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New Hanover High

Q: Is New Hanover High a good school?

New Hanover High ranks 461 st of 641 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

461^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 641 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 28% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

New Hanover High is a public high school in Wilmington, North Carolina, serving 1,515 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the New Hanover County Schools district, which is ranked 78 out of 242 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

New Hanover High has consistently ranked in the bottom half of North Carolina high schools, with a SchoolDigger rating that has fluctuated between 1 and 3 stars out of 5, indicating below-average performance compared to other high schools in the state. The school's four-year graduation rates have ranged from 82.3% to 88.7% over the past few years, slightly below the state and district averages. Proficiency rates on End-of-Course exams are generally lower than the district and state, particularly in Math I and Biology, though the school performs better on Math III and English II exams.

Nearby schools, such as Eugene Ashley High, SEA-Technical, and Wilmington Early College High, generally outperform New Hanover High on academic measures, with higher proficiency rates and statewide rankings. This may be due in part to the high percentage of free and reduced-price lunch recipients at New Hanover High, indicating a high-poverty student population that likely contributes to the school's lower academic performance.

1,437

Students ?

15.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,692

Per pupil spending ?

98.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1307 Market St
Wilmington, NC 28401-4331

(910) 251-6100

District: New Hanover County Schools

Feeder schools for New Hanover High:

Elementary:	A H Snipes Academy of Arts/Des
	Edwin A Alderman Elementary
	Forest Hills Global Elementary
	John J Blair Elementary
	More...
	R Freeman School of Engineering
	Sunset Park Elementary
	Wrightsboro Elementary
Middle:	Williston Middle

Racial breakdown:

White:

36.4%

African American:

31.8%

Hispanic:

26.5%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare New Hanover High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 62nd percentile in 2015 → 28th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (40% vs 53% meeting standards)

!Graduation rate below the North Carolina average (82% vs 88%)

!Ranking has slipped — down 34 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school40%

District avg56%

North Carolina avg53%

461^st of 641

North Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 28%▼ down 34 pts since 2015

From top 38% (2015) to bottom 28% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 8High Schools in the New Hanover County Schools

78^th of 242New Hanover County Schools among North Carolina districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	29.2	461 of 641	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.0	432 of 640	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.5	459 of 626	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.2	457 of 621	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	33.0	378 of 594	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	36.1	308 of 514	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.5	335 of 469	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	37.3	266 of 476	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	36.4	264 of 507	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2015	46.9	202 of 531	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2014	38.5	223 of 451	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2013	40.8	227 of 505	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2012	47.8	250 of 502	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2011	45.7	319 of 506	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2010	39.4	358 of 499	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	43.4	309 of 490	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2008	46.0	280 of 477	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2007	39.0	307 of 453	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2006	54.3	200 of 431	53.6%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	18.4	391 of 440	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.1	351 of 437	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.0	407 of 434	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.8	407 of 430	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	22.4	302 of 364	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.1	299 of 369	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.2	336 of 359	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	24.4	268 of 330	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.2	261 of 334	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.1	318 of 364	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.9	310 of 349	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	26.1	229 of 273	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.8	238 of 262	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	20.4	211 of 226	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	30.0	101 of 156	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.2	106 of 124	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.3	162 of 173	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	27.4	460 of 610	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.4	442 of 602	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.7	441 of 588	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.1	459 of 594	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.1	290 of 475	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	28.4	343 of 475	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.7	343 of 449	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	64.0	168 of 412	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	66.4	140 of 403	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	63.1	170 of 403	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	50.5	252 of 398	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	66.4	105 of 337	68.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	63.6	109 of 325	66.5%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	14.9	437 of 462	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.1	411 of 454	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.5	412 of 449	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	18.5	391 of 436	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.4	312 of 370	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.4	262 of 354	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.3	262 of 340	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	38.8	26 of 39	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.6	29 of 47	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	16.6	42 of 45	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	50.5	11 of 34	67.6%	★★★★☆
2021	23.1	8 of 9	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.8	36 of 44	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.4	15 of 17	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	18.5	537 of 606	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.4	490 of 613	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.7	511 of 597	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.9	495 of 544	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	23.1	339 of 432	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.9	302 of 446	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	11.3	394 of 424	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	28.6	441 of 601	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	33.7	399 of 607	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.5	440 of 602	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.7	435 of 585	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	32.9	283 of 481	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	39.2	268 of 488	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	26.7	337 of 463	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	49.9	128 of 253	49.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	17.7	233 of 261	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.6	170 of 249	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.4	173 of 226	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.4	143 of 195	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	7.1	183 of 185	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	30.5	257 of 352	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.4	283 of 349	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	56.1	239 of 542	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	63.3	211 of 553	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	54.6	236 of 537	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	47.2	272 of 534	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	54.2	159 of 439	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	57.1	148 of 444	66.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.8	184 of 427	56.9%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Gifted and Talented (2025)59th percentile+31 vs school

White (2025)56th percentile+28 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)49th percentile+21 vs school

Homeless (2025)33rd percentile+5 vs school

Special Education (2025)27th percentile~ school

Male (2025)27th percentile~ school

Female (2025)25th percentile-3 vs school

Disabled (2022)19th percentile-8 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)16th percentile-12 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)11th percentile-17 vs school

African American (2025)11th percentile-17 vs school

Hispanic (2025)5th percentile-23 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Math III71%+4 vs state

English II44%-16 vs state

Biology35%-13 vs state

Math I14%-20 vs state

★

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Schools Near New Hanover High

