Total enrollment
8,616
-1,298 (-13%) vs SY 2020-21
18 schools in Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
California · 8,616 students · 2 cities
Across the district, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified runs 18 public K-12 schools teaching roughly 8,616 California students (about 479 per school).
4-year change in Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
15
-1 (-6%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How Santa Monica-Malibu Unified ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In California | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.8% | #55 of 534 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 8,616 | #177 of 587 | #1,087 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 15 | #156 of 587 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.6:1 | #65 of 587 | #7,988 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 31.0% | #489 of 587 | #6,527 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.6% | #104 of 530 | #792 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 Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
State test results across the district's 13 scored schools run from Franklin Elementary at 83.6% proficient to Will Rogers Elementary at 49.4%, a gap of 34.2 points. That is the 185th widest gap among 458 California districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 14 district schools that reported both years went from 10,300 to 8,360 students (down 19%) and from 486 to 445 full-time teachers (down 8%), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Monica High | Santa Monica | High | 09-12 | 2,588 |
| Lincoln Middle | Santa Monica | Middle | 06-08 | 914 |
| John Adams Middle | Santa Monica | Middle | 06-08 | 806 |
| Franklin Elementary | Santa Monica | Elementary | KG-05 | 597 |
| Grant Elementary | Santa Monica | Elementary | KG-05 | 562 |
| Roosevelt Elementary | Santa Monica | Elementary | KG-05 | 552 |
| Will Rogers Elementary | Santa Monica | Elementary | KG-05 | 522 |
| Edison Elementary | Santa Monica | Elementary | KG-05 | 404 |
| Malibu High | Malibu | High | 09-12 | 387 |
| McKinley Elementary | Santa Monica | Elementary | KG-05 | 362 |
| Malibu Middle | Malibu | Middle | 06-08 | 256 |
| Malibu Elementary | Malibu | Elementary | KG-05 | 242 |
| Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) | Santa Monica | Elementary | KG-08 | 216 |
| Webster Elementary | Malibu | Elementary | KG-05 | 178 |
| Olympic High (Continuation) | Santa Monica | High | 09-12 | 30 |
| John Muir Elementary | Santa Monica | Elementary | KG-05 | 0 |
| PBL High | Santa Monica | Combined | M-M | · |
| Santa Monica-Malibu Preschool | Santa Monica | Elementary | M-M | · |
About Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified runs 18 public schools across California, collectively teacheing roughly 8,616 students.
In terms of grade levels, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified covers 11 elementary, 3 middle, 3 high schools, and 1 combined or other.
On a per-school basis, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified runs about 479 students per school, 17% meaningfully below the state mean of roughly 578.
Looking at the last 4 years. Total public-school enrollment in Santa Monica-Malibu Unified has declined 13% since SY 2020-21, moving from about 9,914 students to 8,616. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified now counts 15 public schools, down from 16 in SY 2020-21.
On this page, the community for Santa Monica-Malibu Unified discusses open enrollment windows, redistricting talk, and busing logistics. Parents, students, and educators in the area can post or comment.