Which North Carolina nursing program has the lowest debt?

Richmond Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $8,722, with first-year pay of $70,087.

How much do nursing graduates earn in North Carolina?

The median across 53 North Carolina nursing associate's programs is $67,505 in the first year after graduating and $70,228 five years after. Registered nurses in North Carolina earn a median of $84,350 across all experience levels.

How many nursing associate's programs are in North Carolina?

53 North Carolina programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 36 of them also report federal debt.

Nursing (ADN) Programs in North Carolina, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

53 programs report first-year pay
36 also report federal debt
Associate's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median North Carolina nursing associate's program pays its graduates $67,505 in their first year, $1,016 less than the national median. Robeson Community College reports the highest first-year pay ($77,475), and Richmond Community College the lowest median debt ($8,722).

Median first-year pay$67,505National $68,521

Median pay after 5 years$70,228National $74,126

Median federal debt$14,725National $20,423

Debt-to-earnings21%National 29%

All 53 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	Robeson Community CollegeLumberton · public	$77,475	$67,249	$9,949	13%
2	Stanly Community CollegeAlbemarle · public	$76,008	$75,526	Not reported	Not reported
3	Carolinas College of Health SciencesCharlotte · public	$75,471	$67,786	$24,499	32%
4	Johnston Community CollegeSmithfield · public	$74,366	$65,719	$13,167	18%
5	Central Piedmont Community CollegeCharlotte · public	$73,310	$69,816	$16,125	22%
6	Cleveland Community CollegeShelby · public	$73,173	$73,720	Not reported	Not reported
7	College of the AlbemarleElizabeth City · public	$72,750	$63,295	$13,000	18%
8	Fayetteville Technical Community CollegeFayetteville · public	$72,523	$73,268	$14,937	21%
9	Vance-Granville Community CollegeHenderson · public	$72,520	$81,139	$14,833	20%
10	Brunswick Community CollegeBolivia · public	$71,605	$71,307	Not reported	Not reported
11	Cabarrus College of Health SciencesConcord · private nonprofit	$71,240	$70,589	$23,749	33%
12	Halifax Community CollegeWeldon · public	$70,982	$63,242	Not reported	Not reported
13	Central Carolina Community CollegeSanford · public	$70,579	$67,452	Not reported	Not reported
14	South Piedmont Community CollegePolkton · public	$70,497	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
15	Wilson Community CollegeWilson · public	$70,152	$73,639	$20,477	29%
16	Richmond Community CollegeHamlet · public	$70,087	$76,774	$8,722	12%
17	Alamance Community CollegeGraham · public	$69,767	$63,585	Not reported	Not reported
18	Surry Community CollegeDobson · public	$69,740	Not reported	$13,574	19%
19	Tri-County Community CollegeMurphy · public	$69,455	$59,456	Not reported	Not reported
20	Sampson Community CollegeClinton · public	$69,040	$71,874	$12,596	18%
21	Piedmont Community CollegeRoxboro · public	$68,517	Not reported	$11,000	16%
22	Forsyth Technical Community CollegeWinston-Salem · public	$68,379	$73,441	$19,748	29%
23	Wake Technical Community CollegeRaleigh · public	$68,266	$72,186	$24,750	36%
24	Gaston CollegeDallas · public	$68,245	$64,239	$12,750	19%
25	Gardner-Webb UniversityBoiling Springs · private nonprofit	$67,979	$74,294	$20,000	29%
26	Bladen Community CollegeDublin · public	$67,852	$83,290	$11,560	17%
27	Lenoir Community CollegeKinston · public	$67,505	Not reported	$12,000	18%
28	Rowan-Cabarrus Community CollegeSalisbury · public	$67,501	$72,629	$12,062	18%
29	Pitt Community CollegeWinterville · public	$67,366	$70,703	$19,354	29%
30	Isothermal Community CollegeSpindale · public	$67,248	$72,364	Not reported	Not reported
31	Guilford Technical Community CollegeJamestown · public	$67,200	$69,879	$20,795	31%
32	Caldwell Community College and Technical InstituteHudson · public	$66,904	$64,158	$12,000	18%
33	Western Piedmont Community CollegeMorganton · public	$66,888	$75,958	$11,999	18%
34	Davidson-Davie Community CollegeThomasville · public	$66,695	$70,250	$15,361	23%
35	Durham Technical Community CollegeDurham · public	$66,430	$74,092	$21,448	32%
36	Edgecombe Community CollegeTarboro · public	$66,322	$66,286	$26,683	40%
37	Sandhills Community CollegePinehurst · public	$66,238	$73,822	$12,977	20%
38	Southeastern Community College (North Carolina)Whiteville · public	$65,328	$65,220	$10,188	16%
39	James Sprunt Community CollegeKenansville · public	$65,112	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
40	Catawba Valley Community CollegeHickory · public	$64,707	$70,336	$17,895	28%
41	Nash Community CollegeRocky Mount · public	$64,013	$72,140	$23,275	36%
42	Rockingham Community CollegeWentworth · public	$63,549	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
43	Craven Community CollegeNew Bern · public	$63,478	$62,648	$10,349	16%
44	Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community CollegeAsheville · public	$63,410	$62,627	$19,411	31%
45	Wilkes Community CollegeWilkesboro · public	$62,962	$61,820	Not reported	Not reported
46	Mitchell Community CollegeStatesville · public	$62,584	$63,398	Not reported	Not reported
47	Carteret Community CollegeMorehead City · public	$62,321	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
48	Blue Ridge Community College (North Carolina)Flat Rock · public	$62,192	$65,062	$20,438	33%
49	McDowell Technical Community CollegeMarion · public	$62,167	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
50	Southwestern Community College (North Carolina)Sylva · public	$61,931	$72,733	$14,617	24%
51	Wayne Community CollegeGoldsboro · public	$61,774	$67,390	Not reported	Not reported
52	Coastal Carolina Community CollegeJacksonville · public	$59,879	$70,228	$8,750	15%
53	Haywood Community CollegeClyde · public	$58,923	$67,055	Not reported	Not reported

17 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina nursing 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 36 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Robeson Community College$77,475
Stanly Community College$76,008
Carolinas College of Health Sciences$75,471
Johnston Community College$74,366
Central Piedmont Community College$73,310

Lowest median debt

Richmond Community College$8,722
Coastal Carolina Community College$8,750
Robeson Community College$9,949
Southeastern Community College (North Carolina)$10,188
Craven Community College$10,349

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.

What registered nurses earn in North Carolina

Pay for registered nurses in North Carolina, across all experience levels, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Registered Nurses

$84,350

Median pay in North Carolina. 111,120 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 180,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $67,660Top 10%: $110,220

Common questions

Robeson Community College in Lumberton reports the highest median first-year pay, $77,475. Its median federal debt is $9,949.

Nursing (ADN) programs in the US, ranked845 programs by pay and debt Nursing (BSN) programs in North Carolina, ranked26 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 nursing associate'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