Colleges in North Carolina whose graduates clear the bar most often

Ranked by the share of each school's programs whose graduates out-earn a typical high-school graduate (the federal earnings-premium test).

#	College	Programs clearing the bar	Median earnings	Programs measured
1	Wake Forest University	100%	$100,569	24
2	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	100%	$72,234	116
3	High Point University	100%	$67,085	15
4	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	100%	$66,450	89
5	Wingate University	100%	$64,579	22
6	Methodist University	100%	$64,257	12
7	Strayer University-North Carolina	100%	$63,879	16
8	Gardner-Webb University	100%	$61,489	25
9	Western Carolina University	100%	$55,903	63
10	University of Mount Olive	100%	$55,508	20
11	Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte	100%	$54,298	14
12	University of North Carolina at Pembroke	100%	$52,473	26
13	Wake Technical Community College	100%	$50,065	43
14	Stanly Community College	100%	$41,040	11
15	East Carolina University	99%	$61,626	90
16	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	98%	$73,711	81
17	University of North Carolina Wilmington	98%	$56,340	53
18	Campbell University	97%	$68,292	32
19	North Carolina Central University	97%	$53,993	36
20	North Carolina A & T State University	96%	$60,926	53
21	Appalachian State University	96%	$55,633	82
22	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	96%	$51,998	70
23	Duke University	95%	$101,229	62
24	Queens University of Charlotte	94%	$72,466	16
25	Meredith College	94%	$48,203	17

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).

Ranked on one stated metric, the share of a school's programs that clear the benchmark. Schools need at least 10 programs with reported earnings to appear. Note that specialised graduate institutions (medical and health-science centres, for example) often rank at the top because their programs are almost all high-earning; the 'programs measured' column and each school's page give the context.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (release 2026-06-10). Earnings are median earnings of graduates measured up to four years after completing, and describe past graduates rather than a promise. Method: methodology. Report an error.