Total enrollment
17,150
-382 (-2%) vs SY 2020-21
33 schools in Wayne County Public Schools
North Carolina · 17,150 students · 6 cities
Wayne County Public Schools runs 33 public K-12 schools inside North Carolina, with combined enrollment around 17,150 (13 elementary, 9 middle, and 11 high).
4-year change in Wayne County Public Schools
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
33
+1 (+3%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How Wayne County Public Schools ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In North Carolina | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 51.3% | #55 of 112 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 17,150 | #21 of 116 | #472 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 33 | #19 of 116 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.5:1 | #113 of 116 | #7,953 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 98.7% | #44 of 114 | #366 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.4% | #16 of 111 | #360 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 Wayne County Public Schools
State test results across the district's 30 scored schools run from Wayne Early / Middle College High at 88.8% proficient to Goldsboro High at 22.4%, a gap of 66.4 points. That is the 11th widest gap among 104 North Carolina districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 32 district schools that reported both years went from 18,714 to 16,879 students (down 10%) and from 1,246 to 917 full-time teachers (down 26%), 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 Wayne County Public Schools
Across 33 schools, Wayne County Public Schools serves about 17,150 students in North Carolina. By footprint it is a mid-sized district.
For a sense of the school types, Wayne County Public Schools spans 13 elementary, 9 middle, and 11 high schools.
Looking at the last 4 years. Total public-school enrollment in Wayne County Public Schools has remained close to its prior level since SY 2020-21, moving from about 17,532 students to 17,150. Wayne County Public Schools now counts 33 public schools, up from 32 in SY 2020-21.
On this page, the community for Wayne County Public Schools discusses enrollment trends, district policy changes, and bus-route updates. Anyone with firsthand knowledge of these schools is welcome to weigh in.