Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Murphy, North Carolina - 13 schools
An equity score of 77/100 ranks Cherokee County Schools #27 of 297 districts in North Carolina (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,303 per pupil, Cherokee County Schools ranks #63 of 328 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (North Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Cherokee County Schools operates 13 public schools serving 3,146 students, placing it among the smaller districts in North Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 7 combined, 4 high, 2 middle schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly 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 Cherokee County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,303 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 328 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending. See how North Carolina compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 20.4% local, 52.4% state, and 27.2% 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 77/100, ranked #27 of 297 in North Carolina against a state average of 45, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 13 schools offering Advanced Placement (13 AP courses district-wide), a 233.8:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 42.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 84.1% White, 7.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Tri-County Early College High, with a diversity index of 43.5/100.
Its largest campus is Murphy Elementary, enrolling 467 students (16% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is The Oaks Academy, at 43 students, a 11x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Cherokee County Schools school enrollment ranges from 43 students (lowest) to 467 students (highest), a spread of 424 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share is at least 75%, indicating a high concentration of measured economic need. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
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 above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
This district scores well on funding equity, with balanced funding sources and good resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 13 schools in Cherokee County Schools.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Cherokee County Schools's schools, below the North Carolina average of 56.1.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Murphy Elementary | 467 |
| Murphy High | 424 |
| Murphy Middle | 353 |
| Andrews Elementary | 330 |
| Ranger Elementary/Middle | 264 |
| Andrews High | 229 |
| Andrews Middle | 167 |
| Peachtree Elementary | 166 |
| Tri-County Early College High | 153 |
| Martins Creek Elementary/Mid | 137 |
| Hiwassee Dam High | 137 |
| Hiwassee Dam Elementary/Middle | 122 |
| The Oaks Academy | 43 |
The North Carolina districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton City Schools | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
| Nc Virtual Academy | Similar size | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Lexington City Schools | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Transylvania County Schools | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Anson County Schools | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Cherokee County Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Wake County Schools →Cherokee County Schools has 13 schools, including 7 combined, 4 high, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 3,146 students.
Cherokee County Schools spends $14,303 per student. The district has an equity score of 77/100, ranking #27 in North Carolina.
Cherokee County Schools students are 84.1% White, 7.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.6% African American, 0.6% Asian, averaged across 13 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Cherokee County Schools has an equity score of 77/100, ranking #27 out of 297 districts in North Carolina.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.