The majority of Long Beach is served by the Long Beach Unified School District. LBUSD also serves the city of Signal Hill, portions of Lakewood and Paramount, as well as Avalon and Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island. Other school districts in the area are ABC Unified School District and Paramount Unified School District.

Students in the LBUSD schools are required to wear uniforms, though parents are allowed to opt out of the policy. LBUSD has three high schools, Wilson Classical High School, Cabrillo High School, and Millikan High School, which require school uniforms as well.

LBUSD has been recognized with numerous awards and grants. The district won the second annual $1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education in 2003. In 2004, LBUSD received a second grant from The Broad Foundation for $1.14 million to continue their efforts to improve the organization of the district's schools. In 2004 the Broad Foundation also awarded 55 Long Beach Unified School District seniors $500,000 in scholarships as Broad Prize Scholars. LBUSD has gone on to receive multiple nominations for the award over the years.

There are a number of private schools in Long Beach as well, from elementary to junior high to high schools. Private schools include Pacific Christian School, Parkridge Private School, S W Longview Private School, Regency High School, St. Anthony High School and many more.

Long Beach is home to a few institutions of higher learning. California State University, Long Beach is the largest campus in the California State University system, and the second largest university in the state in terms of enrollment. Long Beach City College is a community college composed of two separate campuses. The Liberal Arts Campus is located on the residential area of Lakewood Village, while the Pacific Coast Campus is in Central Long Beach. DeVry University, Long Beach is located in the Kilroy Airport Center and offers trade training and job skills for students.