Best Middle Schools in North Carolina
The top 49 middle schools (grades 6-8) in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment from NCES data with EDFacts proficiency rates where available. Average proficiency across this list is 65%.
| # | School | City | Enrollment | Proficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mills Park Middle | Cary, NC | 1,630 | 75% |
| 2 | Weddington Middle | Matthews, NC | 1,450 | 61% |
| 3 | Southwest Middle School | Charlotte, NC | 1,392 | 63% |
| 4 | Marvin Ridge Middle | Waxhaw, NC | 1,358 | 67% |
| 5 | Cuthbertson Middle | Waxhaw, NC | 1,344 | 69% |
| 6 | Jay M. Robinson Middle | Charlotte, NC | 1,305 | 76% |
| 7 | Harris Road Middle | Concord, NC | 1,235 | 65% |
| 8 | Davidson K-8 School | Davidson, NC | 1,171 | 69% |
| 9 | Fuquay-Varina Middle | Fuquay-Varina, NC | 1,164 | 65% |
| 10 | Rea Farms STEAM Academy | Charlotte, NC | 1,109 | 69% |
| 11 | Oberlin Middle | Raleigh, NC | 1,076 | 66% |
| 12 | Crestdale Middle | Matthews, NC | 1,001 | 61% |
| 13 | Lufkin Road Middle | Apex, NC | 995 | 64% |
| 14 | Holly Ridge Middle | Holly Springs, NC | 994 | 69% |
| 15 | Davis Drive Middle | Cary, NC | 959 | 72% |
| 16 | Northwest Guilford Middle | Greensboro, NC | 950 | 62% |
| 17 | Cleveland Middle | Garner, NC | 936 | 63% |
| 18 | Hickory Ridge Middle | Harrisburg, NC | 935 | 63% |
| 19 | Holly Grove Middle | Holly Springs, NC | 935 | 69% |
| 20 | Hanes Magnet School | Winston Salem, NC | 906 | 54% |
| 21 | Hope Middle | Greenville, NC | 877 | 66% |
| 22 | Roland-Grise Middle | Wilmington, NC | 860 | 67% |
| 23 | Hardin Park Elementary | Boone, NC | 851 | 64% |
| 24 | Pine Hollow Middle | Raleigh, NC | 850 | 67% |
| 25 | Carnage Middle | Raleigh, NC | 844 | 65% |
| 26 | J N Fries Magnet School | Concord, NC | 829 | 55% |
| 27 | South Charlotte Middle | Charlotte, NC | 808 | 62% |
| 28 | Topsail Middle | Hampstead, NC | 807 | 70% |
| 29 | Northern Guilford Middle | Greensboro, NC | 792 | 62% |
| 30 | Margaret B. Pollard Middle | Chapel Hill, NC | 768 | 66% |
| 31 | Peak Charter Academy | Apex, NC | 767 | 74% |
| 32 | Wiley Magnet Middle | Winston Salem, NC | 749 | 26% |
| 33 | Oak Grove Middle | Winston-Salem, NC | 727 | 65% |
| 34 | West Pine Middle | West End, NC | 688 | 64% |
| 35 | M C S Noble Middle | Wilmington, NC | 652 | 64% |
| 36 | The Brawley School | Mooresville, NC | 639 | 65% |
| 37 | Wake Forest Charter Academy | Wake Forest, NC | 636 | 62% |
| 38 | Hilburn Drive Academy | Raleigh, NC | 628 | 62% |
| 39 | East Cary Middle | Cary, NC | 627 | 66% |
| 40 | Lakeshore Middle | Mooresville, NC | 608 | 65% |
| 41 | Guilford eLearning University Prep | Greensboro, NC | 539 | 67% |
| 42 | Sherrills Ford Elementary | Sherrills Ford, NC | 517 | 63% |
| 43 | Park Road Montessori | Charlotte, NC | 513 | 67% |
| 44 | Oakwood Middle IB School | Statesville, NC | 500 | 62% |
| 45 | Telra Institute | Charlotte, NC | 467 | 68% |
| 46 | Blowing Rock Elementary | Blowing Rock, NC | 431 | 65% |
| 47 | Mill Creek Middle | Claremont, NC | 412 | 63% |
| 48 | Highland Mill Montessori | Charlotte, NC | 315 | 62% |
| 49 | Lakewood Montessori Middle | Durham, NC | 303 | 67% |
Explore More North Carolina School Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best middle school in North Carolina?
The largest middle school in North Carolina is Mills Park Middle in Cary with 1,630 students and a 75% proficiency rate. Rankings are based on NCES Common Core of Data enrollment and EDFacts proficiency results.
How many middle schools are in North Carolina?
This page shows the top 49 middle schools (grades 6-8) in North Carolina by enrollment. Browse the full state directory to see all schools.
What does the proficiency rate measure?
Proficiency rate is the percentage of students meeting grade-level standards on combined math and reading assessments, as reported by EDFacts. Data is district-level and applied to each school in the district.
Where does this data come from?
Enrollment and school characteristics come from the NCES Common Core of Data. Proficiency rates come from EDFacts assessment results. Both are official federal datasets published by the U.S. Department of Education.
The this entity category groups every U.S. K-12 school outcomes and enrollment entity sharing this attribute. The list above is the data; the paragraphs below explain what the grouping means against the broader NCES Common Core of Data and EDFacts distribution and how to read the relative rankings within the category.
For readers using this category as a starting point, the per-entity detail pages linked from the table above carry the underlying NCES Common Core of Data and EDFacts data in full. The category-level view is the filter; the per-entity pages are the actual answer.
Schools are ranked by enrollment within the state. Proficiency rates come from EDFacts assessment results, district-level figures applied to each school in the district.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, 2026.