State profile · NC

North Carolina Public Schools

Every public school, district, and the headline NCES measures for North Carolina - 332 districts, drawn straight from federal records.

2,703
Schools
1,544,406
Students
16.4:1
Avg ratio
66.0%
Free lunch

The state in one line

North Carolina runs 2,703 public schools across 332 districts, with a 16.4:1 average classroom and 66.0% of students on subsidized lunch.

2,703
public schools
332
school districts
16.4:1
avg student–teacher
66.0%
free/reduced lunch

How North Carolina ranks nationally

Per-pupil spending

$12,017

#46 of 51 · highest-spending

Average class size

16.4:1

#36 of 51 · smallest classes

Public schools

2,703

#9 of 51 · most schools

On subsidized lunch

66.0%

#5 of 43 · highest share

North Carolina ranks #46 of 51 nationally on per-pupil spending and #36 of 51 on average class size, derived live by comparing it against every other state. Ranked among all 50 states + DC from NCES enrollment/staffing and the F-33 finance survey. Lunch share is an indicator of student need, not of quality.

What the NCES Data Says About North Carolina Schools

North Carolina operates 2,703 public K-12 schools organised into 332 independent school districts serving 1,544,406 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Wake County Schools, enrolls 159,778 pupils across 197 schools at $11,859 per student, while smaller rural districts can run fewer than a dozen campuses. This fragmentation — inherited from century-old township governance patterns in many states — is why per-pupil spending, class sizes, and programme availability vary dramatically inside a single state boundary.

Statewide, the average student-teacher ratio is 16.4:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 66.0% across North Carolina public schools, a federal indicator of economic need that drives Title I funding allocations. The district table below is sortable by enrollment, school count, and per-pupil expenditure — the three fields that best predict a district's financial and demographic profile. For schools specifically, use the rankings links above to view per-category leaderboards covering spending, class size, best schools by composite quality score, chronic absenteeism, and funding-equity distribution within the state.

Every district figure here pulls from two distinct federal surveys: enrollment and demographic data come from the NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (school membership and directory), while per-pupil spending, teacher salaries, and federal/state/local revenue shares originate in the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey (typically FY 2021-22). Civil-rights indicators — gifted enrollment, AP course counts, counselor staffing, chronic absenteeism, in- and out-of-school suspensions — come from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Cross-referencing these three sources is what lets PlainSchools produce composite scores and equity rankings that single-source tools cannot.

North Carolina's average class size vs. every US state

Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means smaller classes)

16 smaller classes than 27% of 51 US states

11–12: 7 US states (14%). Below this entry. 12–13: 4 US states (8%). Below this entry. 13–14: 8 US states (16%). Below this entry. 14–15: 10 US states (20%). Below this entry. 15–16: 5 US states (10%). Below this entry. 16–17: 4 US states (8%). This entry sits in this band. 17–18: 4 US states (8%). Above this entry. 18–19: 5 US states (10%). Above this entry. 20–21: 1 US states (2%). Above this entry. 21–22: 1 US states (2%). Above this entry. 22–23: 1 US states (2%). Above this entry. 23–24: 1 US states (2%). Above this entry. This state 11 24 every US state, by average class size, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25

Or browse all North Carolina schools

Federal data — no proprietary formula. PlainSchools publishes the actual federal survey data — enrollment, staffing, finance, and demographics from NCES — without a composite rating on top. The insights below are computed directly from those datasets; every number traces to a cited source.

North Carolina per-pupil spending varies 5.5× across districts

Per-pupil spending in North Carolina ranges from $6,324 (lowest district) to $34,774 (highest), a spread of $28,450. That spread reflects typical state-level variation between high-property-value suburbs and rural or low-tax-base districts. High-spending districts typically draw on higher property tax bases, a structural feature of state education finance under the federal Title I framework that sets the floor but not the ceiling.

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey Local Education Agency Finance Survey (F-33) · FY 2021-22

North Carolina has higher-than-average Title I eligibility - 66.0% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch

Free-lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), which replaced No Child Left Behind in defining how the federal government distributes K-12 supplemental funding. Districts above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. States with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local property tax base, which can either offset spending gaps or reinforce them depending on state allocation policy.

