Curry was born on March 14, 1988, at the Akron General Medical Center in Akron, Ohio, to Sonya and Dell Curry. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his father spent most of his NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets. He played with his younger brother on their backyard basketball court in Charlotte. The family briefly moved to Toronto, where Dell finished out his career as a member of the Raptors. During this time, Curry played for the Queensway Christian College boys' basketball team, leading them to an undefeated season. He was also a member of Toronto 5–0, a club team that plays across Ontario, pitting him against fellow future NBA players Cory Joseph and Kelly Olynyk. Curry led the team to a 33–4 record, end route to winning the provincial championship.
After Dell's retirement, the family moved back to Charlotte and Curry enrolled at Charlotte Christian School, where he was named all-conference and all-state, and led his team to three conference titles and three state playoff appearances. Because of his father's storied career at Virginia Tech, Curry wanted to play college basketball for the Hokies, but was only offered a walk-on spot due in part to his slender 160-pound frame. He ultimately chose to attend Davidson College, who had aggressively recruited him from the tenth grade.