Best Elementary Schools in North Carolina

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Find the best North Carolina elementary schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish North Carolina test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the EOG test scores by the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction. The most recent update was on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 1490)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
51	New Hope Elementary	Public	K-5	4826 Packhouse Rd	Wilson	27896	Wilson County	Wilson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 399-7950	460	29	15.6	99.3%	210 (45.7%)	111 (24.1%)	83 (18.0%)	30 (6.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.4%)	$9,265			$666			$8,598	95.3	92.2	84	33		370502002004
52	The Expedition School	Public, Charter	K-8	437 Dimmocks Mill Rd Ste 33	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	The Expedition School	Yes	No	No	No	(919) 245-8432	380	29	13.1		282 (74.2%)	14 (3.7%)	37 (9.7%)	17 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	28 (7.4%)								95.1	94.3	56	4		370035403319
53	Holly Grove Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1451 Avent Ferry Road	Holly Springs	27540	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 577-1700	889	62	14.3	13.3%	582 (65.5%)	61 (6.9%)	73 (8.2%)	135 (15.2%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	35 (3.9%)	$9,174			$517			$8,657	94.6	95.1	45	8		370472002899
54	Elizabeth Lane Elementary	Public	K-5	121 Elizabeth Ln	Matthews	28105	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	No	No	No	(980) 343-5700	702	39	17.8	15.5%	466 (66.4%)	32 (4.6%)	95 (13.5%)	84 (12.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (3.4%)	$8,285			$358			$7,927	94.5	94.5	54			370297001881
55	Green Hope Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2700 Louis Stephens Drive	Cary	27519	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 388-5270	548	36	15.2	14.4%	171 (31.2%)	40 (7.3%)	51 (9.3%)	270 (49.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.7%)	$8,968			$486			$8,482	94.5	96.7	27	28		370472002556
56	Northern Guilford Elementary	Public	K-5	3801 NC Highway 150 East	Greensboro	27455	Guilford County	Guilford County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 656-4032	622	40	15.7	18.0%	428 (68.8%)	70 (11.3%)	49 (7.9%)	18 (2.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (8.8%)	$8,772			$690			$8,082	94.5	91.6	92	36		370192002990
57	Riverbend Elementary	Public	K-5	71 Learning Lane	Clyde	28721	Haywood County	Haywood County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 627-6565	204	14	15	98.5%	193 (94.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,871			$924			$9,947	94.5	97.6	12	45		370204000900
58	Kensington Elementary	Public	K-5	8701 Kensington Drive	Waxhaw	28173	Union County	Union County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 290-1500	901	57	15.8	12.0%	595 (66.0%)	61 (6.8%)	93 (10.3%)	99 (11.0%)	4 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	48 (5.3%)	$7,723			$344			$7,379	94.2	94	60	2		370462002798
59	Beverly Woods Elementary	Public	K-5	6001 Quail Hollow Rd	Charlotte	28210	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	No	No	No	(980) 343-3627	645	44	14.5	18.9%	435 (67.4%)	70 (10.9%)	78 (12.1%)	36 (5.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (3.9%)	$9,153			$556			$8,597	94.2	92.5	77	18		370297001196
60	Envision Science Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	590 Traditions Grande Blvd	Wake Forest	27587	Wake County	Envision Science Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(919) 435-4002	759	57	13.3		463 (61.0%)	104 (13.7%)	76 (10.0%)	53 (7.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (8.2%)								94.2	91.8	89	29		370036203331

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for North Carolina

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for NC student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Homeless Students Gifted and Talented Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on EOG Mathematics, EOG Reading, EOG Science test scores released by the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.
These rankings were last updated on September 3, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Per-Pupil Spending: Understanding the Breakdown of Federal, State, and Local Funds

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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.