Schools in Zip Code 28470

Zip code 28470 in North Carolina is served by 2 public schools in the Brunswick County Schools district — West Brunswick High (grades 9–12) and Union Elementary (grades K–5) — with no public middle school located directly in the zip code.

For parents, the most striking story is how differently these two schools perform despite serving nearly identical student populations. More than 99% of students at both schools qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and per-student spending is nearly the same (about $10,200–$10,400). Yet Union Elementary is a clear standout: it ranks in the 84th percentile of elementary schools statewide, earned 4 stars in the most recent year, and beats both district and state averages in every tested subject and grade. Its 5th-grade science proficiency is 87.1% — roughly 19 points above the state — and its chronic absenteeism rate is just 14.5%, well below the state average of 24.2%. In contrast, West Brunswick High ranks near the state median (48th percentile, 2 stars), with a graduation rate of 84.4% that trails the district (88.4%) and state (88.8%). Its chronic absenteeism rate is 30.0%, more than double that of Union Elementary.

Subject-level results reinforce the gap. West Brunswick High is mixed: it outperforms the state in Math I and Math III, but trails in Biology and especially English II, where only 59.9% of students are proficient versus 64.6% statewide. Union Elementary, by contrast, leads the state by double digits in most subjects — 5th-grade math is +20.7 points and 5th-grade reading is +19.7 points. There are no middle schools in the zip code, so students transitioning from a very strong elementary school may face a new building and new attendance challenges in high school. Overall, parents should see Union Elementary as a high-performing, high-poverty school that is beating the odds, while West Brunswick High shows real strengths in math but needs attention in English, science, and chronic absenteeism.