Wilmington, NC

Kids in Wilmington

Public-school enrollment and staffing from NCES, plus bedrooms, childcare and how educated the adults already here are. This is not a GreatSchools ranking.

Public-school students: 53,966; NCES CCD 2024-2025, regular and charter districts in this metro.
Pupil–teacher ratio: 15.9; 3,394 teachers across 13 districts and 91 schools.
Districts / schools: 13 / 91; Open regular, component and charter LEAs geocoded to this CBSA.

Bedrooms you set: 1; A household this size usually wants a studio.
Childcare in this setup: $0; No kids under 5 in the current household, so this is $0.
Leftover with current kids: $2,172; After tax, rent and everything else.

Largest public school districts

The 12 biggest open regular and charter districts geocoded to the Wilmington metro, ranked by students enrolled. District websites are the direct source for enrollment boundaries, calendars and programs.

District	City	Students	Schools	Pupil–teacher
New Hanover County Schools	Wilmington	25,155	42	15.2
Brunswick County Schools	Bolivia	13,561	20	15.3
Pender County Schools	Burgaw	11,073	19	18
American Leadership Academy-Coastal	Wilmington	1,002	1	17.4
Classical Charter Schools of Leland	Leland	935	1	24
Classical Charter Schools of Southport	Bolivia	573	1	24.1
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry	Wilmington	395	1	13.2
Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington	Wilmington	362	1	10.2
Wilmington School of the Arts	Wilmington	297	1	14.7
Island Montessori Charter	Wilmington	220	1	11.6
D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy	Wilmington	162	1	n/a
Classical Charter Schools of Wilmington	Wilmington	140	1	23.3

New Hanover County Schools
Wilmington
Students
25,155
Schools
42
Pupil–teacher
15.2
Brunswick County Schools
Bolivia
Students
13,561
Schools
20
Pupil–teacher
15.3
Pender County Schools
Burgaw
Students
11,073
Schools
19
Pupil–teacher
18
American Leadership Academy-Coastal
Wilmington
Students
1,002
Schools
1
Pupil–teacher
17.4
Classical Charter Schools of Leland
Leland
Students
935
Schools
1
Pupil–teacher
24
Classical Charter Schools of Southport
Bolivia
Students
573
Schools
1
Pupil–teacher
24.1
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry
Wilmington
Students
395
Schools
1
Pupil–teacher
13.2
Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington
Wilmington
Students
362
Schools
1
Pupil–teacher
10.2
Wilmington School of the Arts
Wilmington
Students
297
Schools
1
Pupil–teacher
14.7
Island Montessori Charter
Wilmington
Students
220
Schools
1
Pupil–teacher
11.6
D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy
Wilmington
Students
162
Schools
1
Pupil–teacher
n/a
Classical Charter Schools of Wilmington
Wilmington
Students
140
Schools
1
Pupil–teacher
23.3

Source: NCES CCD 2024–25, LEA directory, membership and staff files. Pupil–teacher is students divided by reported teacher FTE.

Public schools by level

Primary: 53; Elementary grades
Middle: 17; Middle or junior high
High: 19; Secondary grades
Other: 2; K–12, ungraded, alternative

91 open public schools in the NCES CCD 2024–25 school directory, grouped by the level NCES assigns from grades offered.

Where the Wilmington metro sits

Roughly the core of the Wilmington, NC metro area. Drag to look around, or open the larger map to search for a specific school or neighbourhood.

School photos and ratings need a Google Places or GreatSchools key we don't ship; the district websites above are the direct source.

If this were a family of four

Two adults, two kids, one under five, three bedrooms: leftover in Wilmington would be -$240 a month, with $1,106 going to childcare. Run that household on the paycheck page →

Enrollment and staffing: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-2025, joined to metros with NCES EDGE LEA geocodes. Childcare is a national baseline scaled by this metro's cost index — not a daycare quote. No test-score rankings.