About this guide
Santa Barbara High Schools is an independent, informational resource for families, students, and educators researching high schools in and around Santa Barbara, California. We are not affiliated with any school, district, or the City of Santa Barbara.
What we cover
We profile schools serving high-school grades (9–12) that are physically in or immediately adjacent to the city of Santa Barbara — including the three comprehensive public high schools, public alternative and continuation programs, and the area’s independent and faith-based private schools.
A note on geography
A couple of well-known schools sit just outside the city limits but are commonly grouped with Santa Barbara, so we include them and flag the distinction: Dos Pueblos High School is in neighboring Goleta, and Cate School is about eleven miles southeast in Carpinteria.
Data sources
Profiles are compiled from official school and district websites (sbunified.org and individual private-school sites), Wikipedia, NCES, and education directories such as Niche, U.S. News, GreatSchools, PrivateSchoolReview, and BoardingSchoolReview, cross-checked in 2026. Enrollment figures are primarily 2023–24 for public schools and the most recent reported figures for private schools. Where a detail could not be confirmed, we leave it blank rather than guess.
Always confirm current details — tuition, leadership, enrollment, and deadlines — directly with each school.