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Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

33 Colleges
$64,238 Avg Salary
$28,730 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 33 schools in North Carolina to see which ones were the most popular bachelor's 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.

Check out the nursing bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in North Carolina.

Our analysis found University of North Carolina at Wilmington to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in North Carolina. Located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 90% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 10% are male.

Nursing majors at UNCW take out an average of $23,602 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $212, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#2

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at East Carolina University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a very large student population.

About 91% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 9% are male.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from ECU carry an average student debt load of $24,172. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $261.

Full Nursing at East Carolina University Report

#3

Winston - Salem State University

Winston-Salem, NC

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at Winston - Salem State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from WSSU carry an average student debt load of $25,916. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $135.

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#4

Fayetteville State University

Fayetteville, NC

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at Fayetteville State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in North Carolina. Fayetteville State University is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Fayetteville.

Women make up 92% of the nursing majors at the school.

On average, nursing graduates from Fayetteville State University take out $25,561 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Nursing at Fayetteville State University Report

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at University of North Carolina at Greensboro helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in North Carolina. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

Of the 218 students majoring in nursing at UNC Greensboro, 11% are male and 89% are female.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from UNC Greensboro carry an average student debt load of $23,245. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $151.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Greensboro

University of North Carolina at Charlotte did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. UNC Charlotte is a very large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

Nursing majors at UNC Charlotte take out an average of $23,270 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $166, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Western Carolina University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Cullowhee.

About 82% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 18% are male.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at WCU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $25,055. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $215.

Read full report on Nursing at Western Carolina University

#8

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

About 90% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 10% are male.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Duke accumulate an average of around $29,049 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Duke University Report

Appalachian State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 143 students majoring in nursing at Appalachian State, 8% are male and 92% are female.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Appalachian State accumulate an average of around $19,323 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $180.

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Queens University of Charlotte did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Charlotte, Queens is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 88% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Queens take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $35,660.

Full Nursing at Queens University of Charlotte Report

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
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 26 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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