Total enrollment
27,397
+1,128 (+4%) vs SY 2020-21
41 schools in Onslow County Schools
North Carolina · 27,397 students · 7 cities
Onslow County Schools in North Carolina runs 41 public K-12 schools today, teaching roughly 27,397 students (an average of 668 per school).
4-year change in Onslow County Schools
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
39
+2 (+5%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How Onslow County Schools ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In North Carolina | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 53.9% | #42 of 112 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 27,397 | #11 of 116 | #256 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 39 | #14 of 116 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #68 of 116 | #6,433 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 50.7% | #103 of 114 | #4,069 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.5% | #52 of 111 | #1,203 of 6,853 |
Districts need at least 2 schools and 500 students to be ranked. Test proficiency is ranked within the state only, since each state gives a different test. Each rank links to the full list.
Inside Onslow County Schools
State test results across the district's 37 scored schools run from Swansboro Elementary at 71.8% proficient to Southwest High at 31.9%, a gap of 39.9 points. That is the 59th widest gap among 104 North Carolina districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 36 district schools that reported both years went from 26,671 to 25,608 students (down 4%) and from 1,604 to 1,588 full-time teachers (down 1%), as of 2024-25.
Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across each school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25; schools with fewer than 100 students and schools serving specialized populations are left out. Staffing figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data and count only schools that reported students and teachers in both years.
About Onslow County Schools
As a medium-population district in North Carolina, Onslow County Schools serves 27,397 students across 41 schools.
For a sense of the school types, Onslow County Schools consists of 23 elementary, 8 middle, 8 high schools, and 2 combined or other.
Average enrollment per school in Onslow County Schools is about 668, noticeably above the North Carolina average of roughly 571.
Five-year track record. Total public-school enrollment in Onslow County Schools has rose 4% since SY 2020-21, moving from about 26,269 students to 27,397. Over that span, Onslow County Schools opened 2 schools, going from 37 to 39.
In the discussion threads here, the community for Onslow County Schools discusses open enrollment windows, redistricting talk, and busing logistics. Parents, students, and educators in the area can post or comment.