Most Affordable Private Colleges in North Carolina
Private nonprofit colleges rarely cost what their price tags say. Among the 32 we rank in North Carolina, the average net price runs from $13,090 to $41,555 a year, a range of $28,465.
The median net price is $21,072, $2,789 (12%) below the national median of $23,860 for private nonprofit colleges. Median tuition and fees are $35,403, but the median net price, which also counts room, board and books after grants, is $21,072, so aid more than covers the housing and living costs added on top of tuition.
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary ranks first at $13,090, ahead of Livingstone College ($13,479) and Chowan University ($14,086).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- Private nonprofit 4-year colleges whose main award is the bachelor's degree
- Ranked by net price, lowest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in North Carolina
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported net price value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; North Carolina has 32
- Data period
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Tuition and fees: full-time undergraduate sticker price, academic year 2024-25 (the same for in-state and out-of-state students).
- Net price by income: students with family income of $0 to $30,000, academic year 2023-24.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 32 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,090 | $11,318 | $18,587 | 54% | $69,450 |
| 2 | Livingstone College Salisbury, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $13,479 | $18,296 | $13,860 | 26% | $37,280 |
| 3 | Chowan University Murfreesboro, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $14,086 | $27,910 | $13,726 | 29% | $43,702 |
| 4 | Shaw University Raleigh, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $16,512 | $17,538 | $16,236 | 21% | $44,468 |
| 5 | Davidson College Davidson, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $17,379 | $64,410 | $9,497 | 91% | $72,718 |
| 6 | North Carolina Wesleyan University Rocky Mount, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $17,432 | $35,736 | $16,114 | 41% | $48,447 |
| 7 | Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Concord, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $17,618 | $16,550 | $10,412 | 62% | $62,531 |
| 8 | Gardner-Webb University Boiling Springs, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $17,674 | $34,760 | $15,304 | 59% | $60,516 |
| 9 | Catawba College Salisbury, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $17,879 | $34,300 | $13,618 | 50% | $49,190 |
| 10 | Greensboro College Greensboro, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $17,882 | $21,000 | $13,877 | 43% | $51,898 |
| 11 | University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $18,853 | $27,366 | $18,227 | 50% | $57,606 |
| 12 | Pfeiffer University Misenheimer, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $19,076 | $35,070 | $16,167 | 39% | $57,619 |
| 13 | Mars Hill University Mars Hill, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $19,910 | $37,736 | $17,021 | 43% | $50,256 |
| 14 | Lenoir-Rhyne University Hickory, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,689 | $31,900 | $18,669 | 49% | $57,711 |
| 15 | Wingate University Wingate, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,748 | $41,636 | $18,772 | 47% | $58,916 |
| 16 | Johnson C Smith University Charlotte, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,894 | $21,300 | $19,940 | 34% | $46,511 |
| 17 | Warren Wilson College Swannanoa, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $21,249 | $41,500 | $13,566 | 42% | $36,684 |
| 18 | William Peace University Raleigh, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $21,649 | $34,176 | $15,779 | 45% | $51,163 |
| 19 | Guilford College Greensboro, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,270 | $41,362 | $18,367 | 47% | $50,433 |
| 20 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $22,488 | $45,630 | $17,207 | 68% | $54,650 |
| 21 | Brevard College Brevard, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $23,509 | $32,280 | $19,294 | 44% | $41,671 |
| 22 | Barton College Wilson, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $23,626 | $37,250 | $19,641 | 48% | $51,766 |
| 23 | Campbell University Buies Creek, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $24,516 | $41,600 | $20,751 | 58% | $63,540 |
| 24 | Belmont Abbey College Belmont, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $24,639 | $19,500 | $20,610 | 47% | $57,346 |
| 25 | Methodist University Fayetteville, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $24,704 | $41,250 | $20,371 | 42% | $60,011 |
| 26 | Montreat College Montreat, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $27,061 | $36,450 | $23,261 | 45% | $47,821 |
| 27 | Lees-McRae College Banner Elk, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,340 | $33,250 | $23,030 | 43% | $50,979 |
| 28 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $28,719 | $67,642 | $6,525 | 90% | $92,943 |
| 29 | Duke University Durham, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,612 | $68,758 | $735 | 96% | $115,722 |
| 30 | Queens University of Charlotte Charlotte, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $30,857 | $45,846 | $22,792 | 64% | $70,176 |
| 31 | High Point University High Point, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $38,707 | $45,312 | $32,763 | 72% | $65,028 |
| 32 | Elon University Elon, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $41,555 | $46,958 | $26,523 | 84% | $77,800 |
How to compare these colleges
Do not rule out a private college because of its sticker price. Private colleges often discount heavily, and the net price shown here is what students who receive aid pay on average, including housing and books. Your own offer depends on your family income and the school's aid policy, so run each college's net price calculator and compare actual award letters.
Guides worth reading first
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Same list in nearby states
Most affordable private colleges in Tennessee
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Most affordable private colleges in Georgia
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Most affordable private colleges in Virginia
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All 92 colleges in North Carolina See the national version of this ranking