Schools in Zip Code 28174

ZIP code 28174 (Wingate, NC) is home to just two public schools, both elementary schools: Wingate Elementary and Union Elementary, with no middle or high schools in the area, meaning families must look outside the ZIP code for grades 6–12. Both schools belong to Union County Public Schools, a 4-star district ranked 43rd out of 246 districts in North Carolina, placing it in the 83rd percentile statewide.

Union Elementary is the clear standout. Its state ranking has climbed from the 65th percentile three years ago to the 84th percentile this year, and it now holds a 4-star rating. Union outperformed Wingate in every grade and subject category on the latest EOG exams and beat the state average in all reported subjects. Notably, 89.5% of Union 3rd graders scored proficient in math versus just 52.4% at Wingate, and 83.6% of its 5th graders passed science compared to 58.9% at Wingate. Union also keeps chronic absenteeism at 14.0%, below the district average of 14.6% and far below the state's 24.2%.

Wingate Elementary, by contrast, has moved sharply in the opposite direction, falling from the 60th to the 38th percentile in just three years and dropping to a 2-star rating. Its EOG scores now trail the district in every category and fall below state averages in nearly all of them. Wingate's chronic absenteeism rate of 20.1% means roughly 1 in 5 students is chronically absent. Both schools serve similarly high-poverty populations—about 99% of students at each qualify for free or reduced-price lunch—and both have identical 13.1:1 student-teacher ratios along with similar per-pupil spending. That makes the wide performance gap all the more notable and suggests attendance, school climate, and instructional factors are driving the difference. For parents, Union Elementary is clearly the higher-performing, more steadily improving option in this ZIP code.