How much do North Carolina college graduates earn?

The median bachelor's program in North Carolina pays its graduates $37,208 in their first year, the median associate's program $37,406, and the median certificate program $33,566.

How much student debt do North Carolina graduates have?

The median bachelor's program in North Carolina leaves its graduates with $25,000 in federal debt (national $25,000), the median associate's program $14,486 (national $15,186), and the median certificate program $16,000 (national $10,780).

How many North Carolina colleges report graduate pay?

122 North Carolina schools report first-year pay for at least one program, 1,106 programs in all. 104 of them have at least one program with its own page here.

North Carolina Colleges and Majors, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

1,106 programs report first-year pay
104 schools with program pages
54 field rankings

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BEA price parities 2024

The short answer

The median North Carolina bachelor's program pays its graduates $37,208 in their first year, $2,834 less than the national median. Of the 39 bachelor's fields ranked in North Carolina, nursing pays the most ($71,466) and theatre the least ($21,113). The median bachelor's program leaves its graduates with $25,000 in federal debt, compared with $25,000 nationally.

Median first-year pay, bachelor's$37,208Across 721 programs. National $40,042

Median pay after 5 years, bachelor's$51,148Across 683 programs. National $57,933

Median federal debt, bachelor's$25,000Across 767 programs. National $25,000

Prices compared with the US6% lowerBEA price level 94.3, US average 100

Pay and debt by credential

Medians across every North Carolina program at each credential that reports the figure, next to the national median.

Credential	Programs	Year 1 pay	National	Debt	National
Bachelor's	721	$37,208	$40,042	$25,000	$25,000
Associate's	238	$37,406	$38,507	$14,486	$15,186
Certificate	147	$33,566	$31,106	$16,000	$10,780

Bachelor's fields in North Carolina, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its North Carolina bachelor's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Nursing (BSN)	26	$71,466	$26,000
2	Computer Science	15	$67,704	$24,819
3	Computer and Information Science	9	$54,088	$26,962
4	Finance	9	$51,628	$22,500
5	Accounting	19	$48,489	$25,000
6	Economics	9	$46,425	$20,214
7	Marketing	10	$44,745	$23,304
8	Business Administration	37	$43,451	$26,992
9	Special Education	6	$42,830	$24,500
10	Subject-Area Teacher Education	10	$42,137	$26,000
11	Teacher Education	25	$41,994	$24,500
12	Mathematics	9	$40,888	$21,946
13	Health and Medical Administration	9	$38,900	$25,803
14	Geology and Earth Science	5	$38,459	$22,853
15	Public Relations and Advertising	5	$38,190	$22,250
16	Public Health	10	$37,328	$25,500
17	Chemistry	10	$36,235	$20,824
18	Romance Languages	5	$35,191	$23,250
19	Design and Applied Arts	9	$34,722	$25,000
20	Criminal Justice	24	$34,146	$27,000
21	Human Development and Family Studies	5	$33,878	$26,000
22	Communications	20	$33,740	$25,000
23	History	11	$33,219	$24,004
24	Hospitality Management	6	$32,827	$25,162
25	Political Science	15	$32,780	$24,500
26	Liberal Arts and General Studies	12	$32,546	$28,524
27	Sociology	14	$31,728	$24,938
28	Social Work	15	$31,695	$26,381
29	Biology	28	$30,693	$26,914
30	Recreation Management	5	$30,485	$22,252
31	English	15	$29,927	$23,071
32	Psychology	24	$29,409	$26,500
33	Environmental Science and Conservation	8	$28,528	$22,309
34	Kinesiology and Exercise Science	30	$27,519	$26,703
35	Anthropology	10	$26,853	$25,056
36	Music	6	$24,856	$26,000
37	Linguistics and Language Studies	5	$24,658	$23,342
38	Fine and Studio Arts	12	$22,050	$27,000
39	Theatre	10	$21,113	$25,914

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

Associate's fields in North Carolina, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its North Carolina associate's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Nursing (ADN)	53	$67,505	$14,725
2	Diagnostic and Treatment Professions	22	$52,277	$14,037
3	Computer and Information Science	7	$40,854	$15,337
4	Allied Health and Medical Assisting	16	$35,745	$19,701
5	Business Administration	19	$35,699	$21,232
6	Health and Medical Administration	15	$30,208	$24,498
7	Liberal Arts and General Studies	49	$26,838	$7,500
8	Teacher Education	11	$24,148	$23,419

Certificate fields in North Carolina, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its North Carolina certificate programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Criminal Justice	14	$46,997	$17,280
2	Practical Nursing	14	$46,658	$14,746
3	Computer and Information Science	6	$36,198	$12,625
4	Business Administration	15	$32,230	$16,804
5	Health and Medical Administration	12	$30,413	$18,579
6	Teacher Education	7	$28,498	$16,301
7	Cosmetology	22	$17,459	$13,750

104 North Carolina schools

Every North Carolina school with at least one program page. School names link to the school's page, which ranks all its programs. Schools with one program link straight to that program.

