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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.

Top 15% Best Nursing Schools

#1

Craven Community College

New Bern, NC

Our analysis found Craven Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in North Carolina. Craven Community College is a small public school located in the small city of New Bern.

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

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#2

Pitt Community College

Winterville, NC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pitt Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the midsize suburb of Winterville, Pitt Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

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

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$2,015 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend South Piedmont Community College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the rural area of Polkton, South Piedmont Community College is a public college with a small student population.

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

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#4

College of the Albemarle

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

The excellent programs at College of the Albemarle helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the town of Elizabeth City, College of the Albemarle is a public college with a small student population.

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

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$2,152 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Forsyth Technical Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, Forsyth Tech is a public school 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.

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$1,944 Average Tuition & Fees

Vance-Granville Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the distant town of Henderson, Vance-Granville Community College is a public school with a small student population.

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

Full Nursing at Vance-Granville Community College Report

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$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 college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at McDowell Technical Community College are $1,926 a year.

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$2,310 Average Tuition & Fees

Alamance Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #8 on the list. ACC is a small public school located in the rural area of Graham.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ACC are $2,310 per year.

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$2,226 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Davidson County Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. DCCC is a small public school located in the rural area of Thomasville.

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

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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.

Brunswick Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,532 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Brunswick Community College take out is $8,127.

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#11

Gaston College

Dallas, NC

With a ranking of #11, Gaston College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Dallas, Gaston College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Gaston College are $2,862 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Gaston College take out $10,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

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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
Kentucky 6,395
Georgia 7,112
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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