North Carolina
2,689 Schools325 Districts1.5M Students
$13,042
Avg Per-Pupil Spend
-9% nat'l68.5%
Free Lunch Rate
+16.3pp vs nat'l84.5%
Graduation Rate
-2.0pp vs nat'l37/100
Opportunity Score
LimitedAbout North Carolina Public Schools
North Carolina's education system is anchored by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake County school districts, both among the top 20 largest in the US. The state gained national recognition in the 1990s for its ABCs accountability program and substantial teacher pay increases, but subsequent budget cuts eroded gains — leading to a long-running Leandro v. State litigation that found the state was failing to provide a constitutionally adequate education, with a state Supreme Court order compelling billions in new spending. North Carolina has a growing charter sector and one of the most contested school choice policy environments among Southern states. The state uses the NC Check-Ins and NCFE (North Carolina Final Exams) system, and participates in NAEP.
Largest District
Wake County Schools
158K students
Highest Per-Pupil
Marjorie Williams Academy
$34,774/student
Top Graduation Rate
Lincoln Charter School
97.5% grad rate
School Districts (325)
Per-pupil spending in North Carolina ranges from $7,460 to $34,774 across districts with available data. State avg: $13,042.
| District | Schools | Students | Per-Pupil | Grad Rate | Free Lunch | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Districts — 10,000+ Students | ||||||
| Wake County Schools | 193 | 158K | $14,074↑8% | 90.7%↑7% | 37.1%↓46% | 39 |
| Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools | 178 | 142K | $15,997↑23% | 85.9% | 53.5%↓22% | 42 |
| Guilford County Schools | 126 | 69K | $13,788↑6% | 89.0%↑5% | 70.0% | 36 |
| Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools | 81 | 53K | $14,195↑9% | 86.3% | 71.0% | 37 |
| Cumberland County Schools | 86 | 50K | $12,982 | 84.1% | 80.3%↑17% | 35 |
| Union County Public Schools | 52 | 41K | $11,790↓10% | 94.3%↑12% | 34.1%↓50% | 41 |
| Johnston County Public Schools | 48 | 37K | $11,360↓13% | 92.9%↑10% | 53.1%↓22% | 35 |
| Cabarrus County Schools | 42 | 34K | $12,307↓6% | 89.7%↑6% | 44.3%↓35% | 41 |
| Durham Public Schools | 55 | 31K | $17,524↑34% | 84.2% | 66.9% | 36 |
| Gaston County Schools | 56 | 30K | $11,856↓9% | 85.5% | 68.8% | 37 |
| Onslow County Schools | 39 | 27K | $11,413↓12% | 89.2%↑6% | 50.0%↓27% | 40 |
| New Hanover County Schools | 42 | 25K | $14,481↑11% | 87.4% | 60.4%↓12% | 47 |
| Pitt County Schools | 38 | 24K | $13,053 | 83.8% | 71.3% | 40 |
| Alamance-Burlington Schools | 37 | 22K | $15,701↑20% | 82.3% | 64.8%↓5% | 38 |
| Buncombe County Schools | 45 | 22K | $14,785↑13% | 87.8% | 56.9%↓17% | 39 |
| Public Schools of Robeson County | 36 | 21K | $14,227↑9% | 84.0% | 98.5%↑44% | 34 |
| Iredell-Statesville Schools | 38 | 21K | $12,479 | 88.4% | 46.1%↓33% | 39 |
| Harnett County Schools | 28 | 20K | $11,473↓12% | 87.1% | 64.1%↓6% | 33 |
| Rowan-Salisbury Schools | 33 | 18K | $12,322↓6% | 86.4% | 66.0% | 35 |
| Davidson County Schools | 36 | 18K | $11,522↓12% | 76.1%↓10% | 51.3%↓25% | 37 |
| Wayne County Public Schools | 32 | 17K | $12,270↓6% | 82.7% | 98.5%↑44% | 40 |
| Catawba County Schools | 28 | 16K | $12,509 | 88.8%↑5% | 54.9%↓20% | 35 |
| Randolph County School System | 32 | 15K | $12,337↓5% | 89.3%↑6% | 62.1%↓9% | 36 |
| Cleveland County Schools | 28 | 14K | $12,545 | 88.2% | 74.9%↑9% | 33 |
| Nash County Public Schools | 29 | 14K | $12,433 | 83.3% | 72.9%↑6% | 36 |
| Brunswick County Schools | 20 | 13K | $14,887↑14% | 85.7% | 99.5%↑45% | 37 |
| Henderson County Schools | 23 | 13K | $12,094↓7% | 92.4%↑9% | 55.6%↓19% | 43 |
| Craven County Schools | 26 | 13K | $12,267↓6% | 87.2% | 68.8% | 38 |
| Moore County Schools | 22 | 13K | $11,884↓9% | 90.4%↑7% | 42.9%↓37% | 40 |
| Burke County Schools | 26 | 12K | $12,502 | 91.7%↑9% | 70.3% | 36 |
| Lincoln County Schools | 23 | 12K | $11,236↓14% | 91.0%↑8% | 47.8%↓30% | 36 |
| Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools | 20 | 12K | $17,566↑35% | 92.5%↑10% | 29.4%↓57% | 39 |
| Rockingham County Schools | 22 | 11K | $13,012 | 86.3% | 72.7%↑6% | 33 |
| Pender County Schools | 19 | 11K | $12,071↓7% | 93.1%↑10% | 47.4%↓31% | 36 |
| Caldwell County Schools | 24 | 11K | $12,314↓6% | 88.3% | 65.7% | 36 |
| Wilson County Schools | 25 | 10K | $13,816↑6% | 76.8%↓9% | 86.4%↑26% | 36 |
| Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students | ||||||
| Duplin County Schools | 13 | 9,905 | $11,840↓9% | 83.4% | 99.6%↑45% | 43 |
| Lee County Schools | 16 | 9,143 | $12,597 | 87.3% | 67.3% | 38 |
| Chatham County Schools | 20 | 9,038 | $15,369↑18% | 89.1%↑5% | 48.2%↓30% | 40 |
| Hoke County Schools | 14 | 8,920 | $12,029↓8% | 81.5% | 99.5%↑45% | 27 |
| Wilkes County Schools | 22 | 8,673 | $12,482 | 87.3% | 83.3%↑22% | 42 |
| Stanly County Schools | 23 | 8,643 | $12,039↓8% | 91.4%↑8% | 75.1%↑10% | 43 |
| Lenoir County Public Schools | 17 | 8,334 | $12,624 | 84.8% | 99.1%↑45% | 36 |
| Carteret County Public Schools | 18 | 8,081 | $13,818↑6% | 84.6% | 77.8%↑14% | 40 |
| Sampson County Schools | 18 | 7,971 | $13,220 | 81.3% | 99.3%↑45% | 38 |
| Franklin County Schools | 16 | 7,897 | $12,921 | 84.1% | 65.4% | 36 |
| Rutherford County Schools | 18 | 7,527 | $16,397↑26% | 84.8% | 99.2%↑45% | 34 |
| Surry County Schools | 20 | 7,340 | $13,317 | 92.5%↑9% | 64.5%↓6% | 42 |
| Orange County Schools | 13 | 7,208 | $15,558↑19% | 89.2%↑6% | 49.5%↓28% | 44 |
| Granville County Schools | 17 | 6,748 | $12,663 | 79.6%↓6% | 69.7% | 39 |
Showing 50 of 325
Frequently Asked Questions
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data, EDFacts, and Opportunity Atlas. Figures reflect the most recent available federal dataset (2021-22 / 2022-23). Learn more about our data sources.