Clayton ranked No. 10 in last week's feature on "The Best Schools in the Most Affordable ZIP Codes." It was the only town in North Carolina to make the list.

"This is probably one of the highest honors that Clayton has received," Mayor Jody McLeod said, adding that the distinction would help the town attract new jobs. "It's like the best-kept secret is out of the bag."

The article touts the town's three golf courses, its annual Harvest Festival and The Clayton Center performing-arts hall. It also points to the town's proximity to Raleigh and Research Triangle Park. The magazine cites Riverwood Elementary, Riverwood Middle and East Clayton Elementary as the top schools in the community.

Though the article's scope encompasses the entire town, the ZIP code it chose for affordability and good schools is 27527, which covers Flowers Plantation and the area east of town. Downtown Clayton and much of the town limits are in 27520.

"I think it's because there's so much housing out there," said Sally Schlindwein, executive director of the Clayton Area Chamber of Commerce. "It's going to be like a mini-city. There's just a lot of growth out there."

For its rankings, BusinessWeek used public school test scores and median home values. The schools in 27527 scored 9.3 on a 1-10 scale, based on analyses done by GreatSchools.net. The public schools in the other Clayton ZIP code had an average score of 8.2, according to GreatSchools.

Patty Whittington, principal of East Clayton Elementary, cautioned against judging a school solely on test scores. "I actually think that there are so many other factors that go into student achievement," she said.

Whittington credits her school's success to the quality of her faculty and staff, a high level of parent involvement and extracurricular activities such as drama, Spanish enrichment and student government.

She said she was excited to hear of the BusinessWeek ranking, the latest in a string of accolades that include being a School of Distinction for Academic Excellence.

"It's always wonderful for someone else to see what you see on a daily basis," Whittington said.

She said many parents have told her they chose to live in the East Clayton district because of the school. With the nod from BusinessWeek, Whittington expects more families to move into the district.

McLeod, the mayor, said the town would post the recognition on its Web site, where business and industry go to check out the town.

"The schools are such a strong economic-recruitment piece," he said. "When you're recruiting business, that's the driving question."