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Best Nursing Colleges in North Carolina

By David Krug, Co-Founder, CollegeRanker · Updated 2026-05-31 · 50 schools · Agent Insights
50
Schools Analyzed
$45,488
Avg. Earnings (10yr)
50%
Avg. Graduation Rate
$15,115
Avg. Net Price

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This ranking scores 50 institutions on graduation rates, graduate earnings, debt burdens, and social mobility data from Opportunity Insights. Every data point comes from federal sources. No surveys, no opinions.

Social mobility carries the heaviest weight in our algorithm. We use Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card — built on 30 million anonymized tax records — to measure whether a college changes a family's economic trajectory across generations. Schools that take low-income students and launch them into higher earnings rank higher than schools that admit wealthy students and take credit for their success.

The transparency penalty matters here. Schools that don't report their data get scored lower than schools that do. If an institution won't show you its numbers, we think you should know that before you write them a tuition check.

Quick Numbers

Schools ranked 50
Avg. earnings at 10yr $45,488
Avg. graduation rate 50%
Avg. net price $15,115
Avg. median debt $21,208

How We Ranked

Nursing programs in North Carolina ranked by outcomes and program concentration

Read our full methodology →

Earnings vs. Cost

Each dot is a ranked school. Up = higher earnings. Right = higher cost. Top-left is the best value.

$15K$68K$120K$0$50KNET PRICEDuke UniversityUniversity ofUniversity ofWinston-Salem StateWestern Carolina

Graduation Rates

Longer bars = higher graduation rate.

Duke University96%University of North Caro…92%University of North Caro…71%Winston-Salem State Univ…48%Western Carolina Univers…60%Queens University of Cha…64%East Carolina University62%Forsyth Technical Commun…31%University of North Caro…68%Caldwell Community Colle…42%Fayetteville State Unive…37%University of North Caro…57%Appalachian State Univer…74%Durham Technical Communi…40%Barton College48%Wilson Community College33%Catawba College50%Pitt Community College31%Lenoir-Rhyne University49%University of Mount Olive50%

Top 3

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC

Graduation96%
Earnings$97,800
Net Price$29,612

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#2

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC

Graduation92%
Earnings$72,200
Net Price$11,655

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#3

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Wilmington, NC

Graduation71%
Earnings$54,967
Net Price$20,109

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Full Rankings

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC · 6,442 students · Private nonprofit

6% accepted 96% graduate $97,800 earnings
Duke's full profile
#2

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC · 20,752 students · Public

15% accepted 92% graduate $72,200 earnings
University's full profile
#3

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Wilmington, NC · 14,922 students · Public

64% accepted 71% graduate $54,967 earnings
University's full profile
#4

Winston-Salem State University

Winston-Salem, NC · 4,170 students · Public

78% accepted 48% graduate $45,344 earnings
Winston-Salem's full profile
#5

Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC · 10,024 students · Public

82% accepted 60% graduate $49,458 earnings
Western's full profile
#6

Queens University of Charlotte

Charlotte, NC · 1,211 students · Private nonprofit

62% accepted 64% graduate $57,673 earnings
Queens's full profile
#7

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC · 19,896 students · Public

89% accepted 62% graduate $55,146 earnings
East's full profile
#8

Forsyth Technical Community College

Winston-Salem, NC · 7,113 students · Public

31% graduate $34,139 earnings
Forsyth's full profile
#9

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Charlotte, NC · 24,453 students · Public

80% accepted 68% graduate $57,289 earnings
University's full profile
#10

Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute

Hudson, NC · 2,393 students · Public

42% graduate $34,515 earnings
Caldwell's full profile
#11

Fayetteville State University

Fayetteville, NC · 5,762 students · Public

82% accepted 37% graduate $40,144 earnings
Fayetteville's full profile
#12

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Greensboro, NC · 14,062 students · Public

89% accepted 57% graduate $48,160 earnings
University's full profile
#13

Appalachian State University

Boone, NC · 19,444 students · Public

90% accepted 74% graduate $51,836 earnings
Appalachian's full profile
#14

Durham Technical Community College

Durham, NC · 3,890 students · Public

40% graduate $36,142 earnings
Durham's full profile
#15

Barton College

Wilson, NC · 982 students · Private nonprofit

94% accepted 48% graduate $47,913 earnings
Barton's full profile
#16

Wilson Community College

Wilson, NC · 1,373 students · Public

33% graduate $32,973 earnings
Wilson's full profile
#17

Catawba College

Salisbury, NC · 1,235 students · Private nonprofit

75% accepted 50% graduate $48,793 earnings
Catawba's full profile
#18

Pitt Community College

Winterville, NC · 5,317 students · Public

31% graduate $37,259 earnings
Pitt's full profile
#19

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Hickory, NC · 1,359 students · Private nonprofit

