entrance exam most Catholic high schools across the country use, and California is one of the strongest HSPT states: the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and most diocesan schools use it as the common entrance exam, and the order-run preps use it too, usually with their own fall test dates. Catholic affiliation alone, though, does not establish which test a school requires - confirm with each school's admissions office.
Our honest status for California
We hold source-reviewed HSPT records for 19 of the 103 schools in this directory (linked below), plus dedicated HSPT guides for five marquee schools outside the NCES directory: Loyola, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bellarmine, Servite, and Mater Dei. For every other school, the test policy is unverified - ask the admissions office directly: "which entrance test does your school use this cycle, and what date?" before building a prep plan.
California schools with verified HSPT information
How to prepare for the HSPT in California
If your target schools do use the HSPT, start with the free diagnostic to establish a baseline, then build a study plan around the earliest test date on your list. These guides cover the practical questions California families ask:
What is the HSPT?
The sections, timing, and scoring of the exam most Catholic high schools use for admissions.
HSPT vs ISEE vs SSAT
Which entrance exam your target schools use, how they differ, and why it matters for prep.
When to start HSPT prep
How far ahead to start, based on your test date, school list, and how much prep your child can sustain.
How Catholic high schools use HSPT scores
Admissions, placement, scholarships, and why the same percentile can carry different weight at different schools.
Average HSPT scores and scholarships
What the average score means for admissions and how schools use scores for merit aid.
4-week HSPT study plan
A realistic one-month plan for families starting late but still wanting to move the score.
HSPT scholarships for California families
Some California Catholic high schools factor HSPT scores into merit scholarship consideration, but the policy differs by school and year - ask each school's admissions and financial-aid offices directly. The HSPT scholarships by city guide explains how to research it, and Bay Area families often start with Archbishop Mitty in San Jose plus the Bay Area scholarship guide.
Planning a Catholic high school application in California
Entrance-test rules are set by the school or diocese and can differ even within the same city, so check each school's admissions site before registering. Work this checklist regardless of which schools end up on your list:
- Confirm whether each school requires the HSPT or another entrance test for the current cycle - start with the verified HSPT records in our directory.
- Record application, transcript, recommendation, financial-aid, and scholarship deadlines separately for every school.
- Ask whether one HSPT sitting can be shared across the schools you are applying to, especially within the same archdiocese.
- Compare the daily commute, school size, academic programs, single-gender or coed structure, and tuition and aid - not just the name.
- Build HSPT prep around the earliest test date on your list, starting with a free diagnostic to set a baseline.
California Catholic high school admissions FAQ
How many Catholic high schools are in California?
Our directory lists 103 Catholic schools in California that serve high-school grades, across 75 cities. The count is built from NCES Private School Locator data (2023-24) plus school-verified additions; it includes campuses whose grade span also covers lower grades.
What is the best Catholic high school in California?
There is no official "best" Catholic high school in California, and lists from Niche, Yelp, and similar sites change with methodology and year. Family fit - location and commute, single-gender versus coed, size, academics, cost, and aid - matters far more. The curated top-10 at the top of this page organizes the schools families most often shortlist; the guide to choosing a Catholic school explains how to turn it into a real comparison.
What are the best Catholic high schools in Los Angeles?
The Los Angeles schools families most often shortlist are Loyola High School (all-boys, Jesuit), Cathedral High School, and Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks on the coed side; Immaculate Heart, Marymount, Mayfield, and Flintridge Sacred Heart among the all-girls options; and Bishop Montgomery, St. John Bosco, and Chaminade in the surrounding suburbs, with Mater Dei, Servite, and JSerra in nearby Orange County.
What are the best Catholic high schools in the Bay Area?
The Bay Area shortlist usually starts with St. Ignatius, Sacred Heart Cathedral, and Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco; Junipero Serra and Sacred Heart Schools on the Peninsula; De La Salle, Carondelet, Bishop O'Dowd, Moreau Catholic, and St. Mary's College High School in the East Bay; Marin Catholic in the North Bay; and, just south, San Jose's Archbishop Mitty and Bellarmine College Preparatory.
