It is a California Distinguished School and is home to various California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championship athletic programs; it is also home to numerous academic clubs, such as Speech and Debate, Mock Trial, and Academic Decathlon.

Most pupils come from nearby Yorba Linda, California, Anaheim and east Placentia.

Esperanza is ranked in the top 25% of Orange County high schools.

In 2019, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school #330 within California and #2,154 in the United States.

Previously, Esperanza was ranked 860 of the "Top 1,300 U.S. High Schools" in MSNBC/Newsweek's 2008 list.