North Carolina · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced School Districts in North Carolina

Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

Compiled by PlainSchools, Education-data publisher · August 26, 2026

The ranking in one line

Polk County Schools in Columbus leads North Carolina's districts with an average school quality score of 57.3/100 across 7 schools.

57.3/100
top district score (grade C): 7
schools in Polk County Schools: 2,166
students in the top district: 47/100
average across the top 50

#	District	Grade	Students	Schools	Avg S:T	Per-Pupil $	Avg Quality
1	Polk County SchoolsColumbus	C	2,166	7	12.8:1	$15,041	57.3
2	Elkin City SchoolsElkin	C	1,239	4	13.2:1	$13,671	57.3
3	Watauga County SchoolsBoone	C-	4,754	11	15.5:1	$13,003	54.5
4	Alexander County SchoolsTaylorsville	C-	4,525	12	15.3:1	$12,929	54.4
5	Stokes County SchoolsDanbury	C-	5,606	19	15.9:1	$12,939	53.7
6	Gates County SchoolsGatesville	C-	1,497	5	12.3:1	$15,749	53
7	Chapel Hill-Carrboro City SchoolsChapel Hill	C-	11,561	20	12.2:1	$16,963	51.3
8	Carteret County Public SchoolsBeaufort	C-	8,081	18	13.2:1	$12,846	50.7
9	Orange County SchoolsHillsborough	C-	7,208	13	13.1:1	$14,399	50.1
10	Jones County SchoolsTrenton	C-	1,067	5	13.7:1	$17,058	50
11	Lincoln County SchoolsLincolnton	D	11,629	22	15.6:1	$10,722	49.9
12	Weldon City SchoolsWeldon	D	659	4	14.7:1	$24,869	49.8
13	Macon County SchoolsFranklin	D	4,450	12	17.3:1	$13,238	48.9
14	Yadkin County SchoolsYadkinville	D	5,243	14	16:1	$12,043	48.8
15	Buncombe County SchoolsAsheville	D	22,091	45	14.1:1	$13,585	48.7
16	Whiteville City SchoolsWhiteville	D	2,104	5	11.4:1	$14,346	48.6
17	Beaufort County SchoolsWashington	D	5,975	14	14.1:1	$13,749	48.2
18	Greene County SchoolsSnow Hill	D	2,668	6	14.5:1	$16,157	47.2
19	Wilkes County SchoolsNorth Wilkesboro	D	8,673	22	16:1	$12,150	47.1
20	Randolph County School SystemAsheboro	D	15,383	32	15.4:1	$11,457	47
21	Avery County SchoolsNewland	D	1,904	8	11.8:1	$15,513	46.9
22	Durham Public SchoolsDurham	D	31,531	54	13.2:1	$15,239	46
23	New Hanover County SchoolsWilmington	D	25,244	42	14.2:1	$13,808	46
24	Pitt County SchoolsGreenville	D	24,091	39	15.1:1	$12,253	45
25	Wake County SchoolsCary	D	159,778	197	14.9:1	$11,691	45
26	Chatham County SchoolsPittsboro	D	9,129	21	14.3:1	$14,128	44.8
27	Asheville City SchoolsAsheville	D	4,137	9	14.4:1	$16,507	44.7
28	Jackson County Public SchoolsSylva	D	3,557	9	14.4:1	$13,568	44.7
29	Dare County SchoolsNags Head	D	5,181	11	12.9:1	$13,996	44.6
30	Cherokee County SchoolsMurphy	D	3,146	13	13.1:1	$14,303	44.5
31	Transylvania County SchoolsBrevard	D	3,312	9	11:1	$14,323	44.2
32	Edgecombe County Public SchoolsTarboro	D	5,419	14	14.4:1	$13,702	44.1
33	Cleveland County SchoolsShelby	D	14,406	28	14.5:1	$12,540	44
34	Davie County SchoolsMocksville	D	6,114	13	14.2:1	$12,525	44
35	Madison County SchoolsMarshall	D	2,108	7	14:1	$15,167	44
36	Davidson County SchoolsLexington	D	17,964	36	15.8:1	$11,178	43.8
37	Clinton City SchoolsClinton	D	3,051	5	15:1	$11,982	43.8
38	Mitchell County SchoolsBakersville	D	1,722	7	14.4:1	$14,405	43.7
39	Mcdowell County SchoolsMarion	D	5,776	15	15.3:1	$13,112	43.1
40	Clay County SchoolsHayesville	D	1,314	4	14.6:1	$14,228	43
41	Washington County SchoolsPlymouth	D	1,104	5	17.8:1	$17,309	42.8
42	Hickory City SchoolsHickory	D	3,877	9	14.4:1	$11,662	42.7
43	Northampton County SchoolsJackson	D	1,291	6	14.5:1	$20,303	42.7
44	Duplin County SchoolsKenansville	D	9,905	13	16.8:1	$11,214	42.6
45	Hertford County SchoolsWinton	D	2,486	7	16.7:1	$16,424	42.6
46	Johnston County Public SchoolsSmithfield	D	37,286	48	15.6:1	$11,352	42.3
47	Edenton-Chowan SchoolsEdenton	D	1,917	4	13.5:1	$15,037	42.3
48	Bladen County SchoolsElizabethtown	D	3,983	13	16.6:1	$16,306	42.2
49	Cabarrus County SchoolsConcord	D	34,810	44	17.2:1	$10,749	42
50	Charlotte-Mecklenburg SchoolsCharlotte	D	144,197	180	17.3:1	$12,198	42

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in North Carolina? ▼

The top-ranked district in North Carolina is Polk County Schools in Columbus with 2,166 students across 7 schools. Average quality score: 57.3/100. Rankings are based on average school quality scores from NCES data.

How are district rankings calculated? ▼

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be ranked.

How many school districts are in North Carolina? ▼

North Carolina has 50+ school districts serving 1,544,406 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 15.8:1.

Explore More for North Carolina

All Schools → Best Schools → Highest Spending → Funding Equity → Absenteeism Data →

Methodology

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be included. This measures school-level resources, not test scores. Higher average scores indicate districts where schools generally have smaller classes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

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