Public schools in Hickory, NC
Hickory has 17 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 4 high, 3 middle, 10 elementary, enrolling 8,584 students. They are run by 3 districts and agencies; Hickory City Schools runs 9 of them.
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method
The 3 districts and agencies that run Hickory's public schools
Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.
| District | Schools in Hickory | District students, fall 2022 | Spending per student, FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hickory City Schools | 9 | 3,877 | $11,662 |
| Catawba County Schools | 7 | 15,678 | $11,487 |
| Burke County Public Schools | 1 | 11,770 | $12,261 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: school location city and operating agency; NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23: district fall membership and current spending per student. Schools on a city's edge can serve students from outside it.
4 high schools in Hickory, 2,869 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Stephens High | 1,268 | 22.1 | 97.9% | Catawba County Schools |
| Hickory High | 1,024 | 26.7 | 99.7% | Hickory City Schools |
| Challenger Early College High | 376 | 33.5 | 42.0% | Catawba County Schools |
| Hickory Career Arts Magnet High School | 201 | 15.2 | 98.5% | Hickory City Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
3 middle schools in Hickory, 1,429 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry M Arndt Middle | 601 | 16.7 | 97.5% | Catawba County Schools |
| Northview Middle | 481 | 17.3 | 99.4% | Hickory City Schools |
| Grandview Middle | 347 | 14.6 | 99.1% | Hickory City Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
10 elementary schools in Hickory, 4,286 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain View Elementary | 708 | 17.5 | 94.5% | Catawba County Schools |
| Snow Creek Elementary | 551 | 15.2 | 94.9% | Catawba County Schools |
| Viewmont Elementary | 509 | 16.9 | 99.4% | Hickory City Schools |
| Clyde Campbell Elementary | 505 | 16.2 | 98.8% | Catawba County Schools |
| Ray Childers Elementary | 460 | 15.8 | 99.3% | Burke County Public Schools |
| Webb A Murray Elementary | 380 | 14.0 | 93.2% | Catawba County Schools |
| Oakwood Elementary | 336 | 17.0 | 99.1% | Hickory City Schools |
| Southwest Primary | 292 | 13.5 | 99.0% | Hickory City Schools |
| W M Jenkins Elementary | 276 | 15.5 | 98.9% | Hickory City Schools |
| Longview Elementary | 269 | 14.9 | 98.9% | Hickory City Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
How Hickory's public schools compare with North Carolina's
The median Hickory school has 16.2 students per full-time teacher, more than the North Carolina median of 15.4. 71% of its schools ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22, against 55% across the state. Its median school enrolls 460 students (state 497).
| Hickory | North Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| Median students per teacher | 16.2 | 15.4 |
| Median school size (students) | 460 | 497 |
| Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22) | 71% | 55% |
| Schools where every student eats free (CEP) | 0% | 0% |
| Charter schools | 0% | 7.5% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 17 Hickory schools and the 2,653 North Carolina schools open that year with students); Title I status CCD 2021-22. Students per teacher counts 2024-25 teachers and ratios from 3 to 99.
What to look at next in Hickory
- Hickory City SchoolsRuns 9 of Hickory's 17 public schools and spent $11,662 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$11,662
- Saint Stephens High, the largest high school in Hickory1,268 students in 2024-25, 22.1 per teacher.1,268
- Compare Hickory City Schools with Catawba County SchoolsHickory's two largest operators side by side: enrollment, spending and schools.
- The largest public schools in North CarolinaNorth Carolina's 50 largest schools open in 2024-25, by enrollment.
- Find the school district for a Hickory addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools and their operating agencies); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student).
Choosing among them: how to choose a school district with the federal data, and what a Title I school is.
Other cities in North Carolina
- Charlotte173 schools
- Raleigh99 schools
- Greensboro79 schools
- Durham68 schools
- Fayetteville68 schools
- Winston Salem64 schools
- Wilmington44 schools
- Concord35 schools
Questions about schools in Hickory
How many public schools are in Hickory, NC?
17 public schools with an address in Hickory were open in 2024-25: 4 high, 3 middle, 10 elementary, enrolling 8,584 students.What is the largest high school in Hickory?
Saint Stephens High, with 1,268 students in 2024-25 (Catawba County Schools).Which districts run Hickory's schools?
Hickory City Schools (9 schools), Catawba County Schools (7 schools), Burke County Public Schools (1 school). A school's district, not its city, decides who can enroll.
These figures are for information and are not a substitute for the district's enrollment office, which confirms the school a home is assigned to.
Sources
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Public school search (the official record of each school) · 2024-25