Summary:
Zip code 28574 contains one high school, Richlands High, serving grades 9–12 in Richlands, NC, as part of Onslow County Schools. Because this is the only high school in the area, there are no local schools to compare it against, so the most useful context comes from district and statewide averages.
Richlands High has a notable strength: its graduation rate is 93.1%, higher than both the Onslow County average of 91.5% and the North Carolina average of 88.8%. However, academic proficiency in core subjects is mostly below district and state levels. In the 2025–2026 school year, only 39.6% of students were proficient in Biology, 53.9% in English II, 33.2% in Math I, and 63.3% in Math III. The most concerning area is Math I, where about two out of three students are not proficient. Biology also dropped sharply from 50.9% the previous year to 39.6% in the most recent year, a decline that moves the school well behind district and state averages. The school's statewide ranking has fallen from the 53rd percentile in 2023–2024 to the 27th percentile in 2025–2026, placing it in the bottom third of North Carolina high schools.
Chronic absenteeism affects 22.2% of students—roughly one in five—which is slightly better than the state average of 24.2% but still an ongoing challenge. About 43.4% of students receive free or reduced lunch, indicating a moderate level of economic disadvantage. Per-student spending is listed at $9,531, but no current comparison is available, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1. Overall, Richlands High succeeds in graduating students at a high rate, yet many students are not reaching proficiency in foundational subjects, especially Math I and Biology. Improving those areas would help align the school's strong completion outcomes with better academic achievement.
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