I live in a smaller red city and it's as bad at select schools as it is in SF. Generally public education is horrendous here and everyone with an above median income sends their kids to private school.
Is the smaller red city demographically wealthy/upper middle class like Ft Worth, or a demographically working class/poorer city like Dayton? Class/family wealth plays a MASSIVE impact on school district performance, because richer parents have more time and ability to intercede in their kids education.
When people mention San Francisco, it's better to compare the families sending kids to public schools with those in Dayton tbh. Parents who can afford to usually leave San Francisco when they start a family so they can send their kids to better public school districts.
Also, like I've said a thousand times on HN - the primary city by population and economy in the Bay Area is SAN JOSE, not San Francisco. San Francisco barely had any tech employment until the 2010s, lost most of it's banking+law employment in 2008, and the union port jobs in the 90s. The biggest employer in SF is the city.
When people mention San Francisco, it's better to compare the families sending kids to public schools with those in Dayton tbh. Parents who can afford to usually leave San Francisco when they start a family so they can send their kids to better public school districts.
Also, like I've said a thousand times on HN - the primary city by population and economy in the Bay Area is SAN JOSE, not San Francisco. San Francisco barely had any tech employment until the 2010s, lost most of it's banking+law employment in 2008, and the union port jobs in the 90s. The biggest employer in SF is the city.