Enrollment
367
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Iron Station, NC
Iron Station Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Iron Station Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370268001113
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 27
📋 Attendance 70
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Iron Station Elementary earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 81% of North Carolina schools.
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.7:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 58.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 367
- students enrolled
Iron Station Elementary has class sizes smaller than 81% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lincoln County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370268001113 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.7:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
58.5%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-11% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Iron Station Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Iron Station Elementary
Iron Station Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Iron Station, North Carolina, enrolling 367 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 58.5% lands close to the North Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 367 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Among 356 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need North Carolina schools statewide, it ranks #24, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (76%) and Hispanic or Latino (12%) (diversity index 40/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 367 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
12.0% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 18.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Lincoln County Schools also operates North Lincoln High (1,126 students) and East Lincoln High (1,047 students) alongside Iron Station 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 Iron Station Elementary compares
Iron Station 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 | 12.7:1 | ▼ 20% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 58.5% | ▼ 11% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 367 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.7:1
Leaner classes than 69% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
367
Bigger than 42% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
58.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 11% 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
12.7:1
students per teacher
- 20% below state mean
Top 19% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
12.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$10,582
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 367 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 20 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.5 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 76.0%
Hispanic or Latino 11.7%
Two or More 7.1%
African American 4.4%
Asian 0.8%
Largest group: White at 76.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 40.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 40.2, Iron Station Elementary is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lincoln County Schools, which includes Iron Station Elementary.
$10,582
Per student
-12%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.4%
State 58.7%
Federal 18.8%
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 Iron Station Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Lincoln High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Lincoln High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lincolnton High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| North Lincoln Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Lincoln Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Iron Station Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,126
- Students per teacher
- 24:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 1,047
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 797
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 774
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 738
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
Similar other 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 (~367 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Iron Station Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Iron Station Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Lincoln 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 Iron Station Elementary
How many students attend Iron Station Elementary?
Iron Station Elementary has 367 students enrolled. It is a public school in Iron Station, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Iron Station Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Iron Station Elementary is 12.7:1, which is 20% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 19% lower 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 Iron Station Elementary?
58.5% of students at Iron Station Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Iron Station Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Iron Station Elementary is White at 76.0% of enrollment, in Iron Station, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Iron Station Elementary?
Iron Station Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (higher 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 Iron Station Elementary a good school?
Iron Station Elementary earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 81% of North Carolina schools. 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 Lincoln County Schools?
Besides Iron Station Elementary, Lincoln County Schools also operates North Lincoln High (1,126 students), East Lincoln High (1,047 students), and Lincolnton High (797 students). See the Lincoln 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.