Source: ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Eligibility · 2024-25

Average North Carolina student-teacher ratio is 16.4:1 - near the U.S. average of approximately 16:1

Student-teacher ratio is the simplest staffing metric reported on NCES Common Core of Data, but it does not capture push-in specialists, intervention staff, English Language Learner aides, special education co-teachers, or counseling and support staff. Variation between districts within the state is wider than the state-average figure suggests, large urban districts may run 20:1 while small rural districts run 10:1, both inside the same average. Class-load comparisons are most meaningful at the district or school level, not the state aggregate.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe School-level enrollment and staffing · 2024-25

School Spending

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Schools ranked by per-pupil expenditure

District Spending

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Districts ranked by per-pupil expenditure

Largest Schools

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Schools ranked by student enrollment

Funding Equity

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Districts ranked by funding equity score

Best Student-Teacher Ratios

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Schools with the smallest class sizes

Best Schools

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Top-rated schools by quality score

Best Districts

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Top-ranked districts by quality score

Chronic Absenteeism

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Schools ranked by absenteeism rates

Largest districts in North Carolina

By total K-12 enrollment — NCES Common Core 2024-25

Top district = 10% of enrollment
Wake County Schools159,778Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools144,197Guilford County Schools68,894Winston Salem / Forsyth County…52,717Cumberland County Schools49,661Union County Public Schools41,497Johnston County Public Schools37,286Cabarrus County Schools34,810Durham Public Schools31,531Gaston County Schools30,281
# District Enrollment
1 Wake County Schools Cary 159,778
2 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Charlotte 144,197
3 Guilford County Schools Greensboro 68,894
4 Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools Winston Salem 52,717
5 Cumberland County Schools Fayetteville 49,661
6 Union County Public Schools Monroe 41,497
7 Johnston County Public Schools Smithfield 37,286
8 Cabarrus County Schools Concord 34,810
9 Durham Public Schools Durham 31,531
10 Gaston County Schools Gastonia 30,281
11 Onslow County Schools Jacksonville 27,921
12 New Hanover County Schools Wilmington 25,244
13 Pitt County Schools Greenville 24,091
14 Alamance-Burlington Schools Burlington 22,489
15 Buncombe County Schools Asheville 22,091
16 Public Schools of Robeson County Lumberton 21,206
17 Iredell-Statesville Schools Statesville 20,721
18 Harnett County Schools Lillington 20,050
19 Rowan-Salisbury Schools Salisbury 18,225
20 Davidson County Schools Lexington 17,964
Show the next 80 districts
# District Enrollment
21 Wayne County Public Schools Goldsboro 17,558
22 Catawba County Schools Newton 15,678
23 Randolph County School System Asheboro 15,383
24 Nash County Public Schools Nashville 14,469
25 Cleveland County Schools Shelby 14,406
26 Moore County Schools Carthage 13,008
27 Brunswick County Schools Bolivia 12,944
28 Henderson County Schools Hendersonville 12,896
29 Craven County Schools New Bern 12,755
30 Burke County Schools Morganton 11,770
31 Lincoln County Schools Lincolnton 11,629
32 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Chapel Hill 11,561
33 Rockingham County Schools Eden 11,189
34 Pender County Schools Burgaw 10,941
35 Caldwell County Schools Lenoir 10,758
36 Wilson County Schools Wilson 10,276
37 Duplin County Schools Kenansville 9,905
38 Lee County Schools Sanford 9,143
39 Chatham County Schools Pittsboro 9,129
40 Hoke County Schools Raeford 8,920
41 Wilkes County Schools North Wilkesboro 8,673
42 Stanly County Schools Albemarle 8,643
43 Lenoir County Public Schools Kinston 8,334
44 Carteret County Public Schools Beaufort 8,081
45 Sampson County Schools Clinton 7,971
46 Franklin County Schools Louisburg 7,897
47 Rutherford County Schools Forest City 7,527
48 Surry County Schools Dobson 7,340
49 Orange County Schools Hillsborough 7,208
50 Granville County Schools Oxford 6,748
51 Richmond County Schools Hamlet 6,678
52 Haywood County Schools Waynesville 6,605
53 Davie County Schools Mocksville 6,114
54 Beaufort County Schools Washington 5,975
55 Mooresville Graded School District Mooresville 5,971
56 Mcdowell County Schools Marion 5,776
57 Scotland County Schools Laurinburg 5,624
58 Stokes County Schools Danbury 5,606
59 Edgecombe County Public Schools Tarboro 5,419
60 Kannapolis City Schools Kannapolis 5,390
61 Columbus County Schools Whiteville 5,335
62 Vance County Schools Henderson 5,269
63 Yadkin County Schools Yadkinville 5,243
64 Dare County Schools Nags Head 5,181
65 Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools Elizabeth City 4,834
66 Watauga County Schools Boone 4,754
67 Alexander County Schools Taylorsville 4,525
68 Currituck County Schools Currituck 4,514
69 Macon County Schools Franklin 4,450
70 Asheboro City Schools Asheboro 4,383
71 Person County Schools Roxboro 4,374
72 Asheville City Schools Asheville 4,137
73 Bladen County Schools Elizabethtown 3,983
74 Hickory City Schools Hickory 3,877
75 Montgomery County Schools Troy 3,663
76 Jackson County Public Schools Sylva 3,557
77 Transylvania County Schools Brevard 3,312
78 Cherokee County Schools Murphy 3,146
79 Clinton City Schools Clinton 3,051
80 Nc Virtual Academy Durham 3,047
81 Lexington City Schools Lexington 2,999
82 Anson County Schools Wadesboro 2,964
83 Newton Conover City Schools Newton 2,856
84 Roanoke Rapids City Schools Roanoke Rapids 2,765
85 Ashe County Schools Jefferson 2,743
86 Greene County Schools Snow Hill 2,668
87 Martin County Schools Williamston 2,636
88 Hertford County Schools Winton 2,486
89 North Carolina Cyber Academy Durham 2,372
90 Lincoln Charter School Denver 2,263
91 Caswell County Schools Yanceyville 2,250
92 Thomasville City Schools Thomasville 2,228
93 Lake Norman Charter Huntersville 2,215
94 Halifax County Schools Halifax 2,173
95 Polk County Schools Columbus 2,166
96 Union Academy Charter School Monroe 2,129
97 Madison County Schools Marshall 2,108
98 Whiteville City Schools Whiteville 2,104
99 Yancey County Schools Burnsville 2,038
100 Wake Preparatory Academy Wake Forest 1,961

