5.9 avg / 10

Best Schools in Fayetteville, North Carolina

85 schools · 42 Elementary · 13 Middle · 16 High · 14 Other

Last updated: July 2026

Public: 68

Private: 17

Districts: 3

Avg Rating: 5.9/10

Estimated Scores: 2%

Move-ready shortlistcity map + schools

Choosing a school in Fayetteville?

Use this page to compare every school in Fayetteville by level, neighborhood, and district — and find the right fit, not just the top of the list.

Explore the map How we rate schools

Shortlist starter

Start with these real page-level signals, then use the full table and map below.

High · Cumberland County Schools. Ranked from real test data; use the map and table below to check address fit.

Other. Ranked from real test data; use the map and table below to check address fit.

High · Cumberland County Schools. Ranked from real test data; use the map and table below to check address fit.

The short answer

The top-rated schools in Fayetteville for 2026 are Massey Hill Classical High (8.6/10), Renaissance Classical Christian Academy (8.5/10), and Cumberland International Early College (8.4/10), based on MySchoolScout's analysis of real test data across 50 rated schools. Ratings blend student growth, poverty-adjusted academic achievement, and school environment (plus college readiness for high schools), with equity shown as context, not scored; schools with estimated (proxy) scores are excluded from this ranking.

Best value · beats the odds

Ponderosa Elementary

Rates 7.6/10 despite 99% of students being economically disadvantaged. That's about 2.4 points higher than its student-poverty level predicts. Roughly as clean a case of strong results without an affluent-ZIP price tag as you'll find among Fayetteville schools.

Top-Rated Schools in Fayetteville

Ranked by MySchoolScout composite using only schools with real test data (50 of 85). "Value" = points above what student poverty predicts. Estimated (proxy) scores are excluded.

#	School	Rating	Level	Value	State %ile
1	Massey Hill Classical High	8.6 / 10	High	+1.0	94th
2	Renaissance Classical Christian Academy	8.5 / 10	Other	—	98th
3	Cumberland International Early College	8.4 / 10	High	+1.6	92th
4	Reid Ross Classical Middle	8.3 / 10	Middle	+2.2	90th
5	New Century International Middle	8.3 / 10	Middle	+1.4	90th
6	Seventy-first Classical Middle	8.1 / 10	Middle	+0.9	87th
7	Cumberland Polytechnic	8.1 / 10	High	+0.8	87th
8	Reid Ross Classical High	8.0 / 10	High	+1.8	85th
9	Fayetteville Academy	8.0 / 10	Other	—	95th
10	Cross Creek Early College	7.9 / 10	High	+0.9	83th

See every school — including those with estimated data — in the full directory below. How we rate schools.

Family Snapshot

At a glance

Avg school rating: 5.9/10
Median household income: $58,548
Median home value: $184,450
Bachelor's degree or higher: 30%
Avg commute: 22 min
Owner-occupied homes: 53%

How Fayetteville compares

North Carolina rank

#166 of 253

cities by avg. school score

Vs. state average

-0.3

below North Carolina avg (6.2)

Median household income

$59k

86% of North Carolina median

Schools in this city

81

Education Snapshot

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Fayetteville operates 85 schools across 3 districts, enrolling approximately 43,084 students. The system leans elementary-heavy: 42 elementary schools feed into 13 middle schools and 16 high schools, supplemented by 14 combined or alternative programs. On MySchoolScout's composite rating scale, 81 scored campuses average 5.9/10 — trailing the North Carolina state average of 6.2/10 by 0.3 points. That performance gap tracks the city's income gap closely: median household income of $58,012 runs 20% below the state median of $72,819. At the postsecondary level, 28% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Just two charter schools operate alongside the three-district public system. For families exploring the school list below, the 5.9 city composite provides a useful baseline — individual campus ratings will carry more weight than the city-wide average when comparing specific schools within Fayetteville's three districts.

