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North Carolina
Public School Ratings






North Carolina Public Schools

Source & Methodology

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:
  • Test Scores: Edfacts (U.S. Department of Education), State departments of education.
  • Expenditures: National Center for Education Statistics.
  • Educational Environment: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau).
Date(s) & Update Frequency:
  • Test data: Reflects 2023 – 2024 school year.
  • Expenditures: 2022
  • Educational Environment: 2023 (latest available). Updated annually.
  • All data updated June 2025

Methodology:   Only NeighborhoodScout gives you nationally comparable school ranks based on test scores, so you can directly compare the quality of schools in any location. Read more about Scout's School Data

Overview

Public Schools Overview North Carolina School Districts by City
Number Of Students 1,545,585
Number Of North Carolina Schools 2,769
Number Of North Carolina School Districts 375
Spending Per Student $13,363

State Test Scores

Reading/English Language Arts Tests

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
80 60 40 20 0
49%
53%
50%
49%
48%
51%
60%
49%
53%
50%
49%
48%
51%
60%
    3rd Grade
    4th Grade
    5th Grade
    6th Grade
    7th Grade
    8th Grade
    10th Grade
Reading Proficiency

Math Test

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
80 60 40 20 0
63%
57%
58%
54%
50%
47%
37%
57%
63%
57%
58%
54%
50%
47%
37%
57%
    3rd Grade
    4th Grade
    5th Grade
    6th Grade
    7th Grade
    8th Grade
    10th Grade
    11th Grade
Math Proficiency

School enrollment by group

Ethnic/Racial Groups This State Nation
White (non-hispanic) 45.7% 46.7%
Black 26.1% 15.8%
Hispanic 22.4% 30.1%
Asian Or Pacific Islander 4.5% 6.0%
American Indian Or Native Of Alaska 1.3% 1.4%
Special Needs Groups This State Nation
Economically Disadvantaged 68.3% 51.9%
English Language Learners 7.4% 10.0%
Students With Disabilities 13.2% 14.9%

Class Size (number of students per classroom teacher)

17.5 15 12.5 10 7.5 5 2.5 0
14.9
15.9
    AVG FOR STATE
    AVG FOR NATION

North Carolina Education Environment

Population State Nation
Population 10,835,491 334,914,895
Population Density (per sq. mile) 220 93
Population distribution by age STATE NATION
4 Years Old And Below 5.7% 5.7%
5-19 Years Old 19.1% 19.1%
20-44 Years Old 32.7% 33.3%
45-64 Years Old 25.6% 25.1%
65 Or Older 16.9% 16.8%
HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS STATE NATION
Number Of Households 4,186,924 120,745,577
Single Parent Households With Children 8.5% 8.3%
Adults With At Least A High School Diploma 89.7% 89.4%
Adults With At Least A Bachelor's Degree 34.7% 34.9%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME DISTRIBUTION STATE NATION
$150,000 or more 17.3% 22.0%
$100,000 - $149,999 16.5% 17.4%
$75,000 - $99,999 13.0% 12.7%
$50,000 - $74,999 17.0% 15.7%
$30,000 - $49,999 16.1% 13.8%
$15,000 - $29,999 11.4% 10.0%
$15,000 or less 8.9% 8.4%

Education Expenditures

For the State Per Student Total % of Total
Instructional Expenditures $7,524 $11,629,189,000 56.3%
Support Expenditures
Student $717 $1,108,296,000 5.4%
Staff $421 $651,371,000 3.2%
General Administration $203 $313,159,000 1.5%
School Administration $717 $1,108,754,000 5.4%
Operation $936 $1,446,950,000 7.0%
Transportation $473 $731,502,000 3.5%
Other $410 $632,972,000 3.1%
Total Support $3,877 $5,993,004,000 29.0%
Non-instructional Expenditures $1,961 $3,031,407,000 14.7%
Total Expenditures $13,363 $20,653,600,000 100.0%
For the Nation Per Student Total % of Total
Instructional Expenditures $9,169 $453,314,948,000 49.6%
Support Expenditures
Student $1,031 $50,976,033,477 5.6%
Staff $799 $39,519,417,000 4.3%
General Administration $308 $15,224,255,000 1.7%
School Administration $850 $42,029,112,000 4.6%
Operation $1,430 $70,704,769,000 7.7%
Transportation $613 $30,295,759,523 3.3%
Other $623 $30,798,344,000 3.4%
Total Support $5,654 $279,547,690,000 30.6%
Non-instructional Expenditures $3,675 $181,697,172,000 19.9%
Total Expenditures $18,499 $914,559,810,000 100.0%

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