Middle school (grades 6-8) · Apex, NC

Apex Middle

Federal NCES profile for Apex Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 370472001828
0/100100/10048/100
👥 S:T ratio
36
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
42
📋 Attendance
45
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Apex Middle earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.

#4 of 5
middle schools in Apex · Resource Index
48
Resource Index · Typical
16.1:1
students per teacher
21.1%
free-lunch eligible

Apex Middle has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Apex Middle ranks #4 of 5 middle schools in Apex, NC.

School address

Enrollment

867

North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

54.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

16.1:1

vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg

+2% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

21.1%

vs 66.0% North Carolina avg

-68% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Apex Middle compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Apex Middle

Apex Middle is a large middle school in Apex, North Carolina, enrolling 867 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.1:1 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 21.1% free-meal eligibility runs 68% below the North Carolina average.

Enrollment of 867 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.

Against 239 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #65.

Its student body is led by White (64%) and Hispanic or Latino (14%) (diversity index 56/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 289 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Its district draws 16.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Apex's middle schools, it stands alongside Apex Friendship Middle (1,412 students): Apex Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (16.1:1 vs 18.6:1).

Wake County Schools also operates Apex Friendship High (2,748 students) and Enloe High (2,643 students) alongside Apex Middle.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Apex Middle compares

Apex Middle on the metrics families compare, against North Carolina and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs North Carolina North Carolina avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 16.1:1 ▲ 2% 15.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 21.1% ▼ 68% 66.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 867 top 14% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

16.1:1
Leaner classes than 37% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
867
Bigger than 88% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
21.1%
free-lunch eligible - 68% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.1:1
students per teacher - 2% above state mean
Top 64% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 36% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
21.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,859
per pupil, district-wide - below North Carolina avg of $12,017
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 289 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
97
in-school suspensions + 32 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 63.6%
Hispanic or Latino 14.4%
Asian 8.8%
African American 8.3%
Two or More 4.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: White at 63.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 55.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 55.8, Apex Middle is about as mixed as the North Carolina school average of 56.1.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wake County Schools, which includes Apex Middle.

$11,859
Per student
-1%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.

How Apex Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Apex Friendship High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Enloe High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Panther Creek High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Millbrook High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Apex High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Apex Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Wake County Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Apex

4 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of North Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Apex Middle's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Apex Middle

How many students attend Apex Middle?

Apex Middle has 867 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Apex, NC.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Apex Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Apex Middle is 16.1:1, which is 2% higher than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Apex Middle?

21.1% of students at Apex Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Apex Middle?

The largest demographic group at Apex Middle is White at 63.6% of enrollment, in Apex, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 55.8/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Apex Middle?

Apex Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Apex Middle rank among middle schools in Apex?

By Resource Investment Index, Apex Middle ranks #4 of 5 middle schools in Apex, NC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Apex on the city page.

Is Apex Middle a good school?

Apex Middle earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Wake County Schools?

Besides Apex Middle, Wake County Schools also operates Apex Friendship High (2,748 students), Enloe High (2,643 students), and Panther Creek High (2,609 students). See the Wake County Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.