Enrollment
267
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Buies Creek, NC
Buies Creek Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Buies Creek Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 370201000878
👥 S:T ratio 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 11
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Buies Creek Elementary earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.
- 41
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.7:1
- students per teacher
- 51.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 267
- students enrolled
Buies Creek Elementary has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Harnett County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370201000878 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.7:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
51.3%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buies Creek Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Buies Creek Elementary
Buies Creek Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Buies Creek, North Carolina, enrolling 267 students.
At 15.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the North Carolina median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 51.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 267 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Among 207 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need North Carolina schools statewide, it ranks #156, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (48%) and Hispanic or Latino (21%) (diversity index 68/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 267 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 24.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Harnett County Schools also operates Overhills High (1,981 students) and Harnett Central High (1,522 students) alongside Buies Creek Elementary.
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 Buies Creek Elementary compares
Buies Creek Elementary 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 | 15.7:1 | ▼ 1% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 51.3% | ▼ 22% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 267 | top 81% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.7:1
Leaner classes than 41% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
267
Bigger than 28% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
51.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 22% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.7:1
students per teacher
- 1% below state mean
Top 59% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 41% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
35.6%
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
$11,026
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 267 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.2 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 47.6%
Hispanic or Latino 21.0%
African American 19.5%
Two or More 9.0%
Asian 2.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 47.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 68.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 68.3, Buies Creek Elementary is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Harnett County Schools, which includes Buies Creek Elementary.
$11,026
Per student
-8%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-34%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 13.4%
State 62.0%
Federal 24.6%
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 Buies Creek Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overhills High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Harnett Central High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Western Harnett High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Triton High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Benhaven Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Buies Creek Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,981
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 1,522
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 1,324
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 1,274
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 1,065
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
Similar elementary 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.
Similar enrollment (~267 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Buies Creek Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Buies Creek Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Harnett County Schools's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Buies Creek Elementary
How many students attend Buies Creek Elementary?
Buies Creek Elementary has 267 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Buies Creek, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buies Creek Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Buies Creek Elementary is 15.7:1, which is 1% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 0% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Buies Creek Elementary?
51.3% of students at Buies Creek Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buies Creek Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Buies Creek Elementary is White at 47.6% of enrollment, in Buies Creek, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 68.3/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buies Creek Elementary?
Buies Creek Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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).
Is Buies Creek Elementary a good school?
Buies Creek Elementary earns 41/100 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 Harnett County Schools?
Besides Buies Creek Elementary, Harnett County Schools also operates Overhills High (1,981 students), Harnett Central High (1,522 students), and Western Harnett High (1,324 students). See the Harnett County Schools district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.