Best value colleges for Education in North Carolina.2026 Rankings
With 53 Education programs spread across North Carolina, narrowing your list takes real data. Our algorithm ranks each school on six factors — admission rate, graduation rate, net price, median graduate earnings, student-faculty ratio, and major breadth — so you can compare apples to apples before you apply.
North Carolina offers 11 public and 19 private Education programs in this ranking. Public universities average $24,728 for in-state students, making them a strong value option. The most competitive school on the list — Duke University — accepts 7% of applicants. Early-career earnings for Education graduates average $32,852, with a state-wide graduation rate of 55% for ranked programs.
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ranked by value score
| # | College | Value Score | Admit Rate | Grad Rate | Net Price | Median Earnings | Student:Faculty | Majors Offered | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke UniversityPrivate | Perfect· 52 | 7% | 96% | $6,901 | $40,723 | 6:1 | 59 | 6,417 |
| 2 | Wake Forest UniversityPrivate | Excellent· 46 | 22% | 91% | $12,769 | $52,635 | 9:1 | 37 | 5,471 |
| 3 | Excellent· 44 | 40% | 85% | $13,992 | $50,866 | 15:1 | 77 | 26,389 | |
| 4 | Excellent· 43 | 19% | 92% | $11,220 | $29,897 | 15:1 | 51 | 20,556 | |
| 5 | Elon UniversityPrivate | Strong· 37 | 67% | 83% | $32,133 | $45,880 | 11:1 | 64 | 6,402 |
| 6 | Strong· 35 | 89% | 73% | $15,766 | $43,283 | 16:1 | 67 | 19,304 | |
| 7 | Catawba CollegePrivate | Strong· 35 | 78% | 52% | $14,971 | $34,621 | 12:1 | 35 | 1,127 |
| 8 | Strong· 35 | 70% | 48% | $8,929 | $34,414 | 17:1 | 32 | 1,863 | |
| 9 | Meredith CollegePrivate | Strong· 35 | 75% | 65% | $17,521 | $39,730 | 10:1 | 37 | 1,288 |
| 10 | Strong· 35 | 68% | 66% | $24,168 | $53,907 | 9:1 | 39 | 1,362 | |
| 11 | Saint Augustine's UniversityPrivate | Strong· 35 | 59% | 33% | $17,866 | $23,746 | 11:1 | 27 | 766 |
| 12 | Shaw UniversityPrivate | Strong· 35 | 30% | 20% | $16,310 | $26,963 | 11:1 | 26 | 839 |
| 13 | Strong· 35 | 74% | 71% | $18,377 | $42,584 | 17:1 | 49 | 14,176 | |
| 14 | Strong· 34 | 80% | 35% | $8,806 | $42,080 | 19:1 | 33 | 5,493 | |
| 15 | Methodist UniversityPrivate | Strong· 34 | 75% | 40% | $23,113 | $39,592 | 9:1 | 47 | 1,425 |
| 16 | Strong· 34 | 80% | 68% | $14,014 | $42,692 | 21:1 | 69 | 23,567 | |
| 17 | Johnson C Smith UniversityPrivate | Good· 33 | 43% | 34% | $17,959 | $31,047 | 11:1 | 24 | 1,047 |
| 18 | Mars Hill UniversityPrivate | Good· 33 | 78% | 42% | $20,703 | $34,519 | 10:1 | 34 | 995 |
| 19 | Good· 33 | 46% | 55% | $13,024 | $49,099 | 20:1 | 58 | 11,925 | |
| 20 | Good· 33 | 78% | 40% | $17,786 | $36,227 | 13:1 | 28 | 1,169 | |
| 21 | Salem CollegePrivate | Good· 33 | 87% | 56% | $18,561 | $36,646 | 7:1 | 35 | 390 |
| 22 | Good· 33 | 92% | 45% | $10,905 | $35,639 | 14:1 | 33 | 5,386 | |
| 23 | Good· 33 | 69% | 49% | $15,668 | $41,957 | 16:1 | 36 | 4,244 | |
| 24 | Brevard CollegePrivate | Good· 32 | 40% | 39% | $21,716 | $27,653 | 11:1 | 24 | 760 |
| 25 | Chowan UniversityPrivate | Good· 32 | 72% | 29% | $18,449 | $29,792 | 15:1 | 27 | 638 |
| 26 | Gardner-Webb UniversityPrivate | Good· 32 | 87% | 62% | $19,334 | $39,850 | 11:1 | 42 | 1,836 |
| 27 | Lees-McRae CollegePrivate | Good· 32 | 81% | 44% | $20,899 | $38,074 | 10:1 | 24 | 817 |
| 28 | Livingstone CollegePrivate | Good· 32 | 74% | 27% | $16,327 | $24,905 | 13:1 | 19 | 798 |
| 29 | Montreat CollegePrivate | Good· 32 | 66% | 41% | $26,184 | $31,744 | 12:1 | 31 | 750 |
| 30 | East Carolina UniversityPublic | Good· 31 | 90% | 62% | $16,785 | $44,185 | 17:1 | 68 | 19,857 |