North Carolina · NCES F-33 finance data
Highest Spending Districts in North Carolina The 50 North Carolina districts that spend the most per student, ranked from NCES F-33 finance data (2021-22). Only districts enrolling 500 or more students are included.
$20,192 Top per-pupil spend
$15,000 Avg across top 50
50 Districts listed The spending picture in one line
Northampton County Schools spends $20,192 per student, the most of any North Carolina district listed, against an average of $15,000 across the top 50.
$20,192 top spend (Northampton County Schools)
$13,257 lowest on this list
1.5× spread across the listed districts
1,291 students in the top district # District Enrollment Schools Per-Pupil $ 1 Northampton County Schools Jackson 1,291 6 $20,192 2 Weldon City Schools Weldon 659 4 $19,454 3 Pamlico County Schools Bayboro 1,244 4 $17,355 4 Jones County Schools Trenton 1,067 5 $17,274 5 Washington County Schools Plymouth 1,104 5 $17,233 6 Halifax County Schools Halifax 2,173 11 $16,759 7 Graham County Schools Robbinsville 1,141 3 $16,563 8 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Chapel Hill 11,561 21 $16,534 9 Gates County Schools Gatesville 1,497 5 $16,417 10 Warren County Schools Warrenton 1,801 7 $16,222 11 Bertie County Schools Windsor 1,831 7 $16,069 12 Asheville City Schools Asheville 4,137 9 $15,998 13 Cherokee County Schools Murphy 3,146 13 $15,950 14 Alleghany County Schools Sparta 1,421 4 $15,572 15 Avery County Schools Newland 1,904 8 $15,311 16 Quality Education Academy Winston-Salem 673 1 $15,219 17 Greene County Schools Snow Hill 2,668 6 $15,182 18 Polk County Schools Columbus 2,166 7 $15,096 19 Durham Public Schools Durham 31,531 56 $14,937 20 Scotland County Schools Laurinburg 5,624 10 $14,867 21 Maureen Joy Charter Durham 616 1 $14,827 22 Madison County Schools Marshall 2,108 7 $14,773 23 Edenton-Chowan Schools Edenton 1,917 4 $14,768 24 Durham Charter School Durham 643 1 $14,728 25 Martin County Schools Williamston 2,636 9 $14,638 26 Clay County Schools Hayesville 1,314 4 $14,506 27 Hertford County Schools Winton 2,486 7 $14,364 28 Central Park School for Children Durham 594 1 $14,327 29 Yancey County Schools Burnsville 2,038 7 $14,275 30 Swain County Schools Bryson City 1,910 5 $14,269 31 Whiteville City Schools Whiteville 2,104 5 $14,263 32 Beaufort County Schools Washington 5,975 14 $14,227 33 Montgomery County Schools Troy 3,663 11 $14,181 34 Rutherford County Schools Forest City 7,527 18 $14,170 35 Anson County Schools Wadesboro 2,964 9 $14,107 36 Orange County Schools Hillsborough 7,208 13 $14,085 37 Caswell County Schools Yanceyville 2,250 6 $13,976 38 Perquimans County Schools Hertford 1,665 4 $13,955 39 Mitchell County Schools Bakersville 1,722 7 $13,939 40 Transylvania County Schools Brevard 3,312 9 $13,904 41 Bladen County Schools Elizabethtown 3,983 13 $13,797 42 Ashe County Schools Jefferson 2,743 6 $13,780 43 New Hanover County Schools Wilmington 25,244 42 $13,724 44 Sallie B Howard School Wilson 1,204 1 $13,609 45 Lexington City Schools Lexington 2,999 7 $13,565 46 Jackson County Public Schools Sylva 3,557 9 $13,534 47 Chatham County Schools Pittsboro 9,129 21 $13,461 48 Person County Schools Roxboro 4,374 12 $13,423 49 Dare County Schools Nags Head 5,181 11 $13,375 50 Thomasville City Schools Thomasville 2,228 4 $13,257
Explore More for North Carolina Methodology
Per-pupil expenditure data comes from the NCES F-33 Finance Survey. Only districts with
500 or more students are included to ensure meaningful comparisons. Spending figures
include all current operational expenditures divided by total enrollment.
Read our methodology
— how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.