What are the best Catholic high schools in San Diego?
San Diego families most often compare Cathedral Catholic High School (the largest Catholic high school in the county), Academy of Our Lady of Peace (all-girls), St. Augustine High School (all-boys), and Mater Dei Catholic in Chula Vista, with Cristo Rey San Diego offering the corporate work-study model.
What are the best Catholic high schools in San Jose?
San Jose's Catholic high school set is Archbishop Mitty (coed), Bellarmine College Preparatory (all-boys, Jesuit), Presentation High School (all-girls), and Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School, with St. Thomas More School as a smaller option.
Which Catholic high schools in California are all-girls?
Los Angeles has the largest all-girls set - Immaculate Heart, Marymount, Notre Dame Academy, Bishop Conaty, Mayfield, Flintridge Sacred Heart, Ramona Convent, and Louisville, plus Rosary Academy in Fullerton. Elsewhere: Carondelet in Concord, Holy Names in Oakland, St. Mary's Academy in Inglewood, Presentation in San Jose, Academy of Our Lady of Peace in San Diego, and St. Francis in Sacramento. All-boys options include Loyola, Cathedral, Verbum Dei, Crespi, St. John Bosco, De La Salle, Bellarmine, Servite, Christian Brothers, and Jesuit in Carmichael.
Do California Catholic high schools require the HSPT?
Most do - California is one of the strongest HSPT states, and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and most diocesan schools use the HSPT as the common entrance exam - but the policy differs by school and by application year. We hold source-reviewed records for 19 of the 103 schools in this directory (linked in the HSPT section above) plus guides for Loyola, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bellarmine, Servite, and Mater Dei. For any other school, ask the admissions office directly. See how Catholic high schools use HSPT scores for how the test is typically weighed.
When is the HSPT given at California Catholic high schools?
Schools that use the HSPT typically test in the fall of 8th grade, most often between November and January, ahead of spring admission decisions; some order-run preps test earlier. Each school posts its own date, usually by early fall, so confirm with each admissions office and build prep around the earliest date on your list - the when to start HSPT prep guide walks through the timing.
How much does a Catholic high school in California cost?
Tuition varies widely - order-run preps and large diocesan schools generally cost more than smaller parish-affiliated schools - and most schools offer financial aid and merit scholarships, with HSPT scores sometimes factoring into merit consideration. The HSPT scores and scholarships guide explains how to research aid; current numbers come from each school's admissions and financial-aid offices, so ask directly.
Are Catholic high schools better academically?
There is no blanket answer. California's Catholic high schools post strong college-going rates, and the most selective preps - Loyola, St. Ignatius, Bellarmine, and Mitty among them - are highly competitive, but the honest comparison is against your child's actual options: curriculum depth, class size, support, and college outcomes at the specific schools you are choosing between. Ask each school for its own profile rather than relying on a ranking.
What is the largest Catholic high school in California?
By NCES 2023-24 enrollment, Chaminade College Preparatory in West Hills is the largest Catholic school record in the state at about 1,859 students across grades 6-12. Among schools serving grades 9-12 only, St. Francis High School in Mountain View is the largest at about 1,777, followed by Archbishop Mitty (1,770) and Cathedral Catholic in San Diego (1,669). NCES enrollment figures are updated annually and may differ from a school’s current headcount.
Applying to a Catholic high school in California?
Use the free diagnostic to establish an HSPT baseline before deciding how much preparation is necessary.
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Source: NCES Private School Locator 2023-24, plus school-verified directory additions (August 2026). HSPT records are reviewed against each school's own admissions site; enrollment figures come from NCES and may not reflect current-year numbers. Gender, charism, and founding details are drawn from school websites, diocese lists, and our verified school guides. Confirm admissions, tuition, and testing details directly with each school. School websites and phone numbers above were verified against school pages in August 2026. Read the methodology.