Best Value Colleges in North Carolina
We estimate how many years the earnings premium over a typical North Carolina high school graduate would take to repay four years of net price. Across the 42 public and private nonprofit colleges that qualify, the estimate runs from 1.0 years at the fastest to 32.4 years at the slowest.
The median college needs 3.4 years to repay its net price, 0.2 years longer than the national median of 3.2 years. Public colleges (15) have a median payback of 2.5 years against 4.0 years for the 27 private nonprofit colleges, so public options tend to repay faster here.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranks first at 1.0 years, ahead of Duke University (1.5 years) and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (1.5 years). Payback is an estimate, not a forecast: it assumes four years of net price and the earnings of past graduates, and it says nothing about your own major or career.
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- Public and private nonprofit 4-year colleges
- Ranked by payback, 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)
- Graduation rate of 40% or higher
- A reported payback value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; North Carolina has 42
- Data period
- Payback: years for the earnings premium over a high school graduate in the same state to repay four years of net price (shown only when the premium is at least $2,000).
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Graduate debt: median federal loan debt of completers, pooled 2020 and 2021 cohorts.
- 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.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 42 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 4-year | 1.0 years | $11,655 | $81,033 | $14,000 | 92% |
| 2 | Duke University Durham, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.5 years | $29,612 | $115,722 | $13,000 | 96% |
| 3 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.5 years | $13,090 | $69,450 | — | 54% |
| 4 | Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC Public · 4-year | 1.6 years | $6,364 | $50,194 | $21,463 | 46% |
| 5 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 4-year | 1.7 years | $17,303 | $75,943 | $20,121 | 85% |
| 6 | Davidson College Davidson, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.8 years | $17,379 | $72,718 | $18,688 | 91% |
| 7 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 4-year | 1.9 years | $10,846 | $56,996 | $27,000 | 56% |
| 8 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 4-year | 2.0 years | $15,435 | $65,370 | $21,500 | 68% |
| 9 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.0 years | $28,719 | $92,943 | $21,500 | 90% |
| 10 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 4-year | 2.3 years | $15,739 | $60,888 | $22,750 | 62% |
| 11 | Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem, NC Public · 4-year | 2.4 years | $13,479 | $56,396 | $25,000 | 48% |
| 12 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC Public · 4-year | 2.5 years | $10,965 | $51,594 | $22,858 | 57% |
| 13 | Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Concord, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.5 years | $17,618 | $62,531 | $16,000 | 62% |
| 14 | Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC Public · 4-year | 2.6 years | $13,315 | $54,667 | $21,868 | 60% |
| 15 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC Public · 4-year | 2.6 years | $10,260 | $49,668 | $25,000 | 44% |
| 16 | Gardner-Webb University Boiling Springs, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.7 years | $17,674 | $60,516 | $24,222 | 59% |
| 17 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Public · 4-year | 2.9 years | $20,109 | $61,925 | $19,500 | 71% |
| 18 | University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.2 years | $18,853 | $57,606 | $27,209 | 50% |
| 19 | Campbell University Buies Creek, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.3 years | $24,516 | $63,540 | $22,500 | 58% |
| 20 | Wingate University Wingate, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.3 years | $20,748 | $58,916 | $25,000 | 47% |
| 21 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 4-year | 3.4 years | $16,836 | $54,010 | $20,231 | 74% |
| 22 | Queens University of Charlotte Charlotte, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.4 years | $30,857 | $70,176 | $25,000 | 64% |
| 23 | Lenoir-Rhyne University Hickory, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.5 years | $20,689 | $57,711 | $26,000 | 49% |
| 24 | North Carolina Central University Durham, NC Public · 4-year | 3.7 years | $15,359 | $50,812 | $28,250 | 44% |
| 25 | Elon University Elon, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.8 years | $41,555 | $77,800 | $20,500 | 84% |
| 26 | Methodist University Fayetteville, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.8 years | $24,704 | $60,011 | $27,000 | 42% |
| 27 | Greensboro College Greensboro, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.0 years | $17,882 | $51,898 | $25,607 | 43% |
| 28 | University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC Public · 4-year | 4.2 years | $12,250 | $45,777 | $20,500 | 55% |
| 29 | Belmont Abbey College Belmont, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.2 years | $24,639 | $57,346 | $26,000 | 47% |
| 30 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.4 years | $22,488 | $54,650 | $25,000 | 68% |
| 31 | Catawba College Salisbury, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.7 years | $17,879 | $49,190 | $25,000 | 50% |
| 32 | North Carolina Wesleyan University Rocky Mount, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.8 years | $17,432 | $48,447 | $25,000 | 41% |
| 33 | Mars Hill University Mars Hill, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.9 years | $19,910 | $50,256 | $26,000 | 43% |
| 34 | High Point University High Point, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.0 years | $38,707 | $65,028 | $24,575 | 72% |
| 35 | William Peace University Raleigh, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.1 years | $21,649 | $51,163 | $22,250 | 45% |
| 36 | Barton College Wilson, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.3 years | $23,626 | $51,766 | $25,877 | 48% |
| 37 | Guilford College Greensboro, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.4 years | $22,270 | $50,433 | $26,000 | 47% |
| 38 | Lees-McRae College Banner Elk, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 6.7 years | $28,340 | $50,979 | $17,375 | 43% |
| 39 | University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem, NC Public · 4-year | 7.5 years | $14,906 | $42,023 | $23,870 | 78% |
| 40 | Montreat College Montreat, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 7.9 years | $27,061 | $47,821 | $25,813 | 45% |
| 41 | Brevard College Brevard, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 12.4 years | $23,509 | $41,671 | $25,000 | 44% |
| 42 | Warren Wilson College Swannanoa, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | 32.4 years | $21,249 | $36,684 | $25,000 | 42% |
How to compare these colleges
Treat the payback column as a way to compare schools, not as a promise about your own future. It uses the average net price, so your own cost may be higher or lower, and it uses median earnings of former students, which depend heavily on major. Check earnings for your intended program on each college profile, and favor schools where the graduation rate is high.
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Same list in nearby states
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All 92 colleges in North Carolina See the national version of this ranking