Ranked #3 in popularity, nursing is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 76 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 7,919 degrees in nursing to qualified students.
Your choice of nursing school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for nursing schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Nursing Schools in North Carolina list to help you make the college decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the nursing degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It is hard to beat Duke University if you wish to pursue a degree in nursing. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were roughly 573 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the nursing program at Duke University earn $32,334 above the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a good choice for students interested in a degree in nursing. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in the small city of Chapel Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #43 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.
There were approximately 209 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Those nursing students who get their degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill make $16,516 more than the standard nursing graduate.
Wake Forest University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in nursing. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem. A Best Colleges rank of #128 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Wake Forest University is a great university overall.
There were roughly 34 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Wake Forest University in the most recent data year. Those nursing students who get their degree from Wake Forest University make $103,551 more than the typical nursing graduate.
Any student pursuing a degree in nursing needs to check out East Carolina University. ECU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Greenville. A Best Colleges rank of #414 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means ECU is a great university overall.
There were about 482.00000000000006 nursing students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the nursing degree program at East Carolina University make $18,371 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #457 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNCW is a great university overall.
There were about 1001 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UNCW in the most recent data year. Nursing degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Wilmington receive an earnings boost of approximately $8,975 above the typical income of nursing majors.
Cabarrus College of Health Sciences is a fairly small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Concord.
There were about 93 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Cabarrus College of Health Sciences in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $62,141 in the first couple years of working.
Located in the large city of Charlotte, UNC Charlotte is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #378 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNC Charlotte is a great university overall.
There were about 288 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UNC Charlotte in the most recent data year. Nursing degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Charlotte get an earnings boost of approximately $13,560 above the average income of nursing majors.
Located in the distant town of Boiling Springs, Gardner - Webb is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 25th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 177 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Gardner - Webb in the most recent year we have data available. Those nursing students who get their degree from Gardner - Webb University receive $14,218 more than the average nursing student.
Located in the large city of Charlotte, Carolinas College of Health Sciences is a public college with a fairly small student population.
There were about 135 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Carolinas College of Health Sciences in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $60,164 in the first couple years of working.
UNC Greensboro is a large public university located in the large city of Greensboro. A Best Colleges rank of #623 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNC Greensboro is a great university overall.
There were about 342 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent year we have data available. Nursing degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Greensboro receive an earnings boost of approximately $16,464 over the typical earnings of nursing majors.
Located in the town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #445 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Appalachian State is a great university overall.
There were about 152 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Appalachian State in the most recent data year. After graduating, nursing degree recipients generally make about $59,623 in their early careers.
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the state of North Carolina that almost earned our Best Nursing Schools in North Carolina award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
college factual
Your choice of nursing school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for nursing schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