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOC Biology (2025)	EOC English II (2025)	EOC Math I (2025)	EOC Math III (2025)	EOG Mathematics (2025)			EOG Reading (2025)			EOG Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
New Hanover High	Public	9-12	1307 Market St	Wilmington	28401	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 251-6100	1,437	91	15.7	98.5%	523 (36.4%)	457 (31.8%)	381 (26.5%)	15 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	59 (4.1%)	29.2	461^st of 641 public high schools	28.1%		32	432^nd of 640 public high schools	32.5%	29	34.9	44.1	14.1	70.7								$10,692	$741	$9,950
Career Readiness Academy at Mosley PLC	Public	9-12	3702 Princess Place Drive	Wilmington	28405	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 251-6161	150	15	10.2	98.0%	46 (30.7%)	53 (35.3%)	40 (26.7%)	2 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (6.0%)	22.9	507^th of 641 public high schools	20.9%		28.3	465^th of 640 public high schools	27.3%	42	26.9	45.8	30.8	30.0								$21,178	$2,660	$18,517
Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington	Public, Charter	6-12	4100 Sunglow Drive	Wilmington	28405	New Hanover County	Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington	Yes	No	No	Yes	(910) 338-5258	362	35	10.2	98.9%	151 (41.7%)	96 (26.5%)	70 (19.3%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	39 (10.8%)	34.7	415^th of 641 public high schools	35.3%		46.4	321^st of 640 public high schools	49.8%	94	32.4	63.9	32.0	50.0	56.8	56.3	53.2	68.2	60.9	61.3	67.7
Isaac M Bear Early College High School	Public	9-12	630 MacMillan Avenue	Wilmington	28403	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 350-1387	260	11	24.7	25.8%	162 (62.3%)	10 (3.8%)	47 (18.1%)	23 (8.8%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	16 (6.2%)	95.2	21^st of 641 public high schools	96.7%		91.3	63^rd of 640 public high schools	90.2%	42	91.0	98.5	94.1	100.0								$9,555	$284	$9,271
John T Hoggard High	Public	9-12	4305 Shipyard Blvd	Wilmington	28403	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 350-2072	2,082	106	19.5	36.2%	1,358 (65.2%)	269 (12.9%)	315 (15.1%)	37 (1.8%)	4 (0.2%)	1 (0.0%)	98 (4.7%)	59.6	229^th of 641 public high schools	64.3%		66.3	198^th of 640 public high schools	69.1%	31	50.1	70.3	39.3	75.9								$8,673	$593	$8,080
J. C. Roe Center	Public	6-12	2875 Worth Drive	Wilmington	28412	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 395-4472	14	12	1.2	78.6%	1 (7.1%)	5 (35.7%)	3 (21.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (35.7%)								(n/a)		14.3					6.7			6.7	6.7	$34,575	$1,445	$33,130
North Brunswick High	Public	9-12	114 Scorpion Drive	Leland	28451	Brunswick County	Brunswick County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 371-2261	1,620	89	18.1	99.8%	809 (49.9%)	314 (19.4%)	352 (21.7%)	3 (0.2%)	13 (0.8%)	4 (0.2%)	125 (7.7%)	43.8	346^th of 641 public high schools	46.0%		45.1	332^nd of 640 public high schools	48.1%	14	55.0	54.5	29.8	62.4								$10,133	$1,075	$9,059
Emsley A Laney High	Public	9-12	2700 N College Rd	Wilmington	28405	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 350-2089	2,243	111	20.2	95.3%	1,243 (55.4%)	409 (18.2%)	415 (18.5%)	40 (1.8%)	4 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	132 (5.9%)	42.9	351^st of 641 public high schools	45.2%		47.4	315^th of 640 public high schools	50.8%	36	38.9	60.2	32.2	65.9								$8,690	$533	$8,157
Wilmington Early College High	Public	9-12	4500 Blue Clay Rd	Castle Hayne	28429	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 362-7789	270	13	20.6	98.9%	146 (54.1%)	57 (21.1%)	48 (17.8%)	8 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.1%)	84.2	114^th of 641 public high schools	82.2%		88.3	95^th of 640 public high schools	85.2%	19	62.5	86.0	70.0	96.9								$8,673	$273	$8,400
SEA-Technical	Public	9-12	5301 Sidbury Road	Castle Hayne	28429	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 530-6300	227	17	13.6	98.7%	144 (63.4%)	26 (11.5%)	38 (16.7%)	5 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (6.2%)	89.1	86^th of 641 public high schools	86.6%		87	104^th of 640 public high schools	83.8%	18	75.0	83.3	85.7	98.4								$13,361	$253	$13,108

Frequently Asked Questions about New Hanover High

What district is New Hanover High in?

New Hanover County Schools

How many students attend New Hanover High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,437 students attended New Hanover High.

What schools feed into New Hanover High?

New Hanover High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : A H Snipes Academy of Arts/Des
Elementary : Edwin A Alderman Elementary
Elementary : Forest Hills Global Elementary
Elementary : John J Blair Elementary
Elementary : R Freeman School of Engineering
Elementary : Sunset Park Elementary
Elementary : Wrightsboro Elementary
Middle : Williston Middle

Is New Hanover High a good school?

New Hanover High ranks 461^st of 641 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of New Hanover High?

Students at New Hanover High are 36% White, 32% African American, 27% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

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Schools in Wilmington, NC

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.