Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. Community School of Davidson
- School type: Public School
- Location: Davidson, NC
- Enrollment: 1,501 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Best high schools in the Charlotte 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 Charlotte 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.
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2 / 25#24. Union County Early College
- School type: Public School
- Location: Union County Public Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 303 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Providence High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 2,048 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Nation Ford High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fort Mill School District, SC
- Enrollment: 1,877 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Pine Lake Preparatory School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Mooresville, NC
- Enrollment: 1,879 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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ImageFlow // Shutterstock
6 / 25#20. Socrates Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Matthews, NC
- Enrollment: 864 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Cabarrus-Kannapolis Early College High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Cabarrus County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 239 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. St. Anne Catholic School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Rock Hill, SC
- Enrollment: 313 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Fort Mill High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fort Mill School District, SC
- Enrollment: 2,036 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. Covenant Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Matthews, NC
- Enrollment: 1,035 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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11 / 25#15. Catawba Ridge High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fort Mill School District, SC
- Enrollment: 1,530 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Studio KIWI // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. Lake Norman Charter School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Huntersville, NC
- Enrollment: 2,215 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Achira22 // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Charlotte Engineering Early College
- School type: Public School
- Location: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 300 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Daniel Hoz // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Highland School of Technology
- School type: Public School
- Location: Gaston County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 514 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Roman Kosolapov // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Central Academy of Technology & Arts
- School type: Public School
- Location: Union County Public Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 821 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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16 / 25#10. Davidson Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Davidson, NC
- Enrollment: 521 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Charlotte Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Enrollment: 1,279 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Weddington High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Union County Public Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 1,836 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Marvin Ridge High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Union County Public Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 2,074 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Cannon School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Concord, NC
- Enrollment: 1,046 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
21 / 25#5. Ardrey Kell High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 3,529 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Gaston Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Gastonia, NC
- Enrollment: 488 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
sirtravelalot // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Charlotte Latin School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Enrollment: 1,539 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Charlotte Country Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Enrollment: 1,738 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LBeddoe // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Providence Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Enrollment: 1,947 (9:1 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.
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