These Sacramento public high schools send the most students to college. See where yours lands

About two thirds of students who recently finished public high school in the Sacramento region attended a two- or four-year college within a year of graduation, with several high schools boasting college-going rates above 85%, according to California Department of Education data released in late fall.

Among the roughly 53,400 students in the four-county area who graduated in the 2018-19 or 2019-20 school year, almost 40% went to a community college, about 11% went to a California State University campus, and 6% went to a University of California campus. Another 10% went to a private or out-of-state college.

However, the pandemic took a toll. The proportion of Sacramento-area graduates attending any college within 12 months of finishing high school dropped from about 67.5% for the 2018-19 class to 65% for the 2019-20 class.

School districts located in wealthier, suburban areas were much more likely to send a higher proportion of graduates to college. Rocklin Unified, Roseville Joint Unified, Davis Joint Unified, Folsom Cordova Unified, Elk Grove Unified, El Dorado Unified and Natomas Unified all immediately sent at least 70% of graduates to college.

The public high schools with the highest college-going rates were in Granite Bay, Rocklin, El Dorado Hills, Folsom and Natomas. College-attendance rates at private institutions such as Jesuit High School in Arden Arcade are not included in the state data.

Some schools in economically disadvantaged areas also sent a large majority of students to college, including Sacramento Charter High and West Campus, both located in South Sacramento.

Other highlights from the state data:

Davis, West Campus, Natomas Charter and Sacramento Charter high schools sent the highest proportion of graduates to UC campuses.

Leroy Greene Academy, Sacramento Charter, West Campus and Luther Burbank high schools sent the highest proportion of graduates to CSUcampuses.

Futures High, Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep, Del Campo and Woodcreek high schools sent the highest proportion of graduates to California community colleges.

Oak Ridge, Granite Bay and Vista Del Lago high schools sent the highest proportion of graduates to out-of-state four year colleges.

The California Department of Education data is drawn from two sources. First, high schools must tell the state which students graduate. Second, the National Student Clearinghouse collects enrollment data from public and private colleges throughout the nation. CDE uses student-level data to match those two datasets and come up with a college-going rate.