County directory · California · 2026–27

School districts in Stanislaus County, CA

Stanislaus County has 25 regular public school districts, enrolling 100,356 students in 2024–25. The largest is Modesto City High (15,443 students, 15% of the county), followed by Modesto City Elementary and Ceres Unified. 24 of the 25 offer kindergarten. California's kindergarten cutoff: turn 5 by September 1.

The 25 districts, largest first

School districts in Stanislaus County, CA by 2024–25 enrollment
District and officeGradesSchoolsStudentsKindergartenDistrict office contact
Modesto City High
426 Locust St., Modesto
6–12815,443—
(209) 574-1500
Modesto City Elementary
426 Locust St., Modesto
K–122614,4612,139
(209) 574-1500
Ceres Unified
2503 Lawrence St., Ceres
K–122413,6921,250
(209) 556-1500
Turlock Unified
1574 East Canal, Turlock
also serves Merced County
K–121413,4881,241
(209) 667-0633
Sylvan Union Elementary
605 Sylvan Ave., Modesto
K–8137,9771,005
(209) 574-5000
Patterson Joint Unified
510 Keystone Blvd., Patterson
also serves Santa Clara County
K–12116,070539
(209) 895-7700
Oakdale Joint Unified
168 South Third Ave., Oakdale
K–1295,118455
(209) 848-4884
Stanislaus Union Elementary
2410 Janna Ave., Modesto
K–863,329430
(209) 529-9546
Newman-Crows Landing Unified
1223 Main St., Newman
K–1283,085278
(209) 862-2933
Riverbank Unified
6715 Seventh St., Riverbank
K–1262,960319
(209) 869-2538
Empire Union Elementary
116 North McClure Rd., Modesto
K–862,803386
(209) 521-2800
Hughson Unified
7448 Fox Rd., Hughson
K–1262,239188
(209) 883-4428
Salida Union Elementary
4801 Sisk Rd., Salida
K–852,041298
(209) 545-0339
Waterford Unified
219 North Reinway Ave. Bldg. 2, Waterford
K–1251,725172
(209) 874-1809
Denair Unified
3460 Lester Rd., Denair
K–1251,301125
(209) 632-7514
Hart-Ransom Union Elementary
3920 Shoemake Ave., Modesto
K–1221,225157
(209) 523-9996
Keyes Union
4801 Lucinda Ave., Keyes
K–1231,065141
(209) 669-2921
Stanislaus County Office of Education
1100 H St., Modesto
K–124781110
(209) 238-1700
Chatom Union
7201 Clayton Rd., Turlock
K–82558112
(209) 664-8505
Roberts Ferry Union Elementary
101 Roberts Ferry Rd, Waterford
K–8219930
(209) 874-2331
Valley Home Joint Elementary
13231 Pioneer Ave., Valley Home
also serves San Joaquin County
K–8119125
(209) 847-0117
Shiloh Elementary
6633 Paradise Rd., Modesto
K–8218735
(209) 522-2261
Paradise Elementary
3361 California Ave., Modesto
K–8217718
(209) 524-0184
Gratton Elementary
4500 South Gratton Rd, Denair
K–8213516
(209) 632-0505
Knights Ferry Elementary
12726 Dent St., Knights Ferry
K–8110621
(209) 881-3382

Stanislaus County at a glance

Together the 25 districts run 173 schools from offices in 14 towns. The smallest by enrollment is Knights Ferry Elementary, with 106 students; the median Stanislaus County district has 2,041. By grade span: 13 K–12, 11 K–8 and 1 6–12. Without kindergarten: Modesto City High (6–12).

Kindergarten in 2024–25, counting the 24 districts that report a K grade: 9,490 children. The biggest kindergarten was Modesto City Elementary's, with 2,139; Ceres Unified had 1,250, and the smallest, Gratton Elementary, had 16.

Stanislaus County holds 25 of California's 987 regular districts (2.5%) and 1.9% of its 5,201,297 public school students, ranking 12th of 58 counties by number of districts and 15th by enrollment. By size, 7 enroll 5,000 or more, 10 enroll 1,000 to 4,999 and 8 have fewer than 1,000 students, and the average school here has about 580 students.

3 districts reach past the county line: Turlock Unified (into Merced County), Patterson Joint Unified (into Santa Clara County) and Valley Home Joint Elementary (into San Joaquin County).

Which district am I in?

Each district draws its own attendance zones, so your home address decides it, and with 3 of Stanislaus County's districts crossing county lines the county alone won't. There is no address lookup here; ask the district. Each one's own site:

Modesto City High · Modesto City Elementary · Ceres Unified · Turlock Unified · Sylvan Union Elementary · Patterson Joint Unified · Oakdale Joint Unified · Stanislaus Union Elementary · Newman-Crows Landing Unified · Riverbank Unified · Empire Union Elementary · Hughson Unified · Salida Union Elementary · Waterford Unified · Denair Unified · Hart-Ransom Union Elementary · Keyes Union · Stanislaus County Office of Education · Chatom Union · Roberts Ferry Union Elementary · Valley Home Joint Elementary · Shiloh Elementary · Paradise Elementary · Gratton Elementary · Knights Ferry Elementary

What grade will my child be in?

↓ Tap Calculate to see the grade
Most US states use a September 1 cutoff. Year-stamped for the 2026–27 school year.

More in California

Every California district by county · California kindergarten cutoff

More California county directories: Contra Costa County (19) · Placer County (15) · Sacramento County (13) · San Bernardino County (33) · San Diego County (42) · San Joaquin County (15)

Sources

District list, grades, school counts and websites: NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) LEA Universe Directory, SY 2025-26 (preliminary, v0a), published July 1, 2026. Regular public districts only (NCES LEA types 1 and 2); charter-only, state-run and regional service agencies are not listed.
Enrollment: NCES CCD LEA Membership, SY 2024-25 (v1a), published December 29, 2025 — the newest year NCES has released.
Counties: NCES EDGE Public LEA Geocodes, SY 2024-25 (district office location) and NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files 2025 (grf25_lea_county) (counties each district boundary covers).
Downloaded October 20, 2026. Spot something off? Email [email protected].