Colleges in North Carolina With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 48 four-year colleges we rank in North Carolina run from $115,722 at the top to $36,684 at the bottom, a spread of $79,038.
The median college sits at $54,659, which is $4,745 (8%) below the national median of $59,403. Public colleges (16) have a median of $54,339 and private nonprofit colleges (32) a median of $55,998, and the typical net price across the list is $17,881.
Duke University ranks first at $115,722, ahead of Wake Forest University ($92,943) and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ($81,033).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- All 4-year colleges (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
- Ranked by earnings after 4 years, highest 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 earnings after 4 years value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; North Carolina has 48
- Data period
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- 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.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 48 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Duke University Durham, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $115,722 | $29,612 | $13,000 | 96% | 6,442 |
| 2 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $92,943 | $28,719 | $21,500 | 90% | 5,485 |
| 3 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 4-year | $81,033 | $11,655 | $14,000 | 92% | 20,752 |
| 4 | Elon University Elon, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $77,800 | $41,555 | $20,500 | 84% | 6,452 |
| 5 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 4-year | $75,943 | $17,303 | $20,121 | 85% | 27,371 |
| 6 | Davidson College Davidson, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $72,718 | $17,379 | $18,688 | 91% | 1,867 |
| 7 | Queens University of Charlotte Charlotte, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $70,176 | $30,857 | $25,000 | 64% | 1,211 |
| 8 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $69,450 | $13,090 | — | 54% | 585 |
| 9 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 4-year | $65,370 | $15,435 | $21,500 | 68% | 24,453 |
| 10 | High Point University High Point, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,028 | $38,707 | $24,575 | 72% | 5,129 |
| 11 | Campbell University Buies Creek, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $63,540 | $24,516 | $22,500 | 58% | 2,680 |
| 12 | Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Concord, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $62,531 | $17,618 | $16,000 | 62% | 712 |
| 13 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Public · 4-year | $61,925 | $20,109 | $19,500 | 71% | 14,922 |
| 14 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 4-year | $60,888 | $15,739 | $22,750 | 62% | 19,896 |
| 15 | Gardner-Webb University Boiling Springs, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $60,516 | $17,674 | $24,222 | 59% | 1,856 |
| 16 | Methodist University Fayetteville, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $60,011 | $24,704 | $27,000 | 42% | 1,448 |
| 17 | Wingate University Wingate, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $58,916 | $20,748 | $25,000 | 47% | 2,668 |
| 18 | Lenoir-Rhyne University Hickory, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,711 | $20,689 | $26,000 | 49% | 1,359 |
| 19 | Pfeiffer University Misenheimer, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,619 | $19,076 | $26,163 | 39% | 655 |
| 20 | University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,606 | $18,853 | $27,209 | 50% | 1,796 |
| 21 | Belmont Abbey College Belmont, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,346 | $24,639 | $26,000 | 47% | 1,276 |
| 22 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 4-year | $56,996 | $10,846 | $27,000 | 56% | 12,182 |
| 23 | Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem, NC Public · 4-year | $56,396 | $13,479 | $25,000 | 48% | 4,170 |
| 24 | Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC Public · 4-year | $54,667 | $13,315 | $21,868 | 60% | 10,024 |
| 25 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $54,650 | $22,488 | $25,000 | 68% | 1,188 |
| 26 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 4-year | $54,010 | $16,836 | $20,231 | 74% | 19,444 |
| 27 | Greensboro College Greensboro, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,898 | $17,882 | $25,607 | 43% | 708 |
| 28 | Barton College Wilson, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,766 | $23,626 | $25,877 | 48% | 982 |
| 29 | Fayetteville State University Fayetteville, NC Public · 4-year | $51,687 | $7,892 | $22,987 | 37% | 5,762 |
| 30 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC Public · 4-year | $51,594 | $10,965 | $22,858 | 57% | 14,062 |
| 31 | William Peace University Raleigh, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,163 | $21,649 | $22,250 | 45% | 666 |
| 32 | Lees-McRae College Banner Elk, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,979 | $28,340 | $17,375 | 43% | 873 |
| 33 | North Carolina Central University Durham, NC Public · 4-year | $50,812 | $15,359 | $28,250 | 44% | 6,081 |
| 34 | Guilford College Greensboro, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,433 | $22,270 | $26,000 | 47% | 1,001 |
| 35 | Mars Hill University Mars Hill, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,256 | $19,910 | $26,000 | 43% | 1,044 |
| 36 | Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC Public · 4-year | $50,194 | $6,364 | $21,463 | 46% | 1,975 |
| 37 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC Public · 4-year | $49,668 | $10,260 | $25,000 | 44% | 5,330 |
| 38 | Catawba College Salisbury, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $49,190 | $17,879 | $25,000 | 50% | 1,235 |
| 39 | North Carolina Wesleyan University Rocky Mount, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $48,447 | $17,432 | $25,000 | 41% | 1,214 |
| 40 | Montreat College Montreat, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $47,821 | $27,061 | $25,813 | 45% | 762 |
| 41 | Johnson C Smith University Charlotte, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $46,511 | $20,894 | $30,000 | 34% | 1,244 |
| 42 | University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC Public · 4-year | $45,777 | $12,250 | $20,500 | 55% | 2,910 |
| 43 | Shaw University Raleigh, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $44,468 | $16,512 | $32,500 | 21% | 875 |
| 44 | Chowan University Murfreesboro, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $43,702 | $14,086 | $29,491 | 29% | 603 |
| 45 | University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem, NC Public · 4-year | $42,023 | $14,906 | $23,870 | 78% | 945 |
| 46 | Brevard College Brevard, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $41,671 | $23,509 | $25,000 | 44% | 815 |
| 47 | Livingstone College Salisbury, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,280 | $13,479 | $31,125 | 26% | 924 |
| 48 | Warren Wilson College Swannanoa, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year | $36,684 | $21,249 | $25,000 | 42% | 707 |
How to compare these colleges
High earnings partly reflect who enrolls and what they study: engineering, nursing and business programs usually pay more than education or the arts, so a school with strong health or technical programs can top the list. Read the earnings next to net price, debt and graduation rate, because earnings count only people who finished, and four years after graduation is early in a career.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for North Carolina
Cheapest colleges in North Carolina
47 schools
Cheap colleges in North Carolina for out-of-state students
43 schools
Community colleges in North Carolina
27 schools
Best value colleges in North Carolina
42 schools
Most affordable private colleges in North Carolina
32 schools
Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in Georgia
49 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Virginia
40 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Tennessee
37 schools
All 92 colleges in North Carolina See the national version of this ranking