Which North Carolina anthropology program has the lowest debt?

UNC Chapel Hill reports the lowest median federal debt, $11,982, with first-year pay of $36,211.

How much do anthropology graduates earn in North Carolina?

The median across 10 North Carolina anthropology bachelor's programs is $26,853 in the first year after graduating and $42,366 five years after.

How many anthropology bachelor's programs are in North Carolina?

10 North Carolina programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

Anthropology (Bachelor's) Programs in North Carolina, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

10 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Anthropology

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median North Carolina anthropology bachelor's program pays its graduates $26,853 in their first year, $937 less than the national median. Duke University reports the highest first-year pay ($43,924), and UNC Chapel Hill the lowest median debt ($11,982).

Median first-year pay$26,853National $27,790

Median pay after 5 years$42,366National $45,049

Median federal debt$25,056National $22,962

Debt-to-earnings98%National 81%

All 10 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Duke UniversityDurham · private nonprofit	$43,924	$62,485	Not reported	Not reported
2	UNC Chapel HillChapel Hill · public	$36,211	$43,860	$11,982	33%
3	NC StateRaleigh · public	$29,518	Not reported	$26,000	88%
4	Western Carolina UniversityCullowhee · public	$28,262	$37,633	$22,595	80%
5	UNC CharlotteCharlotte · public	$27,805	$43,369	$27,750	100%
6	UNC GreensboroGreensboro · public	$25,901	$44,735	$27,000	104%
7	UNC WilmingtonWilmington · public	$25,198	$37,701	$24,112	96%
8	UNC AshevilleAsheville · public	$24,639	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
9	East Carolina UniversityGreenville · public	$24,228	$41,362	$27,000	111%
10	Appalachian StateBoone · public	$19,624	$40,323	$23,250	118%

Duke University and UNC Asheville report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina anthropology 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 the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Duke University$43,924
UNC Chapel Hill$36,211
NC State$29,518
Western Carolina University$28,262
UNC Charlotte$27,805

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to anthropology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$102,980

Median pay in North Carolina. 5,730 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $63,800Top 10%: $171,170

Forensic Science Technicians

$59,240

Median pay in North Carolina. 520 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $45,950Top 10%: $81,760

Anthropologists and Archeologists

$73,130

Median pay in North Carolina. 200 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 800 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $52,370Top 10%: $109,300

Common questions

Duke University in Durham reports the highest median first-year pay, $43,924.

Anthropology (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked166 programs by pay and debt

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.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the anthropology bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024