Located in the northwestern portion of Union County, it has experienced considerable growth in the last two decades.

Porter Ridge is a member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA).

Beyond attaining competition accolades, the band has been invited to perform at events across the country; most notably on the USS Missouri during the 2015 commemoration of the Attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, HI.

The school's campus is on the South Fork of Crooked Creek, and is situated across from an environmentally protected area that is home to a rare mollusk, the Carolina heelsplitter.

In 2021, former science teacher Alexander Dewsbury was criminally charged with, among other counts, indecent liberties with a student.