North OC Times

Capistrano Unified School District had the highest enrollment among Orange County school districts, welcoming 49,315 students during the 2022-23 school year, according to the California Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2022-23 school year, 51% of them were boys, and 48.8% were girls.

The most represented ethnicity among Capistrano Unified School District students was white, accounting for 49.8% of the student population.

Among the 28 districts in Orange County, Santa Ana Unified School District ranked second in enrollment numbers with 42,211 students, while Garden Grove Unified School District welcomed 38,157 students and ranked third in the 2022-23 school year.

Capistrano Unified School District roughly covers schools within Orange County and has a main office in San Juan Capistrano.

In the previous school year, Capistrano Unified School District also had the highest number of students among Orange County districts.

In the last decade, enrollment in California elementary and secondary schools rose by at least 5%, while high school enrollment dropped 5%.

However, overall enrollment in California public schools is sliding, and the Public Policy Institute of California expects it to drop another 8% by the 2031-32 school year.

District	City (main office)	Total Enrollment
Capistrano Unified School District	San Juan Capistrano	49,315
Santa Ana Unified School District	Santa Ana	42,211
Garden Grove Unified School District	Garden Grove	38,157
Irvine Unified School District	Irvine	36,462
Anaheim Union High School District	Anaheim	27,706
Orange Unified School District	Orange	25,819
Saddleback Valley Unified School District	Mission Viejo	23,674
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District	Placentia	23,114
Tustin Unified School District	Tustin	21,694
Newport-Mesa Unified School District	Costa Mesa	17,727
Anaheim Elementary School District	Anaheim	15,120
Huntington Beach Union High School District	Huntington Beach	14,509
Fullerton Joint Union High School District	Fullerton	13,152
Fullerton Elementary School District	Fullerton	11,620
Orange County Department of Education	Costa Mesa	11,009
Los Alamitos Unified School District	Los Alamitos	8,906
Westminster	Westminster	8,144
Ocean View	Huntington Beach	6,801
Fountain Valley Elementary School District	Fountain Valley	5,968
Brea-Olinda Unified School District	Brea	5,811
Huntington Beach City Elementary School District	Huntington Beach	5,026
Magnolia Elementary School District	Anaheim	4,999
La Habra City Elementary School District	La Habra	4,352
Centralia Elementary School District	Buena Park	4,125
Buena Park Elementary School District	Buena Park	3,956
Cypress Elementary School District	Cypress	3,387
Laguna Beach Unified School District	Laguna Beach	2,440
Savanna Elementary School District	Anaheim	1,806