
Homeschool Statistics

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.