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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

77 Colleges
$2,375 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$65,879 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in North Carolina with 7,425 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

With all the nursing programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 77 schools in North Carolina to see which programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina

Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 15% Best Nursing Schools

#1

Craven Community College

New Bern, NC
$2,022 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Craven Community College the best value school in North Carolina for nursing students. Craven Community College is a small public school located in the city of New Bern.

Craven Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,022 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Craven Community College take out $10,791 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

#2

Pitt Community College

Winterville, NC
$1,940 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Pitt Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the suburb of Winterville, Pitt Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Pitt Community College are $1,940 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Pitt Community College carry an average student debtload of $19,250.

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$2,015 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at South Piedmont Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the rural area of Polkton, South Piedmont Community College is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at South Piedmont Community College are $2,015 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from South Piedmont Community College carry an average student debtload of $11,000.

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#4

College of the Albemarle

Elizabeth City, NC
$2,228 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at College of the Albemarle helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the town of Elizabeth City, College of the Albemarle is a public college with a small student population.

College of the Albemarle undergraduate students pay an average of $2,228 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from College of the Albemarle take out $5,875 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at College of the Albemarle

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Forsyth Technical Community College is a great value for nursing students. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, Forsyth Tech is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Forsyth Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $2,152 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Forsyth Tech accumulate an average of around $16,634 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Forsyth Technical Community College Report

$1,944 Average Tuition & Fees

Vance-Granville Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the town of Henderson, Vance-Granville Community College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Vance-Granville Community College are $1,944 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Vance-Granville Community College carry an average student debtload of $8,251.

Read full report on Nursing at Vance-Granville Community College

$1,926 Average Tuition & Fees

McDowell Technical Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the rural area of Marion, McDowell Technical Community College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at McDowell Technical Community College are $1,926 per year.

Read full report on Nursing at McDowell Technical Community College

$2,310 Average Tuition & Fees

Alamance Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #8 on the list. ACC is a small public school located in the rural area of Graham.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ACC are $2,310 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at Alamance Community College

$2,226 Average Tuition & Fees

Davidson County Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. DCCC is a small public school located in the rural area of Thomasville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DCCC are $2,226 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at DCCC take out is $14,000.

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Brunswick Community College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the rural area of Bolivia, Brunswick Community College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Brunswick Community College are $2,532 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Brunswick Community College take out $8,127 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Brunswick Community College Report

#11

Gaston College

Dallas, NC

Gaston College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the suburb of Dallas, Gaston College is a public school with a small student population.

Gaston College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,862 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Gaston College take out an average of $10,750 in student loans while working on their egree.

Gaston College also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

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

Rank College Location
12 Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown, NC
13 Richmond Community College Hamlet, NC
14 Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC
15 Durham Technical Community College Durham, NC

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Tennessee 6,004
Louisiana 3,502
Florida 21,209
Arkansas 2,882
Georgia 7,112
West Virginia 1,771
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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