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, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Mount Airy, North Carolina - 4 schools
An equity score of 67/100 ranks Mount Airy City Schools #58 of 293 districts in North Carolina (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,873 per pupil, Mount Airy City Schools ranks #98 of 322 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (North Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,726
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$12,873
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Mount Airy City Schools operates 4 public schools serving 1,726 students, placing it among the smallest districts in North Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 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 Surry County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,873 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 17.2% local, 59.3% state, and 23.5% 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 67/100, ranked #58 of 293 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 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 639.3:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 22.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 56.0% White, 28.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Jones Intermediate, with a diversity index of 61.9/100.
Its largest campus is Mount Airy High, enrolling 620 students (35% of the district's total enrollment).
Mount Airy High accounts for 34.7% of all Mount Airy City Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Mount Airy City Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. 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.
Mount Airy City Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 76.0% 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 — including this one — 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.
Mount Airy City Schools student-counselor ratio is 639:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Mount Airy City Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 22.9% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Mount Airy City Schools is typically wider than the Mount Airy City Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Mount Airy City Schools has 4 schools, including 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,726 students.
How much does Mount Airy City Schools spend per student?
Mount Airy City Schools spends $12,873 per student. The district has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #58 in North Carolina.
What is the demographic composition of Mount Airy City Schools?
Mount Airy City Schools students are 56.0% White, 28.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% African American, 2.4% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Mount Airy City Schools?
Mount Airy City Schools has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #58 out of 293 districts in North Carolina.