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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 28801

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its North Carolina rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

2,075

Students

Districts

Top rankedEarly College83^rd of 662 North Carolina high schools

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Biggest riser

Asheville Middle up 66 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Asheville PEAK Academy 10.4 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked North Carolina schools →

Summary:

ZIP code 28801 in Asheville, North Carolina contains 7 schools serving grades from elementary through high school and spanning four governing structures: Asheville City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, and two independent public charter districts. Total combined enrollment across these schools is 2,075 students, ranging from just 41 students at Center for Career Innovation to 670 at Asheville Middle. The ZIP code offers a true spectrum of public education options, from a top-performing early college high school to small charter schools with serious academic challenges.

Early College is the standout school in this ZIP code, ranking 83rd of 662 North Carolina high schools with a 4-star rating and remarkable proficiency: 100% in Math III and 91.7% in Biology, despite serving a student body where 98.89% qualify for free/reduced lunch. It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 5.8%. Among elementary schools, Claxton Elementary leads with a 78th percentile ranking and strong grades 3-5 scores, while Isaac Dickson Elementary sits at the 63rd percentile with notable year-to-year swings. Asheville PEAK Academy has fallen to the 15th percentile with very low early-grade reading scores. Mountain City Public Montessori shows a split profile of strong reading but weak math, and Asheville Middle, the largest school, ranks in the 60th percentile.

Poverty does not predict performance in 28801: high-poverty Early College outperforms schools with far lower free/reduced lunch rates. Chronic absenteeism runs below the state average of 24.2% at nearly every school, from Early College's 5.8% to Asheville Middle's 22.2%. Spending and class size are not reliable indicators of success either, as Early College spends the least per student ($7,736) and has the largest classes, while Asheville PEAK Academy has a low student-teacher ratio of 10.4 yet the lowest test scores. Across the area, reading proficiency tends to be strong, but math proficiency varies widely, especially at Asheville Middle and Mountain City Public Montessori.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOC Biology (2026)	EOC English II (2026)	EOC Math I (2026)	EOC Math III (2026)	EOG Mathematics (2026)						EOG Reading (2026)						EOG Science (2026)		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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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
Claxton Elementary	Public, Magnet	K-5	241 Merrimon Avenue	Asheville	28801	Buncombe County	Asheville City Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(828) 350-6500	405	31	12.9	37.8%	287 (70.9%)	53 (13.1%)	34 (8.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (7.2%)	75	322^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	78.4%		72.8	348^th of 1490 public elementary schools	76.6%	26					70.3	72.1	67.6				73.4	67.6	73.0				73.0		$11,974	$943	$11,031
Asheville Middle	Public	6-8	211 S French Broad Avenue	Asheville	28801	Buncombe County	Asheville City Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 350-6200	670	59	11.3	50.9%	383 (57.2%)	145 (21.6%)	74 (11.0%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.5%)	53 (7.9%)	59.1	314^th of 778 public middle schools	59.6%		51	380^th of 773 public middle schools	50.8%	66								55.2	59.6	45.9				57.5	61.9	66.5		74.2	$12,770	$724	$12,046
Isaac Dickson Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	125 Hill Street	Asheville	28801	Buncombe County	Asheville City Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(828) 350-6800	390	29	13.3	41.0%	220 (56.4%)	75 (19.2%)	36 (9.2%)	6 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.5%)	47 (12.1%)	61.4	558^th of 1492 public elementary schools	62.6%		62.6	520^th of 1490 public elementary schools	65.1%	38					60.4	79.0	59.6				56.3	77.4	52.6				66.7		$12,739	$936	$11,803
Early College	Public	9-12	340 Victoria Road	Asheville	28801	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 232-4123	271	11	24.8	98.9%	138 (50.9%)	10 (3.7%)	110 (40.6%)	3 (1.1%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.7%)	7 (2.6%)	89.2	83^rd of 662 public high schools	87.5%		90.6	71^st of 641 public high schools	88.9%	12	91.7	88.2	74.2	100.0															$7,736	$216	$7,520
Center for Career Innovation	Public	9-12	340 Victoria Road	Asheville	28801	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 232-4123	41	4	10.2	43.9%	27 (65.9%)	3 (7.3%)	9 (22.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.9%)								(n/a)																			$10,465	$251	$10,214
Asheville PEAK Academy	Public, Charter	K-7	133 Livingston Street	Asheville	28801	Buncombe County	Asheville PEAK Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(828) 239-3550	161	15	10.4		12 (7.5%)	109 (67.7%)	18 (11.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (13.7%)	20.6	1268^th of 1492 public elementary schools	15.0%		42	880^th of 1490 public elementary schools	40.9%	388					40.0	50.0	38.9	72.7	61.5		20.0	50.0	27.8	54.5	61.5		38.9
Mountain City Public Montessori	Public, Charter	K-8	27 Church Street	Asheville	28801	Buncombe County	Mountain City Public Montessori	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(828) 570-5554	137	7	20.1		106 (77.4%)	5 (3.6%)	8 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (13.1%)	44.3	839^th of 1492 public elementary schools	43.8%		45	831^st of 1490 public elementary schools	44.2%	8					52.6	36.0	25.0	40.0		20.0	73.7	56.0	58.3	80.0		60.0	75.0	80.0

Cities Near Zip Code 28801

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Asheville	0.16 mi	34	247^th
Candler	5.78 mi	6	241^st
Weaverville	6.59 mi	6	89^th
Swannanoa	7.14 mi	5	332^nd
Arden	7.64 mi	3	166^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.