About Schools in Fayetteville, North Carolina

Fayetteville's public school system spans 66 ranked schools, giving families a wide range of options across a mid-sized military city. The system's average score of 6.7 out of 10 sits in solid middle ground, and the spread matters: 27 schools — 41% of the total — score 7 or higher, meaning quality options are genuinely accessible rather than concentrated in one corner of the city.

Elementary education is where Fayetteville's strongest performers cluster. Sherwood Park Elementary leads the city with a 9.2 out of 10, the highest score among all 66 ranked public schools. Ponderosa Elementary follows closely at 9.1, and three additional elementary schools — Mary McArthur, Sunnyside, and Montclair — all score between 8.4 and 8.5. That five-school concentration at the top signals that strong elementary pipelines exist for families who research boundaries carefully before choosing where to live.

Cumberland County Schools serves most of Fayetteville's students, and the district reflects the city's demographics: a large active-duty and veteran military population drives notable student mobility, which can affect school-level continuity year to year. Parents relocating through Fort Liberty should factor that context in when reading raw performance scores — schools near post tend to see higher enrollment fluctuation than civilian communities of similar size.

Practically speaking, Fayetteville rewards research. With 41% of schools scoring 7 or above, the city outperforms what a 6.7 average might suggest at first glance. The gap between the top performers and the lower tier is real, so address and attendance zone matter. Families should confirm current school boundaries directly with Cumberland County Schools, since rezoning does occur. Parents prioritizing elementary performance will find the north and northwest corridors of the city — where several top-rated schools are located — worth close attention. Those with older children should look beyond the elementary data and dig into individual middle and high school scores, which show more variation across the district.

Filter by Level: All Levels (85) Elementary (42) Middle (13) High (16)

Filter by Type: All Types (85) Public (68) Private (17)

Filter by Rating: All Ratings (85) Academics (66) Growth (64) Diversity (64) Resources (66)

Filter by ZIP: 28301 (17) 28304 (16) 28306 (15) 28303 (13) 28314 (10) 28311 (8) 28305 (3) 28312 (3)

Elementary Schools

42 schools

#	School	Enrollment	Grades	Rating
1	Ponderosa Elementary 391 students · Pre-K–5th	391	Pre-K–5th	7.6
2	Sherwood Park Elementary 327 students · Pre-K–5th	327	Pre-K–5th	7.5
3	Long Hill Elementary 412 students · 2nd–5th	412	2nd–5th	7.3
4	Stoney Point Elementary 829 students · Kindergarten–5th	829	Kindergarten–5th	7.1
5	Cumberland Academy K-5 Virtual School 222 students · Kindergarten–5th	222	Kindergarten–5th	7.1
6	Glendale Acres Elementary 231 students · Pre-K–2nd	231	Pre-K–2nd	7.0
7	E E Miller Elementary 624 students · Pre-K–5th	624	Pre-K–5th	6.9
8	E Melvin Honeycutt Elementary 827 students · Kindergarten–5th	827	Kindergarten–5th	6.8
9	J W Seabrook Elementary 280 students · Pre-K–5th	280	Pre-K–5th	6.7
10	Vanstory Hills Elementary 480 students · 2nd–5th	480	2nd–5th	6.7

Show all 42 elementary schools in Fayetteville

Private and public school ratings use different data sources and scoring models, so scores are not directly comparable across school types.

New Century International Elementary Alderman Road Elementary Alma O Easom Elementary Brentwood Elementary J W Coon Elementary Howard L Hall Elementary Mary Mcarthur Elementary Elizabeth M Cashwell Elementary William H Owen Elementary College Lakes Elementary Ashley Elementary Cumberland Mills Elementary Cumberland Road Elementary Morganton Road Elementary Montclair Elementary Loyd E Auman Elementary Lake Rim Elementary Warrenwood Elementary Sunnyside Elementary Benjamin J Martin Elementary Margaret Willis Elementary Lucile Souders Elementary Bill Hefner Elementary Cliffdale Elementary Westarea Elementary Ferguson-easley Elementary Walker-spivey Elementary St Ann Catholic School Private St Patrick Catholic School Private First Impressions Academy Private Birds Nest Montessori School Private Bright Young Minds University Private

