Town Chart.

← All rankings · All towns in North Carolina

Towns with the best schools in North Carolina

Ranked by our Schools score out of 100, which is based on how many high-school students take AP, IB or college classes, how many students miss a lot of school, the graduation rate and class size, for the public schools in the town. Of the 212 towns in North Carolina with 1,000 or more people, these are the top 25.

Highlands ranks first with a score of 78. Elkin and Boone follow, with 76 and 74. Scores compare each town with all 27,850 towns we track across the US.

RankTownScore High-school students in AP or IB classesHigh-school students taking college classes Population
1 Highlands 78 9.2%26.1% 1,074
2 Elkin 76 15.1%23.2% 4,043
3 Boone 74 20.1%19.9% 20,032
4 Davidson 72 47.6%7.6% 15,660
5 Denver 71 20.2%20.1% 2,497
6 Yadkinville 66 9.9%91.2% 3,004
7 Chapel Hill 63 45.9%3.7% 61,607
8 Manteo 62 21.4%15.8% 2,020
9 Franklin 61 3.3%25.7% 4,268
10 Wentworth 61 0.3%98.6% 2,692
11 Zebulon 61 10.6%14.6% 8,711
12 Waxhaw 61 31.9%7.6% 22,275
13 Cary 59 44.2%2.9% 179,306
14 Asheville 59 18.4%17.7% 94,535
15 Kill Devil Hills 58 18.4%14.1% 7,761
16 Pittsboro 57 17.2%16.9% 4,752
17 Mooresville 57 23.9%10.1% 52,381
18 Saxapahaw 57 18.5%13.8% 1,301
19 Southern Pines 57 21.5%16.4% 16,420
20 Wilkesboro 57 10.8%31.0% 3,646
21 Hillsborough 57 22.9%6.0% 9,724
22 Harrisburg 56 21.7%7.1% 19,633
23 Snow Hill 56 5.0%21.5% 2,438
24 Apex 56 36.9%1.7% 70,630
25 Kenansville 55 0.0%100.0% 1,090

This is not a test-score ranking, and graduation rates are from 2018 or 2019. Only towns with a high school of their own are listed, and a town does not show up when its students go to school elsewhere. Only towns with 1,000 or more people are ranked. Scores compare each town with all towns we track. See how we score towns and where the figures come from. These are estimates, so check official sources before you decide.

More rankings for North Carolina

Towns with the best schools in other states

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