NC private schools post biggest jump in four decades amid voucher boom

North Carolina’s private schools added 8,260 students and 67 schools in the 2025-26 school year, the largest one-year jump in the number of private schools in more than four decades, according to a Carolina Journal analysis of new annual reports from the state Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE).

The state’s 997 private schools enrolled 143,998 students in 2025-26, up 6.1% from 135,738 the year before, the new data shows. That’s the largest enrollment gain for private schools since the post-pandemic rebound of the 2022-23 school year.

The timing lines up with the expansion of the state’s voucher program, the Opportunity Scholarship Program. Universal eligibility for the vouchers began in the 2024-25 school year, but funding didn’t catch up until lawmakers cleared a waitlist of roughly 55,000 students midway through that school year. That made the 2025-26 school year the first year the program was fully funded from the start.

Wake County remained the state’s largest private school market, adding more than 2,300 students to reach 23,982, an 11% jump in a single year. Mecklenburg County followed at 22,687 students. Among other sizable markets, Iredell and Johnston counties grew nearly 17%, while Onslow, Pitt, Cabarrus, and Gaston each grew 7% or more.

The growth was not limited to religious schools, which have historically dominated the sector. Independent private schools grew from 327 to 360 campuses and from 38,529 to 41,394 students, a faster percentage of growth than their religious counterparts, which grew from 603 to 637 schools and enrolled 102,604 students.

Public schools hold steady

The DNPE data show the state’s two nonpublic sectors moved in opposite directions. While private schools surged, registered home schools fell from 101,880 to 95,190, and estimated home school enrollment dropped by 12,346 students, to 152,897.

Meanwhile, public schools held steady at about 84% of total enrollment, the same share as the past several years and five points short of the 89% goal the Department of Public Instruction and State Board of Education have set for 2030 in their strategic plan.

Traditional district schools lost about 9,100 students, while public charter schools gained 4,533, growing to 161,057 — crossing 10.5% of public school enrollment, up from 10.2% the year before. The state opened 2025-26 with a record 213 charter schools, though two midyear closures trimmed that to 211. Five more charters won final approval in June to open this August.

“These numbers suggest what we’ve long thought: Parents want educational options,” said Robert Luebke, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation. “The growth in private schools tracks largely with the growth in the Opportunity Scholarship Program.”

The surge in new private schools has put a spotlight on whether the sector can keep pace with demand. “Rising private school enrollment and growing participation in the Opportunity Scholarship program underscore the need for enough seats to satisfy the demand,” wrote Kaitlyn Shepherd, policy analyst for Locke’s Center for Effective Education, in an analysis of the new data published July 8.

The foundation’s 2025 “Room to Grow” report, which surveyed private schools and education entrepreneurs statewide, found that “most private school leaders reported concerns about capacity and expected increases in demand for their services, yet many face[d] barriers to growth such as a lack of funding or infrastructure.”

Not all home schools declining

As for home schools, the decline gives back the sector’s 2024-25 rebound and leaves estimated enrollment about 27,000 students below its pandemic peak of 179,900 in 2020-21. 

Because state law does not require home schools to report enrollment, DNPE’s student figures are estimates. The division counts registered schools and estimates roughly 1.6 students per school. North Carolinians for Home Education, the state’s home school association, has argued the true figure is closer to two students per school — a multiplier that would put this year’s home school population above 190,000.

“How to explain the decline in home school enrollment? Math and reporting are issues,” Luebke said. “Enrollment per household is an estimate, and the state and homeschooling associations have differing numbers on the best estimates. Also, there was bound to be some retreat from the record-high numbers of the COVID era. Moreover, declining birthrates are also beginning to impact home schooling, as they have everyone else.”

Home school declines were not experienced everywhere. Estimated home school enrollment actually grew in the largest metro counties, where private school growth was also strong: Wake, Guilford, Forsyth, Mecklenburg, Johnston, and Iredell counties all added home-schoolers.

The steepest losses came instead in western North Carolina, a year after Hurricane Helene devastated the region. Buncombe County’s estimated home school enrollment fell 24.6%, from 4,846 to 3,655, and its registered home schools dropped from 3,121 to 2,362. 

Burke, Watauga, Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Ashe, McDowell, and Rutherford counties all posted double-digit percentage declines. Fifteen mountain counties together accounted for roughly 23% of the statewide drop in estimated home school enrollment, despite holding about 12% of the state’s home-schoolers.

What comes next

The state has not yet published data showing how many of the private-school sector’s 8,260 new students carry Opportunity Scholarships. More than 106,000 students now use the scholarships, according to the State Education Assistance Authority. Applications for 2026-27 awards opened in February.

“Even despite the home schooling numbers, the message comes through loud and clear: Parents want choice,” Luebke said. “We should all be thankful for the opportunity to select the best school for our children and be ever thankful for the lawmakers who have supported these programs.”

“NC private schools post biggest jump in four decades amid voucher boom” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.