2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was ranked 3rd in North Carolina. In fact, 7,425 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
The Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 77 schools in North Carolina to see which ones offered the best value programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 15% Best Nursing Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Craven Community College the best value school in North Carolina for nursing students. Located in the small city of New Bern, Craven Community College is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Craven Community College are $2,022 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Craven Community College carry an average student debtload of $10,791.
Read full report on Nursing at Craven Community College
Request Information
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Pitt Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Pitt Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Winterville.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Pitt Community College are $1,940 per year. Nursing majors at Pitt Community College take out an average of $19,250 in student loans while working on their egree.
Full Nursing at Pitt Community College Report
Request Information
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means South Piedmont Community College is a great value for nursing students. South Piedmont Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Polkton.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at South Piedmont Community College are $2,015 a year. Nursing majors at South Piedmont Community College take out an average of $11,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, South Piedmont Community College also is in the top 15% of our Best Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking.
Full Nursing at South Piedmont Community College Report
Request Information
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend College of the Albemarle. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. College of the Albemarle is a small public school located in the town of Elizabeth City.
College of the Albemarle undergraduate students pay an average of $2,228 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from College of the Albemarle carry an average student debtload of $5,875.
Read full report on Nursing at College of the Albemarle
Request Information
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Forsyth Technical Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Forsyth Tech is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Forsyth Tech are $2,152 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Forsyth Tech take out $16,634 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Nursing at Forsyth Technical Community College Report
Request Information
Vance-Granville Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina ranking. Vance-Granville Community College is a small public school located in the distant town of Henderson.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Vance-Granville Community College are $1,944 per year. Nursing majors at Vance-Granville Community College take out an average of $8,251 in student loans while working on their egree.
Full Nursing at Vance-Granville Community College Report
Request Information
With a ranking of #7, McDowell Technical Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. McDowell Technical Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Marion.
McDowell Technical Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,926 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Nursing at McDowell Technical Community College Report
Request Information
With a ranking of #8, Alamance Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Located in the rural area of Graham, ACC is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ACC are $2,310 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, ACC also did well on our Best Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full Nursing at Alamance Community College Report
Request Information
Davidson County Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the rural area of Thomasville, DCCC is a public school with a small student population.
DCCC undergraduate students pay an average of $2,226 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at DCCC accumulate an average of around $14,000 in student debt.
Full Nursing at Davidson County Community College Report
Request Information
With a ranking of #10, Brunswick Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Brunswick Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Bolivia.
Brunswick Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,532 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Brunswick Community College carry an average student debtload of $8,127.
Request Information
Gaston College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in North Carolina list. Gaston College is a small public school located in the suburb of Dallas.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Gaston College are $2,862 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Gaston College take out is $10,750.
Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top 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 Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 7,112 |
| Virginia | 6,775 |
| Florida | 21,209 |
| Tennessee | 6,004 |
| Kentucky | 6,395 |
| South Carolina | 3,296 |
| Louisiana | 3,502 |
| Arkansas | 2,882 |
| Alabama | 7,364 |
| Mississippi | 2,838 |
| West Virginia | 1,771 |
More Nursing Rankings in North Carolina
Majors Related to Nursing
Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.
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.