High school (grades 9-12) · Chapel Hill, NC

East Chapel Hill High

Federal NCES profile for East Chapel Hill High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 370072001942
0/100100/10055/100
👥 S:T ratio
37
📚 AP courses
100
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
43
📋 Attendance
26
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

East Chapel Hill High earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median. It is also one of the largest schools in North Carolina.

#16 of 21
public schools in Chapel Hill · Resource Index
55
Resource Index · Higher
15.8:1
students per teacher
20.9%
free-lunch eligible

East Chapel Hill High has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, East Chapel Hill High ranks #16 of 21 public schools in Chapel Hill, NC.

Enrollment

1,419

North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

90.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.8:1

vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg

+0% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

20.9%

vs 66.0% North Carolina avg

-68% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How East Chapel Hill High compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians

At or below 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 East Chapel Hill High

East Chapel Hill High is a large high school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, enrolling 1,419 students.

At 15.8:1, 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.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 20.9% free-meal eligibility runs 68% below the North Carolina average.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in North Carolina, bigger than 95% of state schools at 1,419 students.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.

Against 111 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #38.

Its student body is led by White (47%) and Asian (21%) (diversity index 70/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 32 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 284 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 29.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools spends $16,534 per pupil, 38% above the North Carolina average, a better-resourced district than most.

Among Chapel Hill's high schools, it stands alongside Chapel Hill High (1,608 students): East Chapel Hill High is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15.8:1 vs 16.2:1).

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools also operates Chapel Hill High (1,608 students) and Carrboro High (885 students) alongside East Chapel Hill High.

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 East Chapel Hill High compares

East Chapel Hill High 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 15.8:1 ▼ 0% 15.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 20.9% ▼ 68% 66.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 1,419 top 5% - -

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

15.8:1
Leaner classes than 40% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,419
Bigger than 96% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
20.9%
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
15.8:1
students per teacher - 0% above state mean
Top 60% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 40% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
29.7%
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
$16,534
per pupil, district-wide - above North Carolina avg of $12,017
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 284 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
18
in-school suspensions + 39 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.0 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 46.5%
Asian 20.7%
Hispanic or Latino 13.2%
African American 11.1%
Two or More 8.4%

Largest group: White at 46.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 70.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 70.4, East Chapel Hill High is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.

Programs

AP courses offered 32
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, which includes East Chapel Hill High.

$16,534
Per student
+38%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
0%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 46.2%
State 43.3%
Federal 10.5%

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 East Chapel Hill High Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Chapel Hill High Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Carrboro High Smaller Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Smith Middle Smaller Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Mcdougle Middle Smaller Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Culbreth Middle Smaller Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to East Chapel Hill High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Chapel Hill

2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high 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 East Chapel Hill High'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 East Chapel Hill High

How many students attend East Chapel Hill High?

East Chapel Hill High has 1,419 students enrolled. It is a high school in Chapel Hill, NC.

What is the student-teacher ratio at East Chapel Hill High?

The student-teacher ratio at East Chapel Hill High is 15.8:1, which is 0% higher than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at East Chapel Hill High?

20.9% of students at East Chapel Hill High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of East Chapel Hill High?

The largest demographic group at East Chapel Hill High is White at 46.5% of enrollment, in Chapel Hill, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 70.4/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for East Chapel Hill High?

East Chapel Hill High has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does East Chapel Hill High rank among public schools in Chapel Hill?

By Resource Investment Index, East Chapel Hill High ranks #16 of 21 public schools in Chapel Hill, NC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Chapel Hill on the city page.

Is East Chapel Hill High a good school?

East Chapel Hill High earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median. It is also one of the largest schools in North Carolina. 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 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools?

Besides East Chapel Hill High, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools also operates Chapel Hill High (1,608 students), Carrboro High (885 students), and Smith Middle (763 students). See the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City 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.