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Winston Salem, North Carolina - 79 schools
An equity score of 62/100 ranks Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools #79 of 293 districts in North Carolina (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,036 per pupil, Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools ranks #90 of 322 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (North Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
52,717
Total Enrollment
79
Schools
$13,036
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools operates 79 public schools serving 52,717 students, placing it among the larger districts in North Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 51 combined, 14 high, 14 middle schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a sizeable 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 Forsyth County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,036 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 25.3% local, 52.1% state, and 22.5% 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 62/100, ranked #79 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 12 of 79 schools offering Advanced Placement (226 AP courses district-wide), a 391.3:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 43.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 32.4% African American, 31.3% Hispanic or Latino, 28.0% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Early College of Forsyth Co, with a diversity index of 73.6/100.
Its largest campus is West Forsyth High, enrolling 2,145 students (4% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Kingswood School, at 9 students, a 238x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools school enrollment varies 238× across entities
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools school enrollment ranges from 9 students (lowest) to 2,145 students (highest), a spread of 2,136 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 75.3% 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.
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools student-counselor ratio is 391:1 — 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.
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 43.7% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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.
Comparisons are relative to Winston Salem / Forsyth County 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.
How many schools are in Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools?
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools has 79 schools, including 14 high, 14 middle, 51 combined. Total enrollment is 52,717 students.
How much does Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools spend per student?
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools spends $13,036 per student. The district has an equity score of 62/100, ranking #79 in North Carolina.
What is the demographic composition of Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools?
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools students are 32.4% African American, 31.3% Hispanic or Latino, 28.0% White, 2.2% Asian, averaged across 79 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools?
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools has an equity score of 62/100, ranking #79 out of 293 districts in North Carolina.