schoolsbycounty

State district guide

North Carolina public school districts

Compare district systems across North Carolina by enrollment scale, school count, county context, generated guide coverage, and the parent checks that matter before choosing where to live.

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Direct answer for parents

What this district ranking can and cannot tell you

If you are searching for the best school districts in North Carolina, start with the largest and most data-rich district systems below, then verify the specific school assigned to each address. SchoolsByCounty orders districts by reported enrollment and school count because those fields are consistent in NCES. It does not convert district size into a quality rating.

Start with scale

Wake County Schools

159,778 reported students

Check county context

Hyde County

88/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in North Carolina

The first 60 rows show the largest district systems by reported enrollment. Open district guides where available, or use the county profile when a detailed district page is not generated yet.

333 districts in state file

North Carolina public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
Wake County Schools

LEA ID 3704720

Wake County197 schools
159,778
2
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

LEA ID 3702970

Mecklenburg County180 schools
144,197
3
Guilford County Schools

LEA ID 3701920

Guilford County126 schools
68,894
4
Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools

LEA ID 3701500

Forsyth County81 schools
52,717
5
Cumberland County Schools

LEA ID 3700011

Cumberland County86 schools
49,661
6
Union County Public Schools

LEA ID 3704620

Union County52 schools
41,497
7
Johnston County Public Schools

LEA ID 3702370

Johnston County48 schools
37,286
8
Cabarrus County Schools

LEA ID 3700530

Cabarrus County44 schools
34,810
9
Durham Public Schools

LEA ID 3701260

Durham County56 schools
31,531
10
Gaston County Schools

LEA ID 3701620

Gaston County56 schools
30,281
11
Onslow County Schools

LEA ID 3703450

Onslow County40 schools
27,921
12
New Hanover County Schools

LEA ID 3703330

New Hanover County42 schools
25,244
13
Pitt County Schools

LEA ID 3700012

Pitt County39 schools
24,091
14
Alamance-Burlington Schools

LEA ID 3700030

Alamance County37 schools
22,489
15
Buncombe County Schools

LEA ID 3700450

Buncombe County45 schools
22,091
16
Public Schools of Robeson County

LEA ID 3703930

Robeson County36 schools
21,029
17
Iredell-Statesville Schools

LEA ID 3702310

Iredell County38 schools
20,721
18
Harnett County Schools

LEA ID 3702010

Harnett County28 schools
20,050
19
Rowan-Salisbury Schools

LEA ID 3704050

Rowan County33 schools
18,225
20
Davidson County Schools

LEA ID 3701140

Davidson County36 schools
17,964
21
Wayne County Public Schools

LEA ID 3704880

Wayne County33 schools
17,558
22
Catawba County Schools

LEA ID 3700690

Catawba County28 schools
15,678
23
Randolph County School System

LEA ID 3703780

Randolph County32 schools
15,383
24
Nash County Public Schools

LEA ID 3703270

Edgecombe County30 schools
14,469
25
Cleveland County Schools

LEA ID 3700900

Cleveland County28 schools
14,406
26
Moore County Schools

LEA ID 3703090

Moore County23 schools
13,008
27
Brunswick County Schools

LEA ID 3700420

Brunswick County20 schools
12,944
28
Henderson County Schools

LEA ID 3702100

Henderson County23 schools
12,896
29
Craven County Schools

LEA ID 3703310

Craven County26 schools
12,755
30
Burke County Schools

LEA ID 3700480

Burke County27 schools
11,770
31
Lincoln County Schools

LEA ID 3702680

Lincoln County23 schools
11,629
32
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools

