Total enrollment
163,176
+3,374 (+2%) vs SY 2020-21
205 schools in Wake County Schools
North Carolina · 163,176 students · 14 cities
Public-school enrollment inside Wake County Schools comes to roughly 163,176 students across 205 schools (126 elementary, 40 middle, and 36 high).
4-year change in Wake County Schools
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
198
+6 (+3%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How Wake County Schools ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In North Carolina | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 61.9% | #9 of 112 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 163,176 | #1 of 116 | #14 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 198 | #1 of 116 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #46 of 116 | #5,925 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 41.4% | #108 of 114 | #5,359 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 72.8% | #5 of 111 | #156 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 Wake County Schools
State test results across the district's 189 scored schools run from Wake STEM Early College High School at 92.2% proficient to Southeast Raleigh High at 24.3%, a gap of 67.9 points. That is the 8th widest gap among 104 North Carolina districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 183 district schools that reported both years went from 161,417 to 147,127 students (down 9%) and from 10,032 to 9,630 full-time teachers (down 4%), 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.
| Name | City | Level | Grades | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Plains Elementary | Apex | Elementary | M-M | · |
| Rex Road Elementary | Holly Springs | Elementary | M-M | · |
| Wake Virtual Elementary | Cary | Combined | M-M | · |
| Wake Virtual High | Cary | Combined | M-M | · |
| Wake Virtual Middle | Cary | Combined | M-M | · |
About Wake County Schools
As a wide-reaching district in North Carolina, Wake County Schools teaches 163,176 students across 205 schools.
Looking at the level breakdown, Wake County Schools is made up of 126 elementary, 40 middle, 36 high schools, and 3 combined or other.
Average enrollment per school in Wake County Schools is about 796, noticeably above the North Carolina average of roughly 571.
Trend over the past 4 years. Combined enrollment now sits at 163,176 students, stayed largely flat from the 159,802 reported in SY 2020-21. Wake County Schools now counts 198 public schools, up from 192 in SY 2020-21.
In the discussion threads here, the community for Wake County Schools discusses open enrollment windows, redistricting talk, and busing logistics. Parents, students, and educators in the area can post or comment.