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Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina

59 Colleges
$57,601 Avg Salary
$21,889 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree 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 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. This report analyzed 59 schools in North Carolina to see which ones were the most popular associate degree programs for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Colleges.

Our analysis found Wake Technical Community College to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in North Carolina. Wake Technical Community College is a very large public school located in the suburb of Raleigh.

Women make up 87% of the nursing majors at the school.

On average, nursing graduates from Wake Technical Community College take out $26,145 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Wake Technical Community College Report

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Out of the 59 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Forsyth Technical Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Winston-Salem, Forsyth Tech is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 90% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Forsyth Tech take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,943.

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#3

Pitt Community College

Winterville, NC

Out of the 59 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Pitt Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Winterville, Pitt Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Women make up 91% of the nursing majors at the school.

On average, nursing graduates from Pitt Community College take out $19,613 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Out of the 59 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Piedmont Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Charlotte, Central Piedmont Community College is a public school with a large student population.

Of the 102 students majoring in nursing at Central Piedmont Community College, 13% are male and 87% are female.

On average, nursing graduates from Central Piedmont Community College take out $17,911 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Central Piedmont Community College Report

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Asheville, A-B Tech is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Women make up 77% of the nursing majors at the school.

On average, nursing graduates from A-B Tech take out $21,625 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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With a ranking of #6, Carolinas College of Health Sciences did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Charlotte, Carolinas College of Health Sciences is a public school with a fairly small student population.

Women make up 83% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Carolinas College of Health Sciences take out while working on their Associate Degree is $25,047.

Full Nursing at Carolinas College of Health Sciences Report

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Rowan-Cabarrus Community College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Salisbury, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

About 92% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 8% are male.

On average, nursing graduates from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College take out $15,399 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Davidson County Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. DCCC is a small public school located in the rural area of Thomasville.

About 93% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 7% are male.

Nursing majors at DCCC take out an average of $18,621 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Cabarrus College of Health Sciences landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. Cabarrus College of Health Sciences is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Concord.

Women make up 89% of the nursing majors at the school.

On average, nursing graduates from Cabarrus College of Health Sciences take out $26,962 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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#10

Gaston College

Dallas, NC

Gaston College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. Located in the midsize suburb of Dallas, Gaston College is a public college with a small student population.

Women make up 97% of the nursing majors at the school.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Gaston College accumulate an average of around $15,087 in student debt.

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Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

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