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Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

77 Colleges
$2,375 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$65,879 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in North Carolina with 7,425 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 77 schools in North Carolina to see which programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a .

Top 15% Best Nursing Schools

#1

Craven Community College

New Bern, NC

Our 2023 rankings named Craven Community College the best value school in North Carolina for nursing students. Craven Community College is a small public school located in the city of New Bern.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Craven Community College are $2,022 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Craven Community College take out is $10,791.

Read full report on Nursing at Craven Community College

#2

Pitt Community College

Winterville, NC

Out of the 77 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Pitt Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Winterville, Pitt Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Pitt Community College are $1,940 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Pitt Community College accumulate an average of around $19,250 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Pitt Community College

$2,015 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 77 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, South Piedmont Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Polkton, South Piedmont Community College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at South Piedmont Community College are $2,015 a year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at South Piedmont Community College accumulate an average of around $11,000 in student debt.

Read More…

#4

College of the Albemarle

Elizabeth City, NC
$2,228 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 77 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, College of the Albemarle landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the town of Elizabeth City, College of the Albemarle is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at College of the Albemarle are $2,228 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at College of the Albemarle take out is $5,875.

Full Nursing at College of the Albemarle Report

$2,152 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Forsyth Technical Community College is a great value for nursing students. Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, Forsyth Tech is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Forsyth Tech are $2,152 a year. Nursing majors at Forsyth Tech take out an average of $16,634 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Nursing at Forsyth Technical Community College Report

$1,944 Average Tuition & Fees

Vance-Granville Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the town of Henderson, Vance-Granville Community College is a public school with a small student population.

Vance-Granville Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,944 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Vance-Granville Community College accumulate an average of around $8,251 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Vance-Granville Community College

$1,926 Average Tuition & Fees

McDowell Technical Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the rural area of Marion, McDowell Technical Community College is a public school with a small student population.

McDowell Technical Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,926 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$2,310 Average Tuition & Fees

Alamance Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. ACC is a small public school located in the rural area of Graham.

ACC undergraduate students pay an average of $2,310 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at Alamance Community College Report

$2,226 Average Tuition & Fees

Davidson County Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. DCCC is a small public school located in the rural area of Thomasville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at DCCC are $2,226 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from DCCC carry an average student debtload of $14,000.

Read full report on Nursing at Davidson County Community College

Brunswick Community College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the rural area of Bolivia, Brunswick Community College is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Brunswick Community College are $2,532 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Brunswick Community College take out is $8,127.

Read More…

#11

Gaston College

Dallas, NC

Gaston College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the midsize suburb of Dallas, Gaston College is a public school with a small student population.

Gaston College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,862 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Gaston College take out $10,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Gaston College

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great value schools for Nursing students in the state of North Carolina seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina award.

Rank College Location
12 Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown, NC
13 Richmond Community College Hamlet, NC
14 Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC
15 Durham Technical Community College Durham, NC

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 21,209
Tennessee 6,004
Georgia 7,112
Kentucky 6,395
West Virginia 1,771
Virginia 6,775
Alabama 7,364
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
South Carolina 3,296
Arkansas 2,882

One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

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

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Public Health 40,596

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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