Total enrollment
9,116
-242 (-3%) vs SY 2020-21
18 schools in Berkeley Unified
California · 9,116 students · 1 city
Berkeley Unified runs the local public-school system inside California: 18 K-12 schools serving roughly 9,116 students, with 13 elementary, 3 middle, and 2 high.
4-year change in Berkeley Unified
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
17
+1 (+6%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How Berkeley Unified ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In California | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.4% | #58 of 534 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 9,116 | #167 of 587 | #1,016 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 17 | #121 of 587 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.0:1 | #81 of 587 | #8,097 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 28.9% | #497 of 587 | #6,728 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 73.6% | #14 of 530 | #116 of 6,853 |
Districts need at least 2 schools and 500 students to be ranked. Test proficiency is ranked within the state only, since each state gives a different test. Each rank links to the full list.
Inside Berkeley Unified
State test results across the district's 15 scored schools run from Ruth Acty Elementary at 86.3% proficient to Longfellow Arts and Technology Middle at 56.4%, a gap of 29.9 points. That is the 215th widest gap among 458 California districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 16 district schools that reported both years went from 9,779 to 9,097 students (down 7%) and from 486 to 477 full-time teachers (down 2%), as of 2024-25.
Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across each school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25; schools with fewer than 100 students and schools serving specialized populations are left out. Staffing figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data and count only schools that reported students and teachers in both years.
| Name | City | Level | Grades | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley High | Berkeley | High | 09-12 | 3,218 |
| Martin Luther King Middle | Berkeley | Middle | 06-08 | 851 |
| Willard Middle | Berkeley | Middle | 06-08 | 596 |
| Malcolm X Elementary | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 469 |
| Longfellow Arts and Technology Middle | Berkeley | Middle | 06-08 | 462 |
| Ruth Acty Elementary | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 410 |
| Berkeley Arts Magnet at Whittier | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 407 |
| Washington Elementary | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 401 |
| Rosa Parks Environmental Science | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 393 |
| Sylvia Mendez Elementary | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 379 |
| Thousand Oaks Elementary | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 337 |
| John Muir Elementary | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 293 |
| Cragmont Elementary | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 290 |
| Emerson Elementary | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 283 |
| Oxford Elementary at West Campus | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-05 | 254 |
| Berkeley Technology Academy | Berkeley | High | 10-12 | 54 |
| Berkeley Independent Study K-8 | Berkeley | Elementary | KG-08 | 19 |
| Berkeley Special Education Preschool | Berkeley | Elementary | M-M | · |
About Berkeley Unified
Berkeley Unified is a rural-scale California school district running 18 schools with combined enrollment near 9,116.
In terms of grade levels, Berkeley Unified covers 13 elementary, 3 middle, and 2 high schools.
Average enrollment per school in Berkeley Unified is about 506, meaningfully below the California average of roughly 578.
Trend over the past 4 years. Across the same 4-year window, public-school enrollment fell 3%: 9,358 students in SY 2020-21 versus 9,116 in SY 2024-25. Berkeley Unified now counts 17 public schools, up from 16 in SY 2020-21.
On allk12, the community for Berkeley Unified discusses school events, board meetings, and seasonal calendars. Parents, students, and educators in the area can post or comment.