&gt; People at work talking about paying [my salary * 0.5] for their kid&#x27;s private school. Sheesh...<p>Before you judge too much, consider that some (not all) of those folks might be paying that because they live in an area that has failing public schools, and they may be living in that area because they can&#x27;t afford housing in an area with better public schools.  Many middle to upper-middle class people find themselves faced with that choice.<p>In California overall, aside from anomalies like San Francisco itself, wealthier cities correlate with better public schools, and the correlation is &gt; linear.