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Charlotte, North Carolina - 180 schools
An equity score of 34/100 ranks Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools #184 of 293 districts in North Carolina (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,853 per pupil, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools ranks #144 of 322 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (North Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
144,197
Total Enrollment
180
Schools
$11,853
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools operates 180 public schools serving 144,197 students, placing it among the largest districts in North Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 68 combined, 55 elementary, 29 high, 28 middle schools, giving families in a major system a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a large portfolio before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Mecklenburg County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,853 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper 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 32.2% local, 52.1% state, and 15.6% 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 34/100, ranked #184 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.
Academic infrastructure includes 31 of 180 schools offering Advanced Placement (442 AP courses district-wide), a 320.1:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 32.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 35.6% African American, 31.6% Hispanic or Latino, 22.1% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Endhaven Elementary, with a diversity index of 75.5/100.
Its largest campus is Myers Park High School, enrolling 3,225 students (2% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Military and Global Leadership, at 71 students, a 45x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools school enrollment varies 45× across entities
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools school enrollment ranges from 71 students (lowest) to 3,225 students (highest), a spread of 3,154 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme enrollment heterogeneity, the district operates both small specialty programs and large comprehensive campuses inside a single budgeting unit. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 58.5% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools student-counselor ratio is 320:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is typically wider than the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 32.2% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Comparisons are relative to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in North Carolina
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.