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1 / 25#25. Middle College High School at DTCC
- School type: Public School
- Location: Durham Public Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 106 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Best high schools in the Raleigh 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 Raleigh 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. Carrboro High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 870 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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3 / 25#23. Granville Early College High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Granville County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 224 (28:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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4 / 25#22. Research Triangle High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Durham, NC
- Enrollment: 582 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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5 / 25#21. Johnston County Early College Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Johnston County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 281 (28:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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6 / 25#20. Woods Charter School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Chapel Hill, NC
- Enrollment: 508 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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7 / 25#19. East Chapel Hill High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 1,447 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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8 / 25#18. Camelot Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Durham, NC
- Enrollment: 148 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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9 / 25#17. William G. Enloe High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Wake County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 2,502 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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10 / 25#16. Carolina Friends School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Durham, NC
- Enrollment: 511 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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11 / 25#15. Panther Creek High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Wake County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 2,435 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. St. David's School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Raleigh, NC
- Enrollment: 684 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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13 / 25#13. Cardinal Gibbons High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Raleigh, NC
- Enrollment: 1,611 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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14 / 25#12. Green Hope High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Wake County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 2,324 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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15 / 25#11. Green Level High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Wake County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 2,052 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. Chapel Hill High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 1,597 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Wake Early College of Health & Sciences
- School type: Public School
- Location: Wake County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 336 (28:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Saint Mary's School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Raleigh, NC
- Enrollment: 308 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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19 / 25#7. Trinity School of Durham & Chapel Hill
- School type: Private School
- Location: Durham, NC
- Enrollment: 600 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Wake STEM Early College High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Wake County Schools, NC
- Enrollment: 282 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. Ravenscroft School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Raleigh, NC
- Enrollment: 1,251 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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22 / 25#4. Raleigh Charter High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Raleigh, NC
- Enrollment: 564 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. Durham Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Durham, NC
- Enrollment: 1,237 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Studio KIWI // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Cary Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cary, NC
- Enrollment: 789 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
- School type: Public School
- Location: Durham, NC
- Enrollment: 975 (7:1 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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