UNC Wilmington Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
- Public university
- Wilmington, NC
- About 143 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UNC Wilmington teacher education graduates earn about what teacher education graduates earn nationally, $40,777 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,130 in federal loans, less than at 87% of teacher education programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying teacher education degrees in North Carolina.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The North Carolina and national columns are the medians across all teacher education bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UNC Wilmington graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the North Carolina median.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina teacher education program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Carolina medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 11% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $20,998 against $18,571.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $213 a month, or 6.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 44 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $21,426.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
85% of graduates (170 of 199) were working in North Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the Wilmington area are about 4% below the national average, so a $40,777 salary here buys what about $42,290 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to teacher education, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
$54,930Median pay in North Carolina. 42,410 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$57,650Median pay in North Carolina. 28,620 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$52,010Median pay in North Carolina. 20,650 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
$35,710Median pay in North Carolina. 18,370 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
About UNC Wilmington
Teacher Education ranks 8th of 31 bachelor's programs at UNC Wilmington by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($74,463), Computer Science ($66,977), and Other Health Professions ($56,924).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $40,777 one year after graduating and $45,395 five years after. The median across teacher education bachelor's programs in North Carolina is $41,994.
The median federal loan balance is $20,130, which ranks 4th lowest of 22 teacher education bachelor's programs in North Carolina. That works out to about $213 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 49% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 61%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several North Carolina programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 85% (170 of 199) were working in North Carolina one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of North Carolina comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the teacher education program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024