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
501	Lee County High	Public	9-12	1708 Nash Street	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 776-7541	1,459	74	19.8	98.9%	416 (28.5%)	336 (23.0%)	640 (43.9%)	12 (0.8%)	5 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	49 (3.4%)	$9,332			$595			$8,737	24.1	25.7	477	24		370256001080
502	Northern High	Public	9-12	4622 N Roxboro Street	Durham	27704	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-3956	1,281	70	18.3	99.8%	197 (15.4%)	498 (38.9%)	517 (40.4%)	23 (1.8%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (3.4%)	$10,719			$535			$10,184	23.5	10.9	586	84		370126000545
503	Harnett Central High	Public	9-12	2911 Harnett Central Rd	Angier	27501	Harnett County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 639-6161	1,522	62	24.4	56.1%	626 (41.1%)	281 (18.5%)	506 (33.2%)	10 (0.7%)	8 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	90 (5.9%)	$7,920			$580			$7,341	23.4	25.8	476	27		370201000884
504	TMSA Charlotte	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	9108 Mallard Creek Rd.	Charlotte	28262	Mecklenburg County	The Math and Science Academy of Charlott	Yes	No	No	Yes	(980) 321-7744	760	51	14.8	94.1%	30 (3.9%)	471 (62.0%)	83 (10.9%)	118 (15.5%)	6 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	51 (6.7%)								23.4	38.5	379	125		370039203365
505	Douglas Byrd High	Public	9-12	1624 Ireland Drive	Fayetteville	28304	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 484-8121	1,006	45	22.1	97.4%	120 (11.9%)	554 (55.1%)	220 (21.9%)	7 (0.7%)	21 (2.1%)	6 (0.6%)	78 (7.8%)	$10,626			$1,758			$8,868	23.1	25	485	20		370001100400
506	Mitchell High	Public	9-12	416 Ledger School Rd	Bakersville	28705	Mitchell County	Mitchell County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 766-3400	482	39	12.2	98.8%	396 (82.2%)	4 (0.8%)	68 (14.1%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.3%)	$11,982			$572			$11,410	23	29.5	455	51		370300001297
507	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%)	$21,178			$2,660			$18,517	22.9	28.3	465	42		370333003138
508	North Gaston High	Public	9-12	1133 Ratchford Road	Dallas	28034	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 922-5285	1,061	62	17.2	99.7%	468 (44.1%)	286 (27.0%)	226 (21.3%)	12 (1.1%)	3 (0.3%)	3 (0.3%)	63 (5.9%)	$8,686			$748			$7,938	22.8	32.5	424	84		370162000702
509	James Kenan High	Public	9-12	1241 Nc 24 & 50	Warsaw	28398	Duplin County	Duplin County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 293-4218	758	49	15.3	99.6%	111 (14.6%)	218 (28.8%)	404 (53.3%)	4 (0.5%)	5 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	15 (2.0%)	$9,706			$964			$8,742	22.6	19.1	522	13		370120000498
510	Onslow Virtual School	Public, Virtual, Alternative	1-12	200 Broadhurst Road	Jacksonville	28540	Onslow County	Onslow County Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(910) 989-2013	421	31	13.7	54.4%	202 (48.0%)	99 (23.5%)	67 (15.9%)	5 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	45 (10.7%)								22.1	37	394	116		370345003547

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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.