LEA ID 3700720

Orange County21 schools
11,561
33
Rockingham County Schools

LEA ID 3703990

Rockingham County22 schools
11,189
34
Pender County Schools

LEA ID 3703570

Pender County19 schools
10,941
35
Caldwell County Schools

LEA ID 3700580

Caldwell County24 schools
10,758
36
Wilson County Schools

LEA ID 3705020

Wilson County25 schools
10,276
37
Duplin County Schools

LEA ID 3701200

Duplin County13 schools
9,905
38
Lee County Schools

LEA ID 3702560

Lee County16 schools
9,143
39
Chatham County Schools

LEA ID 3700750

Chatham County21 schools
9,129
40
Hoke County Schools

LEA ID 3702250

Hoke County14 schools
8,920
41
Wilkes County Schools

LEA ID 3704950

Wilkes County22 schools
8,673
42
Stanly County Schools

LEA ID 3704320

Stanly County23 schools
8,643
43
Lenoir County Public Schools

LEA ID 3702610

Lenoir County17 schools
8,334
44
Carteret County Public Schools

LEA ID 3700630

Carteret County18 schools
8,081
45
Sampson County Schools

LEA ID 3704140

Sampson County18 schools
7,971
46
Franklin County Schools

LEA ID 3701530

Franklin County16 schools
7,897
47
Rutherford County Schools

LEA ID 3704080

Rutherford County18 schools
7,527
48
Surry County Schools

LEA ID 3704410

Surry County20 schools
7,340
49
Orange County Schools

LEA ID 3703480

Orange County13 schools
7,208
50
Granville County Schools

LEA ID 3701800

Granville County17 schools
6,748
51
Richmond County Schools

LEA ID 3703870

Richmond County15 schools
6,678
52
Haywood County Schools

LEA ID 3702040

Haywood County15 schools
6,605
53
Davie County Schools

LEA ID 3701170

Davie County13 schools
6,114
54
Beaufort County Schools

LEA ID 3700330

Beaufort County14 schools
5,975
55
Mooresville Graded School District

LEA ID 3703120

Iredell County8 schools
5,971
56
McDowell County Schools

LEA ID 3702940

McDowell County15 schools
5,776
57
Scotland County Schools

LEA ID 3704200

Scotland County10 schools
5,624
58
Stokes County Schools

LEA ID 3704380

Stokes County19 schools
5,606
59
Edgecombe County Public Schools

LEA ID 3701320

Edgecombe County14 schools
5,419
60
Kannapolis City Schools

LEA ID 3702430

Cabarrus County8 schools
5,390

— = enrollment not reported in the district record. District rows are informational and must be paired with local assignment tools before a housing decision.

Methodology

How to use district rankings without overreading them

District-level data is useful because it shows the operating system around a public school search: how many schools exist, which county record anchors the district, how much enrollment is reported, and whether a detailed district guide is available. It is not enough to decide where a student should enroll.

Ranking basis

Rows are ordered by reported enrollment, then school count. The method favors broad, data-rich systems because those are the districts parents most often need to research before relocation.

County context

Each district is attached to a primary county record when available. County school scores are context signals, not district ratings, and nearby counties can still matter for commute and housing decisions.

Grade pathway

Elementary, middle, and high school counts help parents spot whether a district looks like a full K-12 pathway or a narrower operating unit. Feeder patterns still require local verification.

Address verification

The final decision happens at the address level. Confirm attendance zones, open-enrollment rules, magnet admissions, charter lotteries, and transfer windows with official district sources.

County context

Districts anchored in higher-scoring county contexts

These rows pair district records with the county-level SchoolsByCounty score. Treat this as a shortlist for deeper research, not a district quality ranking.

Hyde County Schools

Hyde County

88

Students
475
Schools
3

Tyrrell County Schools

Tyrrell County

86

Students
499
Schools
3

Jones County Schools

Jones County

84

Students
1,067
Schools
5

Pamlico County Schools

Pamlico County

80

Students
1,244
Schools
4

Arapahoe Charter School

Pamlico County

80

Students
484
Schools
1

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools

Orange County

72

Students
11,561
Schools
21
Open district guide

Parent checklist before relying on a district ranking

Use this page to narrow the field, then answer these local questions before treating any district as a fit for a specific home.

Which school does this address actually feed into?

Use the district address lookup and confirm edge cases near attendance-zone borders.

What happens at transition grades?

A strong elementary fit can split into several middle or high school paths.

Are choice programs realistic for this student?

Magnet, charter, virtual, and transfer options can involve lotteries, applications, or deadlines.

Is the county context aligned with housing tradeoffs?

Pair school research with taxes, commute, home prices, and safety before choosing where to live.

Frequently Asked Questions About North Carolina School Districts

What are the best school districts in North Carolina?
Wake County Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Guilford County Schools are the largest North Carolina district systems by reported enrollment in the NCES file. SchoolsByCounty does not call them the best districts; use this page to find data-rich district systems, then verify assigned schools, program rules, and local fit.
How are North Carolina districts ranked here?
Districts are ordered by reported student enrollment, then school count, using NCES public school district records. This is a research-priority ranking, not a quality rating.
Why do only 77 North Carolina districts have district guide links?
SchoolsByCounty statically generates detailed district guides for the largest district systems nationally so the pages stay fast and substantive. Districts without guide links remain represented through county and state context pages.
Do these district pages show attendance boundaries?
No. Attendance zones, transfer rules, magnet eligibility, charter admission, transportation, and program availability must be verified with official district or local assignment tools before choosing a home.
Does a large district mean better schools?
No. Larger districts usually have more school options and more public data, but enrollment size is not a school-quality measure. Compare school-level records and official local sources before treating a district as a fit.
How many districts are included for North Carolina?
This page includes 333 North Carolina public school districts from the current NCES district file, alongside county context and generated district-guide availability where available.
By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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