2025 North Carolina High School Survey Shows Improvement in Student Safety, Risk Behaviors

North Carolina public high school students reported improved outcomes in health and safety related behaviors according to the 2025 North Carolina High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), presented to the State Board of Education today.

Notably, the report revealed that North Carolina has returned to and exceeded pre-pandemic levels across nearly all reported measures. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) strategic plan, Achieving Educational Excellence, addresses many of the issues identified in the YRBS: enhancing parent, caregiver and community support and ensuring healthy, safe and secure learning environments.

“The 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey reflects meaningful progress, particularly in improving student safety and reducing several risky behaviors,” North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green said. “At the same time, the findings reinforce the need to help every student feel safe, connected and prepared to learn. In order to become the best public schools in the nation by 2030, we must continue to uplift progress while responding to the continued needs of students in our schools.”

The YRBS provides statewide information about student-reported health behaviors, experiences and protective factors. This year was the first administration of the combined YRBS and Youth Tobacco Survey. The anonymous and voluntary survey covers topics including safety, mental health, substance use, tobacco and vaping, sexual behavior, physical activity, nutrition, sleep and school connection.  

A total of 1,692 students from 25 traditional public and charter high schools completed usable surveys during spring 2025. The weighted results are representative of regular public and charter high school students in grades 9 through 12. Middle school results are not yet available.  

Progress to sustain

Several student risk indicators improved in 2025, with many now at or below levels reported before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the findings:

• The percentage of students who reported carrying a weapon on school property decreased from 3.1% in 2023 to 1.1% in 2025.
• The percentage of students who reported being in a physical fight decreased from 22% in 2023 to 16.4% in 2025.
• The percentage of students who missed school because they felt unsafe decreased from 14.6% in 2023 to 9.9% in 2025.
• Current alcohol use was reported by 16% of students, while 10.6% reported current marijuana use. These mark 20-year lows, down from 42.3% of students using alcohol and 21.4% of students using marijuana in 2005.
• Current cigarette smoking was reported by 3.5% of students, a decrease from 3.9% of students in 2023.

“These improvements matter,” said Kristi Day, director of NCDPI’s Office of Teaching and Learning. “They suggest that sustained attention to prevention, education and student support can make a difference. Our responsibility now is to understand what is contributing to those gains and ensure that progress continues.”

Needs that continue to affect learning

The results also show that many students continue to experience challenges that may affect attendance, behavior, engagement and readiness to learn.

Nearly 30% of students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the previous year, and 11.4% reported seriously considering suicide. Although both measures improved significantly from 2023, their current levels continue to warrant attention.

Hours of sleep and physical activity were also concerning. Only 21.7% of students reported receiving at least eight hours of sleep on an average school night. About 43.1% reported being physically active for at least 60 minutes on five or more days during the previous week.

The survey also found signs of improvement in school connectedness. The percentage of students who agreed that they belonged at their school increased from 51% in 2023 to 59.2% in 2025. Nearly 64% reported having at least one adult at school with whom they could talk about a problem.  

“School connectedness is more than a measure on a survey,” said Ellen Essick, section chief for NC Healthy Schools. “When students feel that they belong and know that an adult is available to support them, they are better positioned to attend school, engage in learning and seek help when they need it.”

Student needs are not evenly distributed

Statewide averages do not fully reflect how student experiences differ across groups.

For example, 4.8% of students who reported earning mostly A’s said they had missed school because they felt unsafe, compared with 34.3% of students earning mostly D’s or F’s. Persistent sadness or hopelessness was reported by 22.3% of students earning mostly A’s and 56% of students earning mostly D’s or F’s.

From findings to action

NCDPI staff considered the YRBS findings alongside results from the 2026 NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey and administrative data on discipline, attendance and dropout outcomes. Collectively, the data point to four areas for continued state and local attention:

• Strengthening supports during grades 6 through 9, with attention to attendance, behavior, belonging, academic performance and early warning indicators.
• Improving schoolwide safety and student-conduct systems through clear expectations, consistent adult follow-through and aligned prevention practices.
• Coordinating mental health, basic-needs and substance-use supports through clear referral pathways, community partnerships and student-services teams.
• Using integrated student, teacher and administrative data to identify where needs are concentrated and assess whether supports are working.

“The YRBS gives us an important opportunity to hear directly from students about what they are experiencing,” Chief Accountability Officer Michael Maher said. “When student voice is examined alongside educator perspectives and other school data, the state and local school systems are better positioned to target resources, identify needs earlier and monitor whether supports are producing meaningful results.”

About the Youth Risk Behavior Survey

The YRBS, which has been administered in North Carolina since 1993, is part of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with state and local education and health agencies. North Carolina’s 2025 high school survey consisted of 120 questions and was administered using procedures designed to protect student privacy and ensure anonymous, voluntary participation.  

Review the complete State Board presentation materials.