Thousand Oaks landed the No. 6 spot among U.S. cities with the best public schools, according to Niche's 2026 national rankings.
The city earned an A+ public schools grade in the ranking, which Stacker highlighted in an Oct. 9 article identifying the top 20 American cities for public education. Niche's list evaluates cities based on a weighted average of grades assigned to each area's public schools, factoring in state test scores, graduation rates, SAT and ACT scores, teacher quality and reviews from students and parents.
The top 11 cities earned an A+ grade. The remaining nine earned an A.
Conejo Valley Unified School District serves much of Thousand Oaks through campuses including Thousand Oaks High School and Westlake High School, along with elementary and middle schools throughout the district.
CVUSD Board of Education Trustee Karen Sylvester referenced the recognition at what appears to have been the board's Oct. 21 meeting, based on the district's published schedule. The NPHS Panther Prowler, the Newbury Park High School student newspaper, reported Sylvester's remarks. She described the ranking as placing CVUSD sixth "out of 20 best school districts in California," though the Stacker and Niche data rank cities nationally, not state school districts.
"I want to thank everyone who has made this possible, thanks to our faculty members, students and families," Sylvester said, according to the Panther Prowler.
Stacker noted that most of the top-ranked places are smaller suburban communities and college towns rather than major metro areas, with populations ranging from just over 100,000 to more than 450,000. Thousand Oaks has a population of 125,205, according to Niche's figures.
CVUSD Superintendent Mark McLaughlin leads the district. The board meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month at the CVUSD Board Room inside Conejo Valley High School, 1402 E. Janss Road in Thousand Oaks. The next regular meeting falls on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
