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Wilmington, North Carolina - 1 schools
An equity score of 29/100 ranks Cape Fear Center for Inquiry #208 of 293 districts in North Carolina (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,627 per pupil, Cape Fear Center for Inquiry ranks #213 of 322 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (North Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
409
Total Enrollment
1
Schools
$10,627
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry operates 1 public schools serving 409 students, placing it among the smallest districts in North Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in New Hanover County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,627 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 322 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending. See how North Carolina compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 38.1% local, 56.5% state, and 5.4% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 29/100, ranked #208 of 293 in North Carolina against a state average of 45, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 395:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 8.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 81.0% White, 7.3% African American, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Cape Fear Center for Inquiry, enrolling 395 students (100% of the district's total enrollment).
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry accounts for 96.6% of all Cape Fear Center for Inquiry student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Cape Fear Center for Inquiry a distant remainder — means Cape Fear Center for Inquiry-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry student-counselor ratio is 395:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry chronic absenteeism rate is 8.6% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
How many schools are in Cape Fear Center for Inquiry?
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry has 1 school, including 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 409 students.
How much does Cape Fear Center for Inquiry spend per student?
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry spends $10,627 per student. The district has an equity score of 29/100, ranking #208 in North Carolina.
What is the demographic composition of Cape Fear Center for Inquiry?
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry students are 81.0% White, 7.3% African American, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% Asian, averaged across 1 school. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Cape Fear Center for Inquiry?
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry has an equity score of 29/100, ranking #208 out of 293 districts in North Carolina.