Carrillo Ranch Elementary

Located at 43-775 Madison St., in Indio, California, Carrillo Ranch Elementary is a mid-tier elementary school that works with 459 students (grades K through 5), run under Desert Sands Unified.

Desert Sands Unified comprises 34 schools with combined enrollment of 25,613 students; Carrillo Ranch Elementary is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Carrillo Ranch Elementary records that 91% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. The remainder reads as 3% White, 2% Asian. By comparison, Riverside County as a whole is about 51% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, Carrillo Ranch Elementary records 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 22.4:1. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 89% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Riverside County runs at roughly 74%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Carrillo Ranch Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 26.4%; this one delivers 30.1%.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Riverside County indicate median household earnings sit near $93,074, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. Carrillo Ranch Elementary is one of 543 public schools in Riverside County (combined enrollment of about 424,872 students).

Nearest neighbor: Indio Middle, around 0.8 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Carrillo Ranch Elementary comes 3rd of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 21.7%.

Carrillo Ranch Elementary operates from a commuter-belt location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Carrillo Ranch Elementary has edged down 29%, going from 647 students in 2018 to 459 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.