Top 100 of 332 districts by enrollment. Browse all districts →

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 Local Education Agency Universe Federal universe survey of all U.S. school districts

Largest Schools in North Carolina

Nc Virtual Academy
Durham — other
3,482
students
Myers Park High School
Charlotte — high
3,225
students
Ardrey Kell High School
Charlotte — high
3,036
students
Apex Friendship High
Apex — high
2,748
students
Enloe High
Raleigh — high
2,643
students
Wake Preparatory Academy
Wake Forest — other
2,617
students
Panther Creek High
Cary — high
2,609
students
South Mecklenburg High School
Charlotte — high
2,534
students
William Amos Hough High
Cornelius — high
2,518
students
Millbrook High
Raleigh — high
2,498
students

Other States

New Jersey
NJ public schools
New Mexico
NM public schools
New York
NY public schools
North Dakota
ND public schools
Ohio
OH public schools
Oklahoma
OK public schools

Side-by-side: Compare Wake County Schools vs Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools → · Compare any two districts

Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25, NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.

Using the North Carolina data

North Carolina's 2,703 schools sit inside 332 districts — compare at the district level first.

  • District boundaries decide enrollment: shortlist 2-3 districts on spending, ratio, and size before comparing individual schools. Compare districts
  • Check how North Carolina distributes money across its districts — funding equity varies more within states than between them. Funding equity
  • Verify any school's federal record (enrollment, staffing, CRDC flags) before a visit or enrollment decision. Look up a school

Figures are the federal record (CCD 2024-25, F-33 FY 2021-22, CRDC 2021-22) — they lag the current school year and describe reported data, not school quality. PlainSchools does not rate or rank schools.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many public schools are in North Carolina?

North Carolina has 2,703 public schools across 332 school districts, serving 1,544,406 students.

What is the average student-teacher ratio in North Carolina?

The average student-teacher ratio in North Carolina public schools is 16.4:1. This varies by district, use the district table below to compare.

What percentage of North Carolina students qualify for free lunch?

66.0% of students in North Carolina qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.

What is the largest school district in North Carolina?

The largest school district in North Carolina is Wake County Schools with 159,778 students across 197 schools.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Top schools in North Carolina by enrollment

Largest K-12 public schools by total students enrolled

students

What this shows The largest public schools in North Carolina by enrollment — often statewide virtual academies or large consolidated campuses, so size here reflects reach, not quality.

Source NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) As of 2024-25

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD) — Public school universe · 2023-2024 Public K-12 school enrollment, demographics, and operational data; collected annually by NCES from state education agencies.