Which NC college graduates earn the most money? Here’s what NYT rankings say.

Korie Dean
·4 min read

When you pick a college to attend, you’re probably interested in the qualities and characteristics of a school that will affect your life as a student — from academics to campus life and more.

But what about after you graduate? How much money will you be projected to earn as a graduate of that university, and how does that amount compare to other colleges? Will attending the school increase your economic mobility?

A new interactive tool from The New York Times, released Monday, is allowing users to pick the factors they value most to generate individualized rankings of “the best American colleges — for you.” Using the tool’s interactive sliders, users can assign weights to 10 separate factors that consider campus life, academics, cost of attendance and post-graduation income earnings, among other factors.

The Times’ analysis and interactive tool include rankings of nearly 900 colleges in the U.S., including 26 in North Carolina, both public and private.

Wondering how much money graduates of North Carolina colleges make after graduation? We’ve broken down The Times’ rankings here.

NC colleges with highest earnings after graduation

The Times’ “high earnings” factor was calculated using “the median income of people who attended the school 10 years ago and who received federal aid.” The figures are from 2020, The Times said in an explanation of its methodology for creating the rankings.

Of the 26 North Carolina colleges included in the rankings, students who attend Duke University in Durham have the highest median income 10 years after graduation, at $93,115, The Times’ tool says. Duke also ranks No. 15 nationally for this factor.

The Times’ full ranking of North Carolina colleges based on high earnings 10 years after graduation is:

  1. Duke University ($93,115 median income 10 years after attending)

  2. Wake Forest University ($74,968 median income 10 years after attending)

  3. Davidson College ($71,671 median income 10 years after attending)

  4. Elon University ($64,238 median income 10 years after attending)

  5. UNC-Chapel Hill ($61,915 median income 10 years after attending)

  6. N.C. State University ($61,353 median income 10 years after attending)

  7. Queens University ($52,880 median income 10 years after attending)

  8. UNC-Charlotte ($52,252 median income 10 years after attending)

  9. UNC-Wilmington ($49,739 median income 10 years after attending)

  10. High Point University ($48,534 median income 10 years after attending)

  11. East Carolina University ($47,403 median income 10 years after attending)

  12. Wingate University ($46,233 median income 10 years after attending)

  13. Appalachian State University ($45,602 median income 10 years after attending)

  14. Lenoir-Rhyne University ($45,457 median income 10 years after attending)

  15. UNC-Greensboro ($44,195 median income 10 years after attending)

  16. Meredith College ($43,646 median income 10 years after attending)

  17. Barton College ($43,613 median income 10 years after attending)

  18. Western Carolina University ($43,366 median income 10 years after attending)

  19. Gardner-Webb University ($42,248 median income 10 years after attending)

  20. Pfeiffer University ($42,121 median income 10 years after attending)

  21. UNC-Asheville ($42,027 median income 10 years after attending)

  22. N.C. Wesleyan College ($41,989 median income 10 years after attending)

  23. Johnson & Wales University ($41,977 median income 10 years after attending)

  24. Lees-McRae College ($39,051 median income 10 years after attending)

  25. Winston-Salem State University ($38,584 median income 10 years after attending)

  26. Warren Wilson College ($30,703 median income 10 years after attending)

NC colleges that provide best economic mobility

The Times’ rankings also include an “economic mobility” factor, which is based on a 2017 analysis “that tried to determine which schools in America were most successful at helping students from low-income families reach the upper classes,” The Times’ methodology explains.

The specific factor listed in the interactive tool is “the probability that a student from a family in the bottom 40 percent of household income would eventually reach the top 40 percent.” In simpler terms, The Times’ interactive tool describes the factor as “more students start low-income and end up high-income.”

The rankings show that Winston-Salem State University, a public, historically Black university, is the best university in North Carolina for this factor.

The full ranking of North Carolina colleges based on the economic mobility factor is:

  1. Winston-Salem State University

  2. N.C. Wesleyan University

  3. Johnson & Wales University

  4. Pfeiffer University

  5. High Point University

  6. UNC-Charlotte

  7. Barton College

  8. Lenoir-Rhyne University

  9. UNC-Greensboro

  10. Western Carolina University

  11. East Carolina University

  12. Gardner-Webb University

  13. Queens University

  14. UNC-Asheville

  15. N.C. State University

  16. Wingate University

  17. Meredith College

  18. UNC-Wilmington

  19. UNC-Chapel HIll

  20. Lees-McRae College

  21. Appalachian State University

  22. Duke University

  23. Warren Wilson College

  24. Elon University

  25. Wake Forest University

  26. Davidson College

See full NYT rankings of NC colleges

Want to create your own rankings of colleges and universities using The New York Times’ interactive tool? Visit nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/27/opinion/build-your-own-college-rankings.html.

Additional information about The Times’ methodology in creating the toll is available at nytimes.com/2023/03/27/opinion/how-build-your-own-college-rankings-was-built.html.

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