Enrollment
1,412
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 370472003470
Apex Friendship Middle — Apex, NC
Federal NCES profile for Apex Friendship Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 26
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 29
📋 Attendance 69
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Wake County Schools · North Carolina
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
76.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.4:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
+12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
10.4%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-84% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Apex Friendship Middle compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Apex Friendship Middle reports 1,412 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 76.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% above the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 16% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 10.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 84% below the North Carolina average and 80% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 353 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 12.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Wake County Schools spends $14,074 per pupil district-wide, above the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.9% from local sources (property taxes), 54.5% from the state, and 16.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Apex Friendship Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against North Carolina state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.4:1 | ▲ 12% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 10.4% | ▼ 84% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,412 | top 95% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
10.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 84% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.4:1
students per teacher
— 12% above state mean
Top 85% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 15% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
12.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$14,074
per pupil, district-wide
— above North Carolina avg of $13,042
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 353 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
169
in-school suspensions + 44 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 12.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,412 Top 95% in North Carolina — larger than 5% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 76.0
Students per teacher 18.4:1 +12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 10.4% -84% vs state
NCES ID 370472003470
Student demographics
White 60.1%
Asian 21.4%
Hispanic or Latino 8.1%
African American 5.5%
Two or More 4.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 60.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 353:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 12.3%
In-school suspensions 169
Out-of-school suspensions 44
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wake County Schools, which includes Apex Friendship Middle.
$14,074
Per student
+8%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.9%
State 54.5%
Federal 16.6%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,748
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 2,643
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,609
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Enrollment
- 2,498
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,449
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
Similar middle schools in Apex
4 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Salem Middle
Standard public school
1,057 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Lufkin Road Middle
Standard public school
1,035 students 15.8:1 students per teacher
Apex Middle
Standard public school
867 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
West Lake Middle
Standard public school
687 students 18.3:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Apex Friendship Middle
How many students attend Apex Friendship Middle?
Apex Friendship Middle has 1,412 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Apex, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Apex Friendship Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Apex Friendship Middle is 18.4:1, which is 12% higher than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 16% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Apex Friendship Middle?
10.4% of students at Apex Friendship Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Apex Friendship Middle?
The largest demographic group at Apex Friendship Middle is White at 60.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Apex, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Apex Friendship Middle?
Apex Friendship Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.