Bradley Creek Elementary

Bradley Creek Elementary is one of the cozy primary schools in Wilmington, North Carolina, operated by New Hanover County Schools, with 344 students on its rolls from grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 467 students per school, that is 26% below typical.

Across the 42 schools in New Hanover County Schools (24,791 students total), Bradley Creek Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Bradley Creek Elementary shows that the most-represented group is White (47%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest consists of 47% Hispanic, 3% Black. By comparison, New Hanover County as a whole is about 77% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Bradley Creek Elementary logs 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.9:1, putting Bradley Creek Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. About 98% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is north of New Hanover County's rate of about 67%.

After controlling for student poverty, Bradley Creek Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 48.9%, the actual is 59.8%, a residual of +10.9 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (New Hanover County) logs that the typical household earns roughly $75,166 per year, roughly 45% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. In all, New Hanover County runs 50 public schools (combined enrollment of about 27,460 students), of which Bradley Creek Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Masonboro Elementary, roughly 1.6 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Bradley Creek Elementary ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 69.9%.

The school occupies a high-density site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 19%: 423 students in 2018 compared to 344 in 2025. Class-load math has tightened: from 14.7:1 in 2018 to 12.2:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, the feed for Bradley Creek Elementary typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.