Middle Schools

13 schools

#	School	Enrollment	Grades	Rating
1	Reid Ross Classical Middle 223 students · 6th–8th	223	6th–8th	8.3
2	New Century International Middle 376 students · 6th–8th	376	6th–8th	8.3
3	Seventy-first Classical Middle 427 students · 6th–8th	427	6th–8th	8.1
4	John R Griffin Middle 1,057 students · 6th–8th	1,057	6th–8th	6.5
5	Anne Chesnutt Middle 467 students · 6th–8th	467	6th–8th	5.4
6	Pine Forest Middle 704 students · 6th–8th	704	6th–8th	5.4
7	Mac Williams Middle 1,163 students · 6th–8th	1,163	6th–8th	5.2
8	Westover Middle 778 students · 6th–8th	778	6th–8th	5.1
9	Lewis Chapel Middle 580 students · 6th–8th	580	6th–8th	4.7
10	R Max Abbott Middle 726 students · 6th–8th	726	6th–8th	4.7

Show all 13 middle schools in Fayetteville

Douglas Byrd Middle Luther Nick Jeralds Middle Howard Learning Academy

High Schools

16 schools

#	School	Enrollment	Grades	Rating
1	Massey Hill Classical High 295 students · 9th–12th	295	9th–12th	8.6
2	Cumberland International Early College 250 students · 9th–12th	250	9th–12th	8.4
3	Cumberland Polytechnic 304 students · 9th–UG	304	9th–UG	8.1
4	Reid Ross Classical High 216 students · 9th–12th	216	9th–12th	8.0
5	Cross Creek Early College 252 students · 9th–12th	252	9th–12th	7.9
6	Cumberland Academy 6-12 Virtual School 445 students · 6th–12th	445	6th–12th	7.2
7	Jack Britt High 1,916 students · 9th–12th	1,916	9th–12th	6.8
8	Cape Fear High 1,514 students · 9th–12th	1,514	9th–12th	6.2
9	Pine Forest High 1,602 students · 9th–12th	1,602	9th–12th	6.1
10	Terry Sanford High 1,213 students · 9th–12th	1,213	9th–12th	5.5

Show all 16 high schools in Fayetteville

Westover High Alger B. Wilkins High School E E Smith High Seventy-first High Douglas Byrd High Ramsey Street High

Other Schools

14 schools

#	School	Enrollment	Grades	Rating
1	The Capitol Encore Academy 832 students · Kindergarten–12th	832	Kindergarten–12th	5.6
2	Alpha Academy 1,043 students · Kindergarten–12th	1,043	Kindergarten–12th	5.4
Private Schools 12 schools Private and public school ratings use different data sources and scoring models. Scores are not directly comparable across school types.
1	Renaissance Classical Christian Academy Private 115 students · Pre-K–12th	115	Pre-K–12th	8.5
2	Fayetteville Academy Private 374 students · Pre-K–12th	374	Pre-K–12th	8.0
3	Cornerstone Christian Academy Private 179 students · Pre-K–12th	179	Pre-K–12th	7.2
4	The School of Hope Private 33 students · Kindergarten–12th	33	Kindergarten–12th	7.0
5	Liberty Christian Academy Private 269 students · Pre-K–12th	269	Pre-K–12th	6.5
6	Greater Fayetteville Adventist Private 81 students · Pre-K–12th	81	Pre-K–12th	6.5
7	Northview Baptist Academy Private 64 students · Kindergarten–12th	64	Kindergarten–12th	6.4
8	Bal-perazim Christian Academy Private 85 students · Kindergarten–12th	85	Kindergarten–12th	6.3

Show all 14 other schools in Fayetteville

Private and public school ratings use different data sources and scoring models, so scores are not directly comparable across school types.