School	City	Type	Programs
Alamance Community College	Graham	Public	5
Alexander Paul Institute of Hair DesignCosmetology (Certificate)	Greenville	For-profit	1
Appalachian State	Boone	Public	52
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College	Asheville	Public	14
Aveda Institute-Chapel HillCosmetology (Certificate)	Chapel Hill	For-profit	1
Barton College	Wilson	Private nonprofit	6
Beaufort County Community CollegeLiberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's)	Washington	Public	1
Belmont Abbey College	Belmont	Private nonprofit	7
Beyond Measure Barbering InstituteCosmetology (Certificate)	Mebane	For-profit	1
Bladen Community College	Dublin	Public	3
Blue Ridge Community College (North Carolina)	Flat Rock	Public	3
Brevard College	Brevard	Private nonprofit	3
Brunswick Community College	Bolivia	Public	3
Cabarrus College of Health Sciences	Concord	Private nonprofit	3
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute	Hudson	Public	4
Campbell University	Buies Creek	Private nonprofit	19
Cape Fear Community College	Wilmington	Public	3
Carolina College of Hair DesignCosmetology (Certificate)	Asheville	For-profit	1
Carolinas College of Health Sciences	Charlotte	Public	3
Carteret Community College	Morehead City	Public	3
Catawba College	Salisbury	Private nonprofit	7
Catawba Valley Community College	Hickory	Public	11
Central Carolina Community College	Sanford	Public	9
Central Piedmont Community College	Charlotte	Public	18
Chowan University	Murfreesboro	Private nonprofit	8
Cleveland Community College	Shelby	Public	5
Coastal Carolina Community College	Jacksonville	Public	5
College of the Albemarle	Elizabeth City	Public	2
College of Wilmington	Wilmington	For-profit	2
Craven Community College	New Bern	Public	4
Davidson-Davie Community College	Thomasville	Public	25
Duke University	Durham	Private nonprofit	23
Durham Technical Community College	Durham	Public	11
East Carolina University	Greenville	Public	45
Edgecombe Community College	Tarboro	Public	3
Elizabeth City State	Elizabeth City	Public	2
Elon University	Elon	Private nonprofit	21
Fayetteville State	Fayetteville	Public	14
Fayetteville Technical Community College	Fayetteville	Public	12
Forsyth Technical Community College	Winston-Salem	Public	19
Gardner-Webb University	Boiling Springs	Private nonprofit	8
Gaston College	Dallas	Public	8
Greensboro College	Greensboro	Private nonprofit	3
Guilford College	Greensboro	Private nonprofit	7
Guilford Technical Community College	Jamestown	Public	22
Isothermal Community College	Spindale	Public	3
James Sprunt Community College	Kenansville	Public	4
Johnson C Smith University	Charlotte	Private nonprofit	7
Johnston Community College	Smithfield	Public	11
Lees-McRae College	Banner Elk	Private nonprofit	6
Lenoir Community College	Kinston	Public	7
Lenoir-Rhyne University	Hickory	Private nonprofit	5
Livingstone College	Salisbury	Private nonprofit	4
Louisburg CollegeLiberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's)	Louisburg	Private nonprofit	1
Mars Hill University	Mars Hill	Private nonprofit	4
Meredith College	Raleigh	Private nonprofit	12
Methodist University	Fayetteville	Private nonprofit	5
Mitchell Community College	Statesville	Public	5
Nash Community College	Rocky Mount	Public	4
NC A&T	Greensboro	Public	38
NC State	Raleigh	Public	63
North Carolina Central University	Durham	Public	20
North Carolina Wesleyan University	Rocky Mount	Private nonprofit	6
Paul Mitchell the School-CharlotteCosmetology (Certificate)	Charlotte	For-profit	1
Paul Mitchell the School-RaleighCosmetology (Certificate)	Raleigh	For-profit	1
Pfeiffer University	Misenheimer	Private nonprofit	4
Piedmont Community CollegeNursing (ADN)	Roxboro	Public	1
Pinnacle Institute of CosmetologyCosmetology (Certificate)	Mooresville	For-profit	1
Pitt Community College	Winterville	Public	9
Queens University of Charlotte	Charlotte	Private nonprofit	5
Richmond Community College	Hamlet	Public	6
Robeson Community College	Lumberton	Public	6
Rockingham Community College	Wentworth	Public	4
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College	Salisbury	Public	13
Saint Augustine's UniversityCriminal Justice (Bachelor's)	Raleigh	Private nonprofit	1
Salem College	Winston-Salem	Private nonprofit	2
Sampson Community College	Clinton	Public	3
Sandhills Community College	Pinehurst	Public	3
Shaw University	Raleigh	Private nonprofit	5
South Piedmont Community College	Polkton	Public	6
Southeastern College-Charlotte	Charlotte	For-profit	3
Southeastern Community College (North Carolina)Nursing (ADN)	Whiteville	Public	1
Southwestern Community College (North Carolina)	Sylva	Public	7
Surry Community College	Dobson	Public	2
UNC Asheville	Asheville	Public	20
UNC Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill	Public	40
UNC Charlotte	Charlotte	Public	56
UNC Greensboro	Greensboro	Public	41
UNC Pembroke	Pembroke	Public	18
UNC Wilmington	Wilmington	Public	31
University of Mount Olive	Mount Olive	Private nonprofit	14
University of North Carolina School of the Arts	Winston Salem	Public	3
Vance-Granville Community College	Henderson	Public	6
Wake Forest University	Winston-Salem	Private nonprofit	11
Wake Technical Community College	Raleigh	Public	15
Wayne Community College	Goldsboro	Public	7
Western Carolina University	Cullowhee	Public	41
Western Piedmont Community College	Morganton	Public	3
Wilkes Community College	Wilkesboro	Public	5
William Peace University	Raleigh	Private nonprofit	5
Wilson Community College	Wilson	Public	3
Wingate University	Wingate	Private nonprofit	14
Winston Salem Barber SchoolCosmetology (Certificate)	Winston-Salem	For-profit	1
Winston-Salem State	Winston-Salem	Public	19

"Programs" counts the school's programs that report first-year pay.

Common questions

The median nursing bachelor's program in North Carolina pays its graduates $71,466 in their first year, the most of 39 bachelor's fields ranked here. Computer science is next, at $67,704.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
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 figures when their main campus is in another state.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024