Best Public Schools in Garner, NC

Summary:

The city of Garner, North Carolina is home to 14 schools, including 9 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 2 high schools. These schools serve a diverse student population and demonstrate a range of academic performance, with some standouts like Bryan Road Elementary and Rand Road Elementary consistently ranking in the top 30% and 25% of North Carolina elementary schools, respectively. Meanwhile, Cleveland Middle stands out as a high-performing middle school, ranking in the top 25% of the state.

The two high schools in Garner, South Garner High and Garner High, both have a strong 87.7% four-year graduation rate, exceeding the state average of 86.5%. However, their academic performance on end-of-course and end-of-grade tests is more mixed, with some subjects scoring well above the state average and others below. The data also reveals significant disparities in academic performance between the highest and lowest-performing schools, suggesting socioeconomic factors may play a role in student achievement.

Overall, the schools in Garner, North Carolina demonstrate a range of academic outcomes, with some standout performers as well as schools struggling with low achievement. These insights could help inform efforts to improve educational equity and outcomes across the Wake County Schools district and the Johnston County Public Schools district, which both serve the Garner area.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOC Biology (2025)	EOC English II (2025)	EOC Math I (2025)	EOC Math III (2025)	EOG Mathematics (2025)						EOG Reading (2025)						EOG Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Cleveland Middle	Public	6-8	2323 Cornwallis Road	Garner	27529	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-7500	936	51	18.4	99.7%	439 (46.9%)	215 (23.0%)	193 (20.6%)	26 (2.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	61 (6.5%)	66	242^nd of 773 public middle schools	68.7%		73	188^th of 793 public middle schools	76.3%	54								60.1	50.0	72.2				56.4	55.5	65.3		67.8	$7,527	$410	$7,117
Polenta Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	105 Josephine Road	Garner	27529	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 989-6039	1,010	63	15.9	98.0%	481 (47.6%)	178 (17.6%)	282 (27.9%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (6.3%)	59.9	566^th of 1490 public elementary schools	62.0%		64.2	503^rd of 1505 public elementary schools	66.6%	63					56.3	71.5	58.7				46.7	73.8	58.1				58.1		$8,530	$528	$8,002
West View Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	11755 Cleveland Road	Garner	27529	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 661-6184	969	60	16.2	98.5%	376 (38.8%)	274 (28.3%)	230 (23.7%)	25 (2.6%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (6.4%)	70.2	388^th of 1490 public elementary schools	74.0%		62.9	526^th of 1505 public elementary schools	65.0%	138					83.4	70.1	55.6				64.2	68.8	55.0				65.5		$8,744	$427	$8,317
Creech Road Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	450 Creech Rd	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 662-2359	549	42	13.0	99.5%	66 (12.0%)	243 (44.3%)	216 (39.3%)	6 (1.1%)	4 (0.7%)	3 (0.5%)	11 (2.0%)	37.7	955^th of 1490 public elementary schools	35.9%		30.1	1098^th of 1505 public elementary schools	27.0%	143					63.2	58.3	49.5				38.2	54.2	44.1				45.2		$10,643	$1,329	$9,314
Aversboro Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1605 Aversboro Rd	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 662-2325	381	27	14.2	99.2%	77 (20.2%)	125 (32.8%)	141 (37.0%)	16 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	21 (5.5%)	17.3	1322^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	11.3%		31.6	1070^th of 1505 public elementary schools	28.9%	252					53.3	26.2	44.9				30.0	43.1	32.0				38.0		$10,647	$1,063	$9,584
East Garner Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	6301 Jones Sausage Rd	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(919) 662-2339	1,109	71	15.6	99.7%	148 (13.3%)	514 (46.3%)	355 (32.0%)	51 (4.6%)	4 (0.4%)	3 (0.3%)	34 (3.1%)	34.1	516^th of 773 public middle schools	33.2%		25	619^th of 793 public middle schools	21.9%	103								41.1	41.3	47.4				39.6	41.4	49.7		54.5	$8,808	$540	$8,269
Garner High	Public, Magnet	9-12	2101 Spring Drive	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 662-2379	1,670	107	15.5	54.7%	473 (28.3%)	551 (33.0%)	559 (33.5%)	23 (1.4%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	61 (3.7%)	38.9	384^th of 641 public high schools	40.1%		32.2	428^th of 640 public high schools	33.1%	44	41.6	55.1	20.2	69.5															$8,960	$511	$8,449
North Garner Middle	Public	6-8	720 Powell Dr	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 662-2434	831	54	15.5	99.6%	248 (29.8%)	265 (31.9%)	267 (32.1%)	14 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (4.5%)	28.6	560^th of 773 public middle schools	27.6%		30.7	559^th of 793 public middle schools	29.5%	1								44.1	46.4	28.6				43.8	45.2	37.7		49.2	$9,338	$475	$8,863
Vandora Springs Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1300 Vandora Springs Road	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 662-2486	582	44	13.1	99.5%	146 (25.1%)	193 (33.2%)	201 (34.5%)	10 (1.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (5.3%)	58.5	589^th of 1490 public elementary schools	60.5%		58.4	610^th of 1505 public elementary schools	59.5%	21					75.6	57.1	69.8				37.8	50.5	54.2				74.0		$9,721	$811	$8,910
Rand Road Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	300 Arbor Greene Dr	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 662-2275	394	30	13.2	52.5%	191 (48.5%)	91 (23.1%)	89 (22.6%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.8%)	68.3	423^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	71.6%		73.4	353^rd of 1505 public elementary schools	76.5%	70					71.1	62.3	72.1				56.6	59.0	67.2				60.7		$10,382	$374	$10,008
Timber Drive Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1601 Timber Drive	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 773-9500	391	31	12.5	99.2%	138 (35.3%)	130 (33.2%)	88 (22.5%)	11 (2.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.9%)	31.3	1068^th of 1490 public elementary schools	28.3%		30.5	1087^th of 1505 public elementary schools	27.8%	19					63.0	41.7	40.0				32.9	46.7	52.0				48.0		$11,614	$1,062	$10,553
East Garner Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5545 Jones Sausage Road	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 773-7411	535	40	13.4	99.4%	43 (8.0%)	268 (50.1%)	174 (32.5%)	36 (6.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.2%)	27.4	1119^th of 1490 public elementary schools	24.9%		34.3	1021^st of 1505 public elementary schools	32.2%	98					60.8	46.7	39.3				43.0	48.9	33.7				39.3		$10,446	$1,410	$9,036
Bryan Road Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	8317 Bryan Rd	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 694-7844	685	49	13.9	34.0%	219 (32.0%)	163 (23.8%)	122 (17.8%)	164 (23.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	15 (2.2%)	84.4	184^th of 1490 public elementary schools	87.7%		84.6	181^st of 1505 public elementary schools	88.0%	3					82.5	89.4	68.8				64.9	82.7	64.6				68.8		$10,316	$641	$9,675
South Garner High	Public	9-12	8228 Hebron Church Rd	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 694-7711	1,835	105	17.4	61.5%	230 (12.5%)	872 (47.5%)	620 (33.8%)	54 (2.9%)	2 (0.1%)	5 (0.3%)	52 (2.8%)	47.9	317^th of 641 public high schools	50.5%		49	305^th of 640 public high schools	52.3%	12	38.3	51.1	47.7	76.7															$10,505	$368	$10,137

Cities Near Garner

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Raleigh	3.16 mi	107	176^th
Clayton	6.63 mi	14	142^nd
Knightdale	7.94 mi	5	414^th
Apex	8.54 mi	23	26^th
Cary	8.76 mi	34	50^th

See the top NC North Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.