High school (grades 9-12) · Canton, NC

Pisgah High

Federal NCES profile for Pisgah High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 370204000908
0/100100/10047/100
👥 S:T ratio
40
📚 AP courses
60
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
43
📋 Attendance
22
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Pisgah High earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.

#1 of 5
public schools in Canton · Resource Index
47
Resource Index · Typical
15.1:1
students per teacher
52.4%
free-lunch eligible

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

By Resource Investment Index, Pisgah High ranks #1 of 5 public schools in Canton, NC.

Enrollment

859

North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

57.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.1:1

vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg

-4% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

52.4%

vs 66.0% North Carolina avg

-21% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Pisgah 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 Pisgah High

Pisgah High is a higher-need, large high school in Canton, North Carolina, enrolling 859 students.

At 15.1:1, 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 52.4% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 859 puts it in the larger 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.

Against 403 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #62.

Its student body is predominantly White (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 32/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 12 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 286 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 31.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 20.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Discipline events run high: 188 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 859 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Haywood County Schools also operates Tuscola High (873 students) and Waynesville Middle (727 students) alongside Pisgah 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 Pisgah High compares

Pisgah 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 15.1:1 ▼ 4% 15.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 52.4% ▼ 21% 66.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 859 top 15% - -

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

15.1:1
Leaner classes than 46% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
859
Bigger than 88% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
52.4%
free-lunch eligible - 21% 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
15.1:1
students per teacher - 4% below state mean
Top 50% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 50% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
31.3%
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
$12,690
per pupil, district-wide - above 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 286 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
141
in-school suspensions + 47 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 16.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.9 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 81.7%
Hispanic or Latino 12.9%
Two or More 2.8%
African American 1.3%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: White at 81.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 31.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 31.5, Pisgah High is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.

Programs

AP courses offered 12
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Haywood County Schools, which includes Pisgah High.

$12,690
Per student
+6%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.5%
State 54.0%
Federal 20.5%

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 Pisgah High Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Tuscola High Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Waynesville Middle Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Bethel Elementary Smaller Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Clyde Elementary Smaller Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Hazelwood Elementary Smaller Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Haywood County Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

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 Pisgah 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 Pisgah High

How many students attend Pisgah High?

Pisgah High has 859 students enrolled. It is a high school in Canton, NC.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Pisgah High?

The student-teacher ratio at Pisgah High is 15.1:1, which is 4% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 4% 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 Pisgah High?

52.4% of students at Pisgah High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pisgah High?

The largest demographic group at Pisgah High is White at 81.7% of enrollment, in Canton, NC.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Pisgah High?

Pisgah High has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (typical 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 Pisgah High rank among public schools in Canton?

By Resource Investment Index, Pisgah High ranks #1 of 5 public schools in Canton, 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 Canton on the city page.

Is Pisgah High a good school?

Pisgah High earns 47/100 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 Haywood County Schools?

Besides Pisgah High, Haywood County Schools also operates Tuscola High (873 students), Waynesville Middle (727 students), and Bethel Elementary (537 students). See the Haywood 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.