Best High Schools in North Carolina

A teacher and two students give a thumbs-up in a classroom.

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 4, 2024.

Be the first to know when we post new test scores and rankings!

School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 640)	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 (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Rank (2023)	Rank Change from 2023	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)
370030000081	441	Avery County High	Public	9-12	401 Avery County High School R	Newland	28657	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 733-0151	613	40	15.3	58.4%	495 (80.8%)	5 (0.8%)	82 (13.4%)	7 (1.1%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	20 (3.3%)	$10,821			$537			$10,285	31.1	40.2	351	90
370495001989	442	Wilkes Central High School	Public	9-12	1179 Moravian Falls Rd	Wilkesboro	28697	Wilkes County	Wilkes County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 667-5277	752	50	15	53.7%	414 (55.1%)	80 (10.6%)	195 (25.9%)	5 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (7.6%)	$9,054			$938			$8,116	30.9	38	371	71
370001201497	443	Farmville Central High	Public	9-12	3308 E Wilson Street	Farmville	27828	Pitt County	Pitt County Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 753-5138	789	46	17.1	99.4%	212 (26.9%)	450 (57.0%)	74 (9.4%)	13 (1.6%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	38 (4.8%)	$9,488			$1,038			$8,450	30.9	27.8	453	10
370354002537	444	Pasquotank County High	Public	9-12	1064 Northside Road	Elizabeth City	27909	Pasquotank County	Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 337-6880	628	39	15.9	99.5%	238 (37.9%)	268 (42.7%)	76 (12.1%)	7 (1.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (5.9%)	$9,702			$806			$8,896	30.6	18.2	520	76
370201002733	445	Overhills High	Public	9-12	2495 Ray Road	Spring Lake	28390	Cumberland County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 436-1436	1,971	103	19	46.7%	621 (31.5%)	676 (34.3%)	404 (20.5%)	24 (1.2%)	19 (1.0%)	11 (0.6%)	216 (11.0%)	$7,867			$653			$7,214	30.6	39.7	355	90
370237001029	446	South Johnston High	Public	9-12	10381 US Hwy 301 S	Four Oaks	27524	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 894-3146	1,331	77	17.3	56.4%	684 (51.4%)	155 (11.6%)	426 (32.0%)	5 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	58 (4.4%)	$9,204			$547			$8,657	30.6	28.3	448	2
370393002102	447	Purnell Swett High	Public	9-12	11344 Deep Branch Road	Pembroke	28372	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 521-3253	1,608	93	17.3	99.6%	46 (2.9%)	159 (9.9%)	71 (4.4%)	2 (0.1%)	1,285 (79.9%)	1 (0.1%)	44 (2.7%)	$10,198			$1,489			$8,709	30.5	33.6	408	39
370261001094	448	South Lenoir High	Public	9-12	3355 Old Hwy 11 South	Deep Run	28525	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 568-6161	771	48	16.2	99.0%	442 (57.3%)	114 (14.8%)	183 (23.7%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	27 (3.5%)	$10,185			$1,319			$8,866	30.1	23.4	493	45
370192002042	449	Southwest Guilford High	Public	9-12	4364 Barrow Road	High Point	27265	Guilford County	Guilford County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 819-2970	1,662	90	18.3	50.8%	501 (30.1%)	660 (39.7%)	224 (13.5%)	182 (11.0%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	92 (5.5%)	$8,584			$557			$8,027	30.1	30.4	431	18
370003000207	450	Walter M Williams High	Public	9-12	1307 S Church Street	Burlington	27215	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 570-6161	1,343	72	18.5	57.9%	390 (29.0%)	436 (32.5%)	379 (28.2%)	45 (3.4%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	90 (6.7%)	$8,479			$604			$7,875	30	29.2	438	12

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when we update our rankings!

Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for North Carolina

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

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 4, 2024, 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

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

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.