85% accepted 49% graduate $45,543 earnings
Lenoir-Rhyne's full profile
#20

University of Mount Olive

Mount Olive, NC · 1,796 students · Private nonprofit

76% accepted 50% graduate $47,139 earnings
University's full profile
#21

University of North Carolina Asheville

Asheville, NC · 2,910 students · Public

92% accepted 55% graduate $44,030 earnings
University's full profile
#22

Campbell University

Buies Creek, NC · 2,680 students · Private nonprofit

87% accepted 58% graduate $54,886 earnings
Campbell's full profile
#23

Pfeiffer University

Misenheimer, NC · 655 students · Private nonprofit

96% accepted 39% graduate $51,562 earnings
Pfeiffer's full profile
#24

Meredith College

Raleigh, NC · 1,188 students · Private nonprofit

74% accepted 68% graduate $51,539 earnings
Meredith's full profile
#25

Elon University

Elon, NC · 6,452 students · Private nonprofit

66% accepted 84% graduate $74,545 earnings
Elon's full profile
#26

Catawba Valley Community College

Hickory, NC · 2,741 students · Public

35% graduate $36,977 earnings
Catawba's full profile
#27

University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Pembroke, NC · 5,330 students · Public

93% accepted 44% graduate $43,407 earnings
University's full profile
#28

Cape Fear Community College

Wilmington, NC · 9,764 students · Public

34% graduate $38,654 earnings
Cape's full profile
#29

North Carolina Wesleyan University

Rocky Mount, NC · 1,214 students · Private nonprofit

80% accepted 41% graduate $45,873 earnings
North's full profile
#30

Mars Hill University

Mars Hill, NC · 1,044 students · Private nonprofit

68% accepted 43% graduate $44,781 earnings
Mars's full profile
#31

North Carolina A & T State University

Greensboro, NC · 12,182 students · Public

50% accepted 56% graduate $44,440 earnings
North's full profile
#32

Wingate University

Wingate, NC · 2,668 students · Private nonprofit

91% accepted 47% graduate $52,649 earnings
Wingate's full profile
#33

Salem College

Winston-Salem, NC · 423 students · Private nonprofit

77% accepted 57% graduate $44,640 earnings
Salem's full profile
#34

Methodist University

Fayetteville, NC · 1,448 students · Private nonprofit

75% accepted 42% graduate $48,050 earnings
Methodist's full profile
#35

Gardner-Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC · 1,856 students · Private nonprofit

77% accepted 59% graduate $48,039 earnings
Gardner-Webb's full profile
#36

William Peace University

Raleigh, NC · 666 students · Private nonprofit

94% accepted 45% graduate $46,643 earnings
William's full profile
#37

Greensboro College

Greensboro, NC · 708 students · Private nonprofit

70% accepted 43% graduate $46,566 earnings
Greensboro's full profile
#38

Guilford Technical Community College

Jamestown, NC · 9,260 students · Public

31% graduate $33,934 earnings
Guilford's full profile
#39

Piedmont Community College

Roxboro, NC · 457 students · Public

39% graduate $33,274 earnings
Piedmont's full profile
#40

Brevard College

Brevard, NC · 815 students · Private nonprofit

42% accepted 44% graduate $43,545 earnings
Brevard's full profile
#41

Halifax Community College

Weldon, NC · 723 students · Public

38% graduate $31,644 earnings
Halifax's full profile
#42

Sampson Community College

Clinton, NC · 846 students · Public

55% graduate $33,409 earnings
Sampson's full profile
#43

Belmont Abbey College

Belmont, NC · 1,276 students · Private nonprofit

75% accepted 47% graduate $47,937 earnings
Belmont's full profile
#44

North Carolina Central University

Durham, NC · 6,081 students · Public

87% accepted 44% graduate $42,968 earnings
North's full profile
#45

Sandhills Community College

Pinehurst, NC · 2,539 students · Public

50% graduate $31,656 earnings
Sandhills's full profile
#46

Western Piedmont Community College

Morganton, NC · 1,339 students · Public

43% graduate $34,195 earnings
Western's full profile
#47

Warren Wilson College

Swannanoa, NC · 707 students · Private nonprofit

71% accepted 42% graduate $36,260 earnings
Warren's full profile
#48

Robeson Community College

Lumberton, NC · 1,551 students · Public

31% graduate $29,036 earnings
Robeson's full profile
#49

Craven Community College

New Bern, NC · 1,989 students · Public

47% graduate $34,231 earnings
Craven's full profile
#50

Bladen Community College

Dublin, NC · 1,030 students · Public

28% graduate $30,591 earnings
Bladen's full profile

Sources & Citations

[1]

U.S. Department of Education. College Scorecard Data. Federal Student Aid, National Center for Education Statistics. →

[2]

National Center for Education Statistics. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). →

DK

David Krug

Co-Founder, CollegeRanker

David Krug is the co-founder of CollegeRanker and a data systems architect focused on making institutional research accessible to families. He builds the data pipelines and ranking algorithms that power CollegeRanker, drawing from federal datasets and Raj Chetty's Opportunity Insights research to measure what traditional rankings ignore: whether a college actually changes a family's economic trajectory.

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