Best high schools in the Asheville metro area

According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.

To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.

Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.

Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.

With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Asheville metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.

You may also like: Best private high schools in the Asheville metro area

Ground Picture // Shutterstock

1 / 25

#25. Haywood Christian Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Waynesville, NC
- Enrollment: 150 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+

maroke // Shutterstock

2 / 25

#24. West Henderson High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Henderson County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 1,087 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+

Tyler Olson // Shutterstock

3 / 25

#23. Buncombe County Middle College

- School type: Public School
- Location: Buncombe County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 49 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+

Studio KIWI // Shutterstock

4 / 25

#22. Brevard High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Transylvania County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 751 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+

Anna Jurkovska // Shutterstock

5 / 25

#21. Polk County Early College

- School type: Public School
- Location: Polk County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 84 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+

Roman Kosolapov // Shutterstock

6 / 25

#20. A.C. Reynolds High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Buncombe County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 1,133 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+

Daniel Hoz // Shutterstock

7 / 25

#19. School of Inquiry & Life Sciences

- School type: Public School
- Location: Asheville City Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 344 (25:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+

DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock

8 / 25

#18. Hendersonville High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Henderson County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 784 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

maroke // Shutterstock

9 / 25

#17. Asheville High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Asheville City Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 1,166 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

LStockStudio // Shutterstock

10 / 25

#16. The Franklin School of Innovation

- School type: Public School
- Location: Asheville, NC
- Enrollment: 749 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

You may also like: Best public high schools in the Asheville metro area

ImageFlow // Shutterstock

11 / 25

#15. Haywood Early College High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Haywood County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 176 (25:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

LStockStudio // Shutterstock

12 / 25

#14. Polk County High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Polk County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 579 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

panitanphoto // Shutterstock

13 / 25

#13. Mount Pisgah Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Candler, NC
- Enrollment: 106 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

LBeddoe // Shutterstock

14 / 25

#12. Madison Early College High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Madison County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 249 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

15 / 25

#11. Buncombe County Early College

- School type: Public School
- Location: Buncombe County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 274 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

16 / 25

#10. Odyssey School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Asheville, NC
- Enrollment: 139 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

LightField Studios // Shutterstock

17 / 25

#9. Henderson County Early College High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Henderson County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 205 (29:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

18 / 25

#8. Veritas Christian Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Fletcher, NC
- Enrollment: 397 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock

19 / 25

#7. Asheville Christian Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Swannanoa, NC
- Enrollment: 776 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

Ground Picture // Shutterstock

20 / 25

#6. T.C. Roberson High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Buncombe County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 1,491 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

You may also like: How many homes are for sale in Asheville right now?

Achira22 // Shutterstock

21 / 25

#5. McDowell Early College

- School type: Public School
- Location: Mcdowell County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 225 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

Tyler Olson // Shutterstock

22 / 25

#4. Martin L. Nesbitt Discovery Academy

- School type: Public School
- Location: Buncombe County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 374 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

panitanphoto // Shutterstock

23 / 25

#3. Carolina Day School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Asheville, NC
- Enrollment: 600 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock

24 / 25

#2. Asheville School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Asheville, NC
- Enrollment: 290 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

sirtravelalot // Shutterstock

25 / 25

#1. Christ School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Asheville, NC
- Enrollment: 300 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.