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.
Waynesville, North Carolina - 15 schools
An equity score of 54/100 ranks Haywood County Schools #106 of 297 districts in North Carolina (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,458 per pupil, Haywood County Schools ranks #130 of 328 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (North Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Haywood County Schools operates 15 public schools serving 6,605 students, placing it among the smaller districts in North Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 combined, 4 high, 3 middle, 3 elementary 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 Haywood County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,458 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 25.5% local, 54.0% state, and 20.5% 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 54/100, ranked #106 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 15 schools offering Advanced Placement (24 AP courses district-wide), a 368.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 29.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 84.8% White, 9.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Central Haywood High, with a diversity index of 39.2/100.
Its largest campus is Tuscola High, enrolling 873 students (13% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Central Haywood High, at 63 students, a 14x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Haywood County Schools school enrollment ranges from 63 students (lowest) to 873 students (highest), a spread of 810 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 sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. 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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
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 Variation between sub-units within Haywood County Schools is typically wider than the Haywood County Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 15 schools in Haywood County Schools.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Haywood County Schools's schools, below the North Carolina average of 56.1.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Tuscola High | 873 |
| Pisgah High | 859 |
| Waynesville Middle | 727 |
| Bethel Elementary | 537 |
| Clyde Elementary | 523 |
| Hazelwood Elementary | 490 |
| Canton Middle | 475 |
| Junaluska Elementary | 428 |
| Jonathan Valley Elementary | 336 |
| North Canton Elementary | 332 |
| Bethel Middle | 254 |
| Riverbend Elementary | 204 |
| Meadowbrook Elementary | 198 |
| Haywood Early College | 177 |
| Central Haywood High | 63 |
The North Carolina districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond County Schools | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Granville County Schools | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Davie County Schools | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Orange County Schools | Similar size | Higher spending | More locally funded |
| Beaufort County Schools | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Haywood 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 →Haywood County Schools has 15 schools, including 4 high, 3 middle, 3 elementary, 5 combined. Total enrollment is 6,605 students.
Haywood County Schools spends $12,458 per student. The district has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #106 in North Carolina.
Haywood County Schools students are 84.8% White, 9.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 15 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Haywood County Schools has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #106 out of 297 districts in North Carolina.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.