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 (2022-23). Only districts enrolling 500 or more students are included.

$24,869
Top per-pupil spend
$15,381
Avg across top 50
50
Districts listed

The spending picture in one line

Weldon City Schools spends $24,869 per student, the most of any North Carolina district listed, against an average of $15,381 across the top 50.

$24,869
top spend (Weldon City Schools)
$13,710
lowest on this list
1.8×
spread across the listed districts
659
students in the top district
#DistrictPer-Pupil $
1Weldon City SchoolsWeldon$24,869
2Northampton County SchoolsJackson$20,303
3Pamlico County SchoolsBayboro$17,517
4Warren County SchoolsWarrenton$17,499
5Washington County SchoolsPlymouth$17,309
6Jones County SchoolsTrenton$17,058
7Chapel Hill-Carrboro City SchoolsChapel Hill$16,963
8Halifax County SchoolsHalifax$16,927
9Bertie County SchoolsWindsor$16,650
10Graham County SchoolsRobbinsville$16,628
11Asheville City SchoolsAsheville$16,507
12Hertford County SchoolsWinton$16,424
13Bladen County SchoolsElizabethtown$16,306
14Greene County SchoolsSnow Hill$16,157
15Anson County SchoolsWadesboro$16,070
16Gates County SchoolsGatesville$15,749
17Avery County SchoolsNewland$15,513
18Martin County SchoolsWilliamston$15,333
19Maureen Joy CharterDurham$15,258
20Durham Public SchoolsDurham$15,239
21Madison County SchoolsMarshall$15,167
22Polk County SchoolsColumbus$15,041
23Edenton-Chowan SchoolsEdenton$15,037
24Durham Charter SchoolDurham$14,726
25Alleghany County SchoolsSparta$14,685
26Vance County SchoolsHenderson$14,592
27Ashe County SchoolsJefferson$14,547
28Swain County SchoolsBryson City$14,518
29Rutherford County SchoolsForest City$14,515
30Yancey County SchoolsBurnsville$14,455
31Mitchell County SchoolsBakersville$14,405
32Orange County SchoolsHillsborough$14,399
33Perquimans County SchoolsHertford$14,355
34Whiteville City SchoolsWhiteville$14,346
35Transylvania County SchoolsBrevard$14,323
36Cherokee County SchoolsMurphy$14,303
37Clay County SchoolsHayesville$14,228
38Quality Education AcademyWinston-Salem$14,184
39Chatham County SchoolsPittsboro$14,128
40Thomasville City SchoolsThomasville$14,066
41Caswell County SchoolsYanceyville$14,044
42Columbus County SchoolsWhiteville$14,006
43Dare County SchoolsNags Head$13,996
44Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public SchoolsElizabeth City$13,931
45Kipp Gaston College PreparatoryGaston$13,871
46Kipp Halifax College PreparatoryHalifax$13,826
47Winston Salem / Forsyth County SchoolsWinston Salem$13,811
48New Hanover County SchoolsWilmington$13,808
49Beaufort County SchoolsWashington$13,749
50Scotland County SchoolsLaurinburg$13,710

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.

Per-pupil spending figures come from the National Center for Education Statistics F-33 School District Finance Survey for fiscal year 2022-23, the federal government's annual census of revenues and expenditures across more than 13,000 public school districts. Only districts enrolling 500 or more students are ranked, to keep small-district outliers from distorting the comparison.