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
241	Hopewell Elementary School	Public	K-5	6294 Welborn Road	Trinity	27370	Randolph County	Randolph County School System	No	No	No	No	(336) 861-2030	679	47	14.4	99.6%	555 (81.7%)	13 (1.9%)	56 (8.2%)	14 (2.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (5.9%)	$8,788			$503			$8,285	80.5	79.7	247	6		370378002605
242	Harris Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3330 US 221 S Hwy	Forest City	28043	Rutherford County	Rutherford County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 248-2354	434	27	16.1	95.9%	367 (84.6%)	5 (1.2%)	37 (8.5%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.3%)	$9,551			$1,364			$8,186	80.1	80.6	232	10		370408001645
243	Pilot Mountain Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	218 Friends St.	Pilot Mountain	27041	Surry County	Surry County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 444-8200	353	23	15.2	99.2%	283 (80.2%)	4 (1.1%)	53 (15.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.7%)	$9,756			$1,118			$8,638	80.1	75.8	313	70		370441003216
244	Mount Olive Elementary School	Public	K-5	2145 Chestnut Grove Road	King	27021	Stokes County	Stokes County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 983-4351	316	20	15.9	99.1%	291 (92.1%)	3 (0.9%)	10 (3.2%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.2%)	$8,969			$1,028			$7,941	80.1	66.1	471	227		370438001734
245	Salem Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6116 Old Jenks Road	Apex	27523	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 363-2865	776	57	13.6	25.4%	383 (49.4%)	48 (6.2%)	127 (16.4%)	197 (25.4%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	17 (2.2%)	$10,097			$801			$9,296	79.9	81.5	219	26		370472002558
246	Cary Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	400 Kildaire Farm Road	Cary	27511	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 460-3455	477	32	14.7	42.6%	269 (56.4%)	52 (10.9%)	112 (23.5%)	19 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (5.0%)	$10,015			$629			$9,386	79.9	79.2	254	8		370472001843
247	Turner Creek Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6801 Turner Creek Road	Cary	27519	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 363-1391	638	51	12.6	22.6%	280 (43.9%)	66 (10.3%)	100 (15.7%)	155 (24.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	34 (5.3%)	$9,601			$458			$9,143	79.8	74	342	95		370472002747
248	Combs Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	2001 Lorimer Rd	Raleigh	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 233-4300	695	51	13.5	41.7%	304 (43.7%)	157 (22.6%)	117 (16.8%)	86 (12.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (4.2%)	$9,127			$525			$8,602	79.8	76.7	299	51		370472001846
249	Union Elementary	Public	K-5	180 Union School Road NW	Shallotte	28470	Brunswick County	Brunswick County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 756-5900	654	41	15.8	99.5%	428 (65.4%)	73 (11.2%)	101 (15.4%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	46 (7.0%)	$10,404			$975			$9,429	79.7	92.4	81	168		370042000130
250	Mountain View Elementary	Public	K-6	5911 Dwayne Starnes Road	Hickory	28602	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 294-2020	708	40	17.5	99.6%	475 (67.1%)	33 (4.7%)	54 (7.6%)	74 (10.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	71 (10.0%)	$8,895			$775			$8,120	79.6	81.9	216	34		370069000286

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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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

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.