Program Payoff

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing programs in North Carolina

63 schools in North Carolina teach this, at certificate or associate level. 57 of them report what graduates earn two years out; the highest is $61,218 at Western Piedmont Community College.

What this work pays in North Carolina

Registered Nurses in North Carolina earn a median of $84,350 a year across 111,120 jobs. That is what the occupation pays everyone in it — not what graduates of any one program below earned.

Also leads toMedianJobs in North Carolina
Medical and Health Services Managers$114,41014,820
Nurse Practitioners$128,9909,800
Nurse Anesthetists$224,6103,340
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary$80,4002,560
Nurse Midwives$126,040240

Occupation wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

Schools

SchoolCredentialMedian debtGraduate earnings, 2 yrsGraduates
Western Piedmont Community College Morganton Associate's degree $61,218 (16 grads) 27
Durham Technical Community College Durham Associate's degree $13,000 $58,943 (21 grads) 38
Brunswick Community College Bolivia Associate's degree $58,673 (22 grads)
Lenoir Community College Kinston Associate's degree $58,673 (12 grads) 30
Galen Health Institutes-Asheville Asheville Associate's degree $24,808 $58,358 (870 grads) 0
Davidson-Davie Community College Thomasville Associate's degree $10,500 $58,221 (22 grads) 69
Isothermal Community College Spindale Associate's degree $57,318 (23 grads) 34
Piedmont Community College Roxboro Associate's degree $57,318 (16 grads) 32
Wake Technical Community College Raleigh Associate's degree $17,104 $57,060 (118 grads) 128
Sandhills Community College Pinehurst Associate's degree $56,484 (52 grads) 60
Fayetteville Technical Community College Fayetteville Associate's degree $10,500 $56,302 (41 grads) 75
Bladen Community College Dublin Associate's degree $56,234 (17 grads) 32
Central Carolina Community College Sanford Associate's degree $56,234 (29 grads) 17
Coastal Carolina Community College Jacksonville Associate's degree $56,234 (26 grads) 29
Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem Associate's degree $12,718 $56,005 (122 grads) 113
Cleveland Community College Shelby Associate's degree $55,964 (16 grads) 19
Johnston Community College Smithfield Associate's degree $55,964 (37 grads) 37
Nash Community College Rocky Mount Associate's degree $11,332 $55,964 (42 grads) 33
Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte Associate's degree $55,594 (63 grads) 102
McDowell Technical Community College Marion Associate's degree $55,512 (15 grads) 20
Wilson Community College Wilson Associate's degree $10,500 $55,512 (32 grads) 30
Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown Associate's degree $11,577 $55,211 (61 grads) 55
Southwestern Community College Sylva Associate's degree $12,244 $54,904 (20 grads) 20
Pitt Community College Winterville Associate's degree $12,617 $54,790 (64 grads) 91
Alamance Community College Graham Associate's degree $54,646 (26 grads) 39
Richmond Community College Hamlet Associate's degree $54,646 (35 grads) 35
James Sprunt Community College Kenansville Associate's degree $54,435 (16 grads) 23
Gardner-Webb University Boiling Springs Associate's degree $19,500 $54,254 (25 grads) 19
Carolinas College of Health Sciences Charlotte Associate's degree $16,088 $54,140 (97 grads) 131
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Asheville Associate's degree $18,176 $53,951 (63 grads) 46
Cape Fear Community College Wilmington Associate's degree $53,775 (50 grads) 75
Sampson Community College Clinton Associate's degree $53,775 (33 grads) 35
Vance-Granville Community College Henderson Associate's degree $53,537 (41 grads) 45
South Piedmont Community College Polkton Associate's degree $53,358 (16 grads) 11
Gaston College Dallas Associate's degree $53,262 (61 grads) 75
Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Concord Associate's degree $18,500 $53,219 (68 grads) 74
Craven Community College New Bern Associate's degree $53,179 (22 grads) 60
Halifax Community College Weldon Associate's degree $52,941 (15 grads) 32
Edgecombe Community College Tarboro Associate's degree $14,838 $52,464 (33 grads) 37
College of the Albemarle Elizabeth City Associate's degree $52,107 (17 grads) 24
Robeson Community College Lumberton Associate's degree $52,107 (23 grads) 48
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Salisbury Associate's degree $52,107 (27 grads) 74
Wayne Community College Goldsboro Associate's degree $52,107 (25 grads) 36
Wilkes Community College Wilkesboro Associate's degree $52,107 (24 grads) 31
Haywood Community College Clyde Associate's degree $51,690 (31 grads) 25
Southeastern Community College Whiteville Associate's degree $51,607 (34 grads) 22
Carteret Community College Morehead City Associate's degree $50,856 (16 grads) 20
Surry Community College Dobson Associate's degree $50,856 (14 grads) 38
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute Hudson Associate's degree $50,717 (39 grads) 37
Blue Ridge Community College Flat Rock Associate's degree $15,603 $49,855 (33 grads) 31
Mayland Community College Spruce Pine Associate's degree $49,588 (33 grads) 7
Roanoke-Chowan Community College Ahoskie Associate's degree $49,527 (22 grads) 4
Beaufort County Community College Washington Associate's degree $48,935 (49 grads) 27
Mitchell Community College Statesville Associate's degree $48,265 (19 grads) 46
Stanly Community College Albemarle Associate's degree $48,041 (11 grads) 27
Catawba Valley Community College Hickory Associate's degree $5,500 $47,963 (38 grads) 79
Tri-County Community College Murphy Associate's degree $47,846 (24 grads) 18
Rockingham Community College Wentworth Associate's degree not published 42
Gaston College Dallas Undergraduate certificate not published 312
Montgomery Community College Troy Associate's degree not published 8
Randolph Community College Asheboro Associate's degree not published 11
Stanly Community College Albemarle Undergraduate certificate not published 0
Watts College of Nursing Durham Undergraduate certificate not published 4

A dash under earnings or debt means the U.S. Department of Education has not published a figure for that program — it withholds any median computed from too few graduates, which covers about four of every five programs. It never means zero, and it says nothing about whether the program is any good. Where a figure is shown, the number of graduates behind it is shown with it.

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The U.S. Department of Education publishes new cost, debt and earnings figures once a year, and every number on this page changes at once. One email when that happens for Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing — nothing else, and nothing in between.

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Program and outcome figures: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, released 2026-06-10.