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2024 Best Registered Nursing Schools in North Carolina

74 Colleges in North Carolina
6,685 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded
Registered Nursing is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #3 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 74 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Registered Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 6,685 degrees in registered nursing to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Registered Nursing School

Best Registered Nursing Schools in North Carolina Your choice of registered nursing school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Registered Nursing School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Registered Nursing Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Registered Nursing
Bachelor's Degrees in Registered Nursing
Master's Degrees in Registered Nursing
Doctor's Degrees in Registered Nursing

The registered nursing school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Registered Nursing Schools in North Carolina. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Registered Nursing in North Carolina

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the registered nursing degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

11 Top North Carolina Schools in Registered Nursing

1
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In NC
147 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Duke University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in registered 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 approximately 147 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Duke University

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In NC
106 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a good option for students pursuing a degree in registered nursing. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in the 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 about 106 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In NC
423 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in registered nursing has to look into 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 roughly 423 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from East Carolina University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NC
782 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Any student pursuing a degree in registered nursing has to look into University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Located in the midsize 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 782 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at UNCW in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from University of North Carolina at Wilmington

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
20th Most Popular In NC
93 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Cabarrus College of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit college located in the midsize city of Concord.

There were about 93 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Cabarrus College of Health Sciences in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Cabarrus College of Health Sciences

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In NC
197 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Located in the 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 colleges nationwide means UNC Charlotte is a great university overall.

There were approximately 197 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at UNC Charlotte in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from University of North Carolina at Charlotte

7
Gardner - Webb crest
Gardner - Webb University
Boiling Springs, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In NC
153 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

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 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 153 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Gardner - Webb in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Gardner - Webb University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In NC
135 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Charlotte, Carolinas College of Health Sciences is a public college with a small student population.

There were about 135 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Carolinas College of Health Sciences in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Carolinas College of Health Sciences

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In NC
152 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Located in the distant 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 schools nationwide means Appalachian State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 152 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Appalachian State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Appalachian State University

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
34th Most Popular In NC
47 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Charlotte, Chamberlain - North Carolina is a private for-profit university with a small student population.

There were approximately 47 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Chamberlain - North Carolina in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Chamberlain University - North Carolina

11
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In NC
218 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public university located in the 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 218 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from University of North Carolina at Greensboro


 

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Registered Nursing students in the state of North Carolina that almost earned our Best Registered Nursing Schools in North Carolina award.

Rank College Location
12 Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC
13 Queens University of Charlotte Charlotte, NC
14 Winston - Salem State University Winston-Salem, NC
15 Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC
16 Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC
17 Gaston College Dallas, NC
18 Sampson Community College Clinton, NC

Best Registered Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Registered Nursing Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 715 18,780
Georgia 690 5,702
Virginia 630 5,839
Tennessee 624 4,957
South Carolina 530 2,828
Kentucky 518 4,931
Mississippi 501 2,590
Alabama 500 6,786
Louisiana 489 3,152
Arkansas 466 2,673
West Virginia 410 1,666

View All Rankings >

Registered Nursing is one of 23 different types of Nursing programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Registered Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 322
Nursing Practice 283
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 164
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 149
Nursing Administration 88
Nursing Science 69
School Nursing 52
Nurse Anesthetist 47
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 16
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 12

View All Registered Nursing Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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