Can I use Northampton County's school score to choose a house?

No. Use the Northampton County school score as a first-pass county screen, then verify the exact district, attendance boundary, transfer rules, and grade pathway for any address you are considering.

Does SchoolsByCounty confirm school attendance boundaries in Northampton County?

No. SchoolsByCounty publishes NCES and Census-backed public-school records. Attendance zones, magnet eligibility, charter lotteries, transportation, and transfer rules must be confirmed with local districts.

How should parents compare public schools in Northampton County?

Start with the 6 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Northampton County Schools & Education

Name: Northampton County, North Carolina Education Data
Creator: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Northampton County, North Carolina

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

School Score

38/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

82.9%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

82.9%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 88.0%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,824

National avg $13,239

State avg $6,969

School Score

38/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 40/100

State Score Position

#40

of 100 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Northampton County

Measured School Summary

Northampton County faces educational challenges with a school score of 38/100 and a graduation rate of 82.9%, falling below typical benchmarks.

Funding Context

At $7,824 per pupil, Northampton County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 4% below the North Carolina average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 5.1 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 12% higher than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Northampton County before comparing districts

County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.

Local context that changes the interpretation

6 public schools and 2 districts are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.

Overall screen

38/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #40 of 100 North Carolina counties with school score data.

Completion

82.9%

5.1 pts below the state average

Funding context

$7,824

$855 above the state average

School coverage

2 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

The county-level signal is lower, so review individual schools and local records before interpreting the score. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Northampton County has 6 public schools across 2 districts, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.

Verify local rules

Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.

View Public Schools Compare Counties

Parent decision brief

What Northampton County school data means before you move

County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.

Small-system county

Northampton County has a compact public-school footprint. A single school change, boundary rule, or district update can move the lived experience more than the county score suggests.

State position

#40

of 100 North Carolina counties with school score data. The county score is 2 points below the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.

K-12 continuity check

These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.

KIPP Gaston College Preparatory

Other grade structure

1,286 students

Elementary 0Middle 0High 0Other 1

1 listed school in this county slice.

Northampton County Schools

Elementary to high school visible

1,120 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 1Other 1

5 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Northampton County Schools is the largest listed district slice, with 6 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.

What the data cannot tell you

NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.

Questions to ask before choosing an address

Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Northampton County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Northampton County district systems?

What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?

Which charter, magnet, or virtual options require a lottery, application window, separate transportation plan, or address eligibility check?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Data Story

Charter Enrollment Matches Traditional District Size in Northampton County

Education data brief for Northampton County, North Carolina.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Lead metric:District structure

Northampton County exhibits a distinctive district structure where enrollment is nearly evenly split between a traditional district and a single charter institution. The KIPP Gaston College Preparatory charter school serves 1,286 students, nearly identical to the 1,291 students enrolled in the Northampton County Schools district. This rural-focused landscape consists of only six public schools in total. Graduation figures show 82.9% of students graduating, which is lower than the North Carolina average of 88.0% and the national average of 87.0%. Per-pupil expenditure in the county is $7,824, exceeding the state average of $6,969 but remaining below the national average of $13,000. The composite school score of 38.2 is closer to the state average of 40.3 than the national median of 50.0. Average school size across the county’s six campuses is 401 students. Review the NCES directory for specific information regarding charter and district boundaries.

Sources

NCES Common Core of Data
U.S. Census Bureau ACS

School Overview

Total Schools

in Northampton County

Reported Enrollment

2,406

6 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

17% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary2

Middle1

High1

Other2

2 School Districts in Northampton County

Northampton County Schools

6 schools

1,291 students

KIPP Gaston College Preparatory

1 school

1,286 students

6 Public Schools in Northampton County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Dedicated profile pages are available for 1 high-enrollment school; every NCES public school remains listed here.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Search schools

Level

Sort

Showing 6 of 6 matching schools

Public schools in Northampton County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
KIPP Gaston College Preparatory	Profile	KIPP Gaston College Preparatory	Gaston, 27832Town: Distant	KG–12	Charter	1,286
Gaston STEM Leadership Academy	Record	Northampton County Schools	Gaston, 27832Town: Distant	PK–8	Primary	286
Conway Middle	Record	Northampton County Schools	Conway, 27820Rural: Distant	4–8	Middle	283
Central Elementary	Record	Northampton County Schools	Jackson, 27845Rural: Distant	PK–3	Primary	275
Northampton County High School	Record	Northampton County Schools	Gaston, 27832Rural: Fringe	9–12	High	240
Northampton Virtual Academy	Record	Northampton County Schools	Jackson, 27845Rural: Distant	KG–12	Virtual	36

KIPP Gaston College Preparatory

Gaston, 27832 / Town: Distant

ProfileKG–12Charter1,286 students

Gaston STEM Leadership Academy

Northampton County Schools

Gaston, 27832 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–8Primary286 students

Conway Middle

Northampton County Schools

Conway, 27820 / Rural: Distant

Record4–8Middle283 students

Central Elementary

Northampton County Schools

Jackson, 27845 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–3Primary275 students

Northampton County High School

Northampton County Schools

Gaston, 27832 / Rural: Fringe

Record9–12High240 students

Northampton Virtual Academy

Northampton County Schools

Jackson, 27845 / Rural: Distant

RecordKG–12Virtual36 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,824

State avg $6,969

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Northampton County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.

Open Compare

Browse Public Schools

See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.

View Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Which North Carolina counties have the highest graduation rates?

Jones County (97.0%), Pamlico County (95.7%), and Currituck County (95.0%) currently lead North Carolina among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in North Carolina?

Across North Carolina counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $6,969. The highest current county values are Hyde County ($10,356), Tyrrell County ($9,655), and Orange County ($8,629). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Northampton County?

Northampton County has a school score of 38/100, which is a lower measured signal in this county-level index. This score is calculated from available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data, with school-level records shown separately below.

What is the graduation rate in Northampton County?

The high school graduation rate in Northampton County is 82.9%, which is below the national average of 87.5%. This figure is based on NCES district-level data for public high schools in the county.

How much does Northampton County spend per student?

Northampton County spends $7,824 per pupil annually on public education, based on NCES district finance data. Current operating spending per fall enrollment, including instruction, support services, administration, transportation, and operations. It excludes capital outlays and debt service in the SchoolsByCounty methodology.

Counties with Similar School Profile

Vance County

North Carolina

-0 pts

38/100

School score

Warren County

North Carolina

-0 pts

38/100

School score

Rowan County

North Carolina

-1 pts

38/100

School score

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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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