Research · High schools - Indiana · October 2026
How Many High Schools Are in Indiana? 459 Public and 127 Private
As of October 2026: Indiana has 586 high schools: 459 public and 127 private. The largest is Carmel High School in Carmel, with 5,239 students in grades 9 through 12.
The table lists the 15 largest public high schools in Indiana by the number of students in grades 9 through 12.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Indiana has 586 high schools. 459 are public and 127 are private. The 416 public high schools that report enrollment hold 310,810 students in grades 9 through 12 between them. The private count is a floor, because the federal private school survey is voluntary and a school can skip it.
Carmel High School is the largest public high school in Indiana. It enrolls 5,239 students in grades 9 through 12 in Carmel. The 15th largest school on the table, Center Grove High School in Greenwood, enrolls 2,956. None of the 15 largest are charter schools.
The largest private high school in Indiana is Roncalli High School. It enrolls 1,084 students in Indianapolis. That is smaller than every public school on the table above. Private schools report total enrollment to the federal survey, so a school that also teaches younger grades counts those students too. Only schools whose lowest grade is 9 are listed here, so each one is a high school.
The 15 largest public high schools in Indiana
Ranked by the number of students in grades 9 through 12.
| High school | City | Students in grades 9-12 | Charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carmel High School | Carmel | 5,239 | No |
| North Central High School | Indianapolis | 3,682 | No |
| Fishers High School | Fishers | 3,590 | No |
| Avon High School | Avon | 3,518 | No |
| Hamilton Southeastern HS | Fishers | 3,504 | No |
| Franklin Central High School | Indianapolis | 3,423 | No |
| Penn High School | Mishawaka | 3,423 | No |
| Warren Central High School | Indianapolis | 3,364 | No |
| Brownsburg High School | Brownsburg | 3,331 | No |
| Ben Davis High School | Indianapolis | 3,315 | No |
| Noblesville High School | Noblesville | 3,264 | No |
| Pike High School | Indianapolis | 3,188 | No |
| Elkhart High School | Elkhart | 3,049 | No |
| Crown Point High School | Crown Point | 3,013 | No |
| Center Grove High School | Greenwood | 2,956 | No |
NCES Common Core of Data, grade 9-12 enrollment. Virtual schools are excluded. Absence from this list means a school is not among the largest, nothing more.
The largest private high schools in Indiana
Private schools whose lowest grade is 9, by total enrollment.
| High school | City | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Roncalli High School | Indianapolis | 1,084 |
| Cathedral High School | Indianapolis | 1,072 |
| Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School | Indianapolis | 841 |
| Culver Academies | Culver | 835 |
| St Joseph High School | South Bend | 806 |
NCES Private School Universe Survey 2021-22, respondents only. Total enrollment, not a grades 9-12 count.
What these counts cover
A high school here is a school that serves grade 12. Virtual schools are left out, because a school with no building is not comparable to one with a campus. Public counts come from the federal Common Core of Data, which every public district reports to. Private counts come from the federal Private School Universe Survey.
Enrollment for public schools is the number of students in grades 9 through 12, so a school that also teaches middle school grades is not inflated by them. A school that reports no enrollment figure is counted in the state total but cannot be ranked, which is why the number of schools with an enrollment figure is smaller than the public count.
Private high schools in Indiana
The private table below shows the largest private high schools whose lowest grade is 9. The survey is voluntary, so treat these as the largest among the schools that answered, not a complete ranking. A private school that declines the survey does not appear at all.
Private enrollment is a total, not a grades 9 through 12 count, because the survey does not break it out the same way. Limiting the list to schools that start at grade 9 keeps the figures comparable to each other.
What a family should do with this
Size is a starting point, not a verdict. A large school usually offers more courses, more sports and more clubs, and a small school usually gives a student more contact with the adults who write recommendation letters. Both shapes send students to good colleges.
The more useful question is where a school's own graduates actually go. Our page for each Indiana high school carries that school's figures and, where the school publishes one, its own numbered list of the colleges its graduates chose. Start from the school page rather than from the size of the building.
Questions parents ask
How many high schools are in Indiana?
Indiana has 586 high schools: 459 public and 127 private. The largest is Carmel High School in Carmel, with 5,239 students in grades 9 through 12.
What is the largest high school in Indiana?
It enrolls 5,239 students in grades 9 through 12 in Carmel.
Are private high schools included in the Indiana count?
459 are public and 127 are private. The private count is a floor, because the federal private school survey is voluntary and a school can skip it.
Method & sources: Public school counts and grade 9-12 enrollment come from the NCES Common Core of Data; private counts and enrollment come from the NCES Private School Universe Survey, whose respondents are a floor. A high school is a school serving grade 12; virtual schools are excluded. The public table is ranked by grade 9-12 enrollment, and schools without an enrollment figure are counted in the state total but not ranked.
This brief as data: /research/high-schools-in-indiana.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
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