Village Christian Academy Private New Life Christian Academy Private Trinity Christian School of Fayetteville, Inc. Private Freedom Christian Academy Private

Schools in Fayetteville

Fayetteville, North Carolina · 85 schools

Community Demographics

Census ACS 2022 5-Year Estimates across 8 ZIP codes

Median Income

$58,548

Median Home Value

$184,450

Median Rent

$1,087/mo

Population

245,182

College Educated

30%

Homeownership

53%

Avg Commute

22 min

Poverty Rate

18.6%

Community Profile

Fayetteville has a median household income of $58,548. It is an area where 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The median home value in the area is $184,450, with a median rent of $1,087/month. The area has a poverty rate of 18.6%. The average commute for residents is 22 minutes. Source: U.S. Census ACS 2022 5-Year Estimates.

Schools by Level

State: North Carolina
Elementary: 42
Middle: 13
High: 16
Other: 14

Resources

🔍 Google "Fayetteville schools" 🏫 GreatSchools Fayetteville 📊 Niche Fayetteville Rankings 📍 Google Maps: Schools

School Districts (3)

Cumberland County Schools

86 schools · 49,314 students

Alpha Academy

1 school · 1,043 students

The Capitol Encore Academy

1 school · 832 students

Nearby Cities

Hope Mills (12 schools)

7 mi

Spring Lake (7 schools)

Lumber Bridge (2 schools)

12 mi

Bunnlevel (2 schools)

16 mi

Stedman (2 schools)

14 mi

Saint Pauls (3 schools)

Lillington (4 schools)

21 mi

Falcon (1 school)

19 mi

Red Springs (5 schools)

21 mi

Other Major Cities in North Carolina

Top metros statewide by school count.

Charlotte 225 schools Raleigh 138 schools Greensboro 95 schools Durham 94 schools Winston-salem 77 schools

How we rate schools

A clear 1–10 score built from public data — growth, academics, and learning environment. No hidden criteria, no pay-to-play.

See how we rate

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about schools in Fayetteville, North Carolina

How many schools are in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

Fayetteville has 85 schools, including 68 public and 17 private schools spanning elementary, middle, and high school levels.

What is the average school rating in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

The average MySchoolScout composite score for schools in Fayetteville is 5.9 out of 10, built from student growth, poverty-adjusted academic achievement, and school environment — plus college readiness for high schools.

What is the top-ranked school in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

The top-ranked school in Fayetteville on MySchoolScout is Massey Hill Classical High with a composite score of 8.6/10.

What is the best elementary school in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

The top-ranked elementary school in Fayetteville on MySchoolScout is St Ann Catholic School with a composite score of 7.7/10.

What is the best middle school in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

The top-ranked middle school in Fayetteville on MySchoolScout is Reid Ross Classical Middle with a composite score of 8.3/10.

What is the best high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

The top-ranked high school in Fayetteville on MySchoolScout is Massey Hill Classical High with a composite score of 8.6/10.

How many school districts serve Fayetteville, North Carolina?

Fayetteville is served by 3 school districts: Cumberland County Schools, Alpha Academy, The Capitol Encore Academy.

What is the education level in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

According to Census data, 30% of adults in Fayetteville have earned a bachelor's degree or higher.

What is the median income in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

The median household income in Fayetteville is approximately $58,548 according to Census ACS 2022 estimates.

Are there private schools in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

Yes, Fayetteville has 17 private schools alongside 68 public schools. The top-rated private school is Renaissance Classical Christian Academy with a score of 8.5/10.

What is the student-teacher ratio in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

The average student-teacher ratio across schools in Fayetteville is 13.6:1. This ratio varies by school, so families should check individual school profiles for specific classroom sizes.

How does MySchoolScout rate schools in Fayetteville, North Carolina?

MySchoolScout rates schools using publicly available data from the NCES Common Core of Data and state education departments. Each school receives a 1-10 composite score built from Student Growth, Poverty-Adjusted Academic Achievement, and School Environment — plus College Readiness for high schools. Weights vary by school level, and equity data is shown for context but not scored.