2023 Best High Schools in South Carolina

What High School Paths Does South Carolina Provide?

South Carolina has 424 high schools, which is 13% below the national average. However, South Carolina still ranks 48th in the nation when normalizing for population size, meaning that there are still diverse education paths in many parts of the state. As a whole, the state's average school rating is a B– which is right in line with the national average.

In total, 59% of South Carolina's high schools are public and they have an average rating of B–. Of those 251 schools, the majority are traditional public schools (196). Approximately 64% of those traditional public schools sit above the national average, so you can rest assured that there's still 125 such schools that are considered better than normal.

Diving deeper into public high school alternatives, there are also 38 charter schools, which not seem like much, but it actually ranks South Carolina in the 24th spot for most charter schools per capita vs the average state. In total, 66% of those charter schools exceed the national average in quality. Also, of the 17 magnet high schools, an impressive 76% earned above average marks.

Shifting now to private high schools, there are 155 in total to choose from (roughly 37% of all schools). South Carolina actually has 11% more private school options than the average state per capita, so the state has a decent amount of options despite its size. With a median rating of B+, nearly three out of five (59%) of South Carolina's private schools are rated above the national average. About 77% of private high schools in South Carolina are religiously affiliated, led primarily by Christian schools which total 108. The state ranks 10th for most religious schools per capita, so it actually looks to be above average in terms of how much religious influence there is in its school options. There are also 11 all-boys schools in South Carolina, which is 27% (or 1.27 times) more than the typical state (after normalizing for population size). There's also just two all-girls options in the state, though this is 58% below the national average.

Many of the high schools are also beginning to increase their online offerings, but as of now just 5 are offered online (just 1% of all schools). This actually ranks South Carolina in the 31st position in terms of online schools per capita vs. the typical state (it's below the average by 39%).