Rutherford County Schools vs Wake County Schools

How do these districts compare?

Metric Rutherford County Schools Wake County Schools
Location Forest City, North Carolina Cary, North Carolina
Total Enrollment 7,527 159,778
Number of Schools 18 197
Student:Teacher Ratio 14.2:1 14.3:1

Spending

Metric Rutherford County Schools Wake County Schools
Per-Pupil Expenditure $16,397 $14,074
Federal Revenue 24.2% 16.6%
State Revenue 53.8% 54.5%
Local Revenue 22.0% 28.9%
Rutherford County Schools
Federal State Local
Wake County Schools
Federal State Local

Demographics

Average across all schools in each district. Source: CCD Membership 2024-25.

Group Rutherford County Schools Wake County Schools
White 69.2% 38.9%
African American 10.4% 23.1%
Hispanic or Latino 11.5% 21.6%
Asian 0.5% 11.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1% 0.2%
Pacific Islander 0.0% 0.1%
Multiracial 8.3% 4.4%
Free/Reduced Lunch 99.0% 38.4%

Academic Resources

Source: Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22

Resource Rutherford County Schools Wake County Schools
AP Courses Offered 26 517
Schools with AP 3 31
Avg Gifted Enrollment
Avg Counselor Ratio 372.7:1 351.2:1
Chronic Absenteeism 49.1% 26.5%

School Types

Rutherford County Schools

Regular Schools 0
Charter Schools 0
Magnet Schools 0
Title I Schools 0

Wake County Schools

Regular Schools 0
Charter Schools 0
Magnet Schools 0
Title I Schools 0

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Related

Source: U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data + F-33 finance + Civil Rights Data Collection Compiled and formatted by PlainSchools Editorial.