Best High Schools in Zip Code 28031

There is one high school in zip code 28031: William Amos Hough High, a large public school in Cornelius, NC serving grades 9–12 with about 2,518 students. It is part of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and this school is a clear standout — ranked in the 81st percentile of all North Carolina high schools with a 4-star rating. Its graduation rate of 94.9% far exceeds the district (87.9%) and state (88.8%), and its chronic absenteeism rate of 18.2% is much lower than CMS’s 26.8% and North Carolina’s 24.2%. While being the only high school in the zip code means no local comparisons are possible, it clearly performs well above its district and state benchmarks.

On End-of-Course tests, William Amos Hough High dramatically outperforms both the district and state in every subject. In the most recent data, proficiency rates stand at 81.8% in Biology, 86.8% in English II, 61.6% in Math I, and 90.9% in Math III — while district and state averages hover in the 42–69% range. That means Hough students score roughly 20 to 30 percentage points higher than their peers statewide. The school also improved from the prior year in every subject, with gains between 3.2 and 7.6 points, and its state ranking rose from 138th to 129th even as the number of ranked schools grew. This consistent upward trend suggests a positive trajectory for the school.

One relative weak spot is Math I, where proficiency is 61.6% — still far above the state’s 42.1%, but notably lower than the school’s own Math III score of 90.9%. That gap indicates students struggle more with introductory algebra than with advanced math, a pattern worth attention. With only 20.1% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, the school serves a comparatively affluent population, and per-student spending data from 2018–2019 was $7,994 — not exceptionally high, but the school achieves strong outcomes regardless. For parents, William Amos Hough High is a high-performing, steadily improving school that provides an excellent academic environment, strong graduation prospects, and lower absenteeism than the surrounding district and state.