Best High Schools in North Carolina

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Find the best North Carolina high schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish North Carolina test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the EOC test scores by the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction. The most recent update was on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 641)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
261	The Franklin School of Innovation	Public, Charter	5-12	61 Innovation Dr	Asheville	28806	Buncombe County	The Franklin School of Innovation	Yes	No	No	Yes	(828) 318-8140	717	56	12.9	37.8%	567 (79.1%)	25 (3.5%)	73 (10.2%)	6 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (6.3%)								55.3	59.9	234	27		370036103332
262	Northeast Academy of Aerospace & AdvTech	Public, Charter	5-12	1413 W Ehringhaus St	Elizabeth City	27909	Pasquotank County	Northeast Academy of Aerospace & AdvTech	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 562-0653	760	43	17.8	33.7%	478 (62.9%)	155 (20.4%)	44 (5.8%)	12 (1.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (8.9%)								55.1	56.2	254	8		370039403360
263	Phoenix Academy - Primary Elementary Upper	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	7847 Clinard Farms Rd	High Point	27265	Guilford County	Phoenix Academy Inc	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	(336) 869-0079	1,583	76	20.8		496 (31.3%)	513 (32.4%)	263 (16.6%)	151 (9.5%)	7 (0.4%)	3 (0.2%)	150 (9.5%)								54.9	38.8	376	113		370010502522
264	Washington Early College High	Public	9-12	115 Middle Street	Creswell	27928	Washington County	Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 797-4766	72	2	36	95.8%	11 (15.3%)	51 (70.8%)	6 (8.3%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (4.2%)	$16,567			$514			$16,053	54.9	87.2	102	162		370480003442
265	Hendersonville High	Public	9-12	1 Bearcat Boulevard	Hendersonville	28791	Henderson County	Henderson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 697-4802	794	47	16.9	44.3%	471 (59.3%)	69 (8.7%)	189 (23.8%)	13 (1.6%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.6%)	46 (5.8%)	$8,966			$700			$8,266	54.9	56.4	250	15		370210000928
266	Jacksonville High	Public	9-12	1021 Henderson Dr	Jacksonville	28540	Onslow County	Onslow County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 989-2048	1,441	78	18.4	47.4%	634 (44.0%)	363 (25.2%)	268 (18.6%)	16 (1.1%)	4 (0.3%)	5 (0.3%)	151 (10.5%)	$9,620			$623			$8,997	54.3	53.5	277	11		370345001423
267	Patton High School	Public	9-12	701 Enola Road	Morganton	28655	Burke County	Burke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 433-3000	756	31	24.3	98.9%	530 (70.1%)	10 (1.3%)	165 (21.8%)	22 (2.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	27 (3.6%)	$9,266			$744			$8,523	54.2	66	200	67		370048002832
268	Cedar Ridge High	Public	9-12	1125 New Grady Brown Sch Rd	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 245-4000	1,148	47	24.2	47.2%	528 (46.0%)	117 (10.2%)	411 (35.8%)	20 (1.7%)	4 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (5.9%)	$10,912			$399			$10,512	54.2	54	273	5		370348002645
269	Western Alamance High	Public	9-12	1731 N Nc 87	Elon	27244	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 538-6020	1,138	62	18.2	49.5%	561 (49.3%)	224 (19.7%)	267 (23.5%)	21 (1.8%)	6 (0.5%)	3 (0.3%)	56 (4.9%)	$8,437			$759			$7,678	54.2	54.3	266	3		370003000019
270	Asheville High	Public	9-12	419 McDowell Street	Asheville	28803	Buncombe County	Asheville City Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 350-2500	1,221	89	13.7	41.3%	804 (65.8%)	173 (14.2%)	121 (9.9%)	12 (1.0%)	2 (0.2%)	19 (1.6%)	90 (7.4%)	$14,811			$688			$14,123	53.4	45.6	327	57		370027000070

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for North Carolina

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for NC student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Homeless Students Gifted and Talented Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on EOC Biology, EOC English II, EOC Math I, EOC Math III test scores released by the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.
These rankings were last updated on September 3, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

A high school boy doing homework on a laptop

Virtual Schools: The Future of Online Education

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

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.