Enrollment
2,609
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 370472002810
Panther Creek High — Cary, NC
Federal NCES profile for Panther Creek High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 56/100.
👥 Class size 18
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 25
📋 Attendance 67
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)
118.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.6:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
+26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
12.8%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-81% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Panther Creek High 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
Panther Creek High reports 2,609 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 118.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 26% 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 30% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 12.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 81% below the North Carolina average and 75% below the national baseline. The school offers 26 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 373 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.3% 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 56/100 (C), calculated from 5 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 Panther Creek High 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 | 20.6:1 | ▲ 26% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 12.8% | ▼ 81% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,609 | top 100% | — | — |
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
12.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 81% 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
20.6:1
students per teacher
— 26% above state mean
Top 93% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
13.3%
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
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 373 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
43
in-school suspensions + 108 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 2,609 Top 100% in North Carolina — larger than 0% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 118.0
Students per teacher 20.6:1 +26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 12.8% -81% vs state
NCES ID 370472002810
Student demographics
Asian 47.9%
White 23.9%
African American 15.2%
Hispanic or Latino 7.8%
Two or More 4.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Asian at 47.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 26
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 7.0
Students per counselor 373:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.3%
In-school suspensions 43
Out-of-school suspensions 108
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wake County Schools, which includes Panther Creek High.
$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
- 2,498
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,449
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,411
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
Similar high schools in Cary
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Green Hope High
Standard public school
2,304 students 19.8:1 students per teacher
Green Level High
Standard public school
2,283 students 20.3:1 students per teacher
Cary High
Standard public school
2,044 students 17.6:1 students per teacher
Score Academy
Alternative education program
584 students 22.8:1 students per teacher
Wake Stem Early College High School
Standard public school
294 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
Crossroads Flex
Standard public school
139 students 24.7:1 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 Panther Creek High
How many students attend Panther Creek High?
Panther Creek High has 2,609 students enrolled. It is a high school in Cary, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Panther Creek High?
The student-teacher ratio at Panther Creek High is 20.6:1, which is 26% higher than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 30% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Panther Creek High?
12.8% of students at Panther Creek High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Panther Creek High?
The largest demographic group at Panther Creek High is Asian at 47.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cary, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Panther Creek High?
Panther Creek High has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.