Homeschool Statistics

The modern homeschool movement in America continues to grow, currently at a rate of 8% a year (Ray, 2004; Rudger, 1999; Spiegler, 2003). In America, as of 2009, roughly 2.9% of school-aged children (5-17) were homeschooled (NCES, 2009).  Indeed, the success of America’s nearly 2 million homeschoolers have inspired others in numerous developed societies; current estimates include 15 developed countries and an additional 2 million students (Ray, 2011).

Homeschooling growing in United States, but it’s growing more rapidly in North Carolina.

In 2011, NCHE commissioned the following research:
A Summary of Homeschooling Across North Carolina: Academic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics
Brian D. Ray, Ph.D. March 11, 2011

NC: 94,863+ Homeschools, 237,157+ Students

In January 1988, there were about 1,046 homeschools in North Carolina. When NCHE convinced the NC General Assembly to pass a favorable homeschool law that was ratified on June 20, 1988, the number of homeschools began to grow rapidly. By the end of the 1988-89 school year the NC homeschool community had experienced a phenomenal 32% increase in numbers to 1,385 homeschools. Since then, the number of homeschools in North Carolina has grown at an annual compound growth rate of more that 15%.

In July, 2019, the NC Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) published the NC homeschool statistics for the 2019-2020 school year. The number of state recognized homeschools grew by about 4.6% to 94,863 (from 90,688 the year before). DNPE estimates that there are about 1.6 students per homeschool for a total of 149,173 students. NCHE believes that a more realistic estimate is 2.5 students per homeschool for a total student population of 237,157. This represents more than 14% of the total North Carolina K-12 student population. Since most homeschools with only students below the age of 7 do not officially open a school (because the law does not require it), there are actually more homeschools than this number represents. Here is a link to the North Carolina Division of Non-Public Education homeschool data for the 2019-2020 school year.