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Which colleges are most affordable for North Carolina residents ? The answer may surprise you.
These rankings of the most affordable colleges for North Carolina residents are based on the estimated net price for a "typical" middle class family living in the state of North Carolina.
Note: Net price is the actual cost of the school paid by the student and family, after factoring in merit and grant aid from the college federal programs and work study.The net prices displayed in these rankings are College Raptor's estimates.
“Typical” middle class family values used in the Net Price estimates on this page are:
| Rank | Institution | Typical Net Price | Sticker Price | % Savings | Undergraduates | Est. Median SAT | Acceptance Rate | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davidson College | 2400 | 95200 | 0.9745 | 1,860 | 1463 | 0.1262 | |
| 2 | Duke University | 4200 | 93400 | 0.9555 | 6,525 | 1533 | 0.0524 | |
| 3 | Wake Forest University | 6800 | 85800 | 0.921 | 5,595 | 1463 | 0.2076 | |
| 4 | Fayetteville State University | 10600 | 17400 | 0.3885 | 6,542 | 900 | 0.689 | |
| 5 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 11300 | 27800 | 0.5919 | 22,007 | 1427 | 0.1672 | |
| 6 | University of North Carolina Asheville | 11900 | 22400 | 0.4696 | 2,855 | 1157 | 0.8603 | |
| 7 | North Carolina A & T State University | 13000 | 17900 | 0.2758 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.5125 | |
| 7 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke | 13000 | 20400 | 0.36 | 5,648 | 1065 | 0.9709 | |
| 9 | Livingstone College | 13100 | 41600 | 0.685 | 925 | 890 | 0.5925 | |
| 10 | Western Carolina University | 14000 | 16600 | 0.1541 | 10,268 | 1140 | 0.7076 | |
| 11 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 14200 | 19400 | 0.2693 | 14,865 | 1175 | 0.9113 | |
| 12 | Chowan University | 14400 | 39200 | 0.6326 | 603 | 1015 | 0.6879 | |
| 13 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary | 14500 | 23700 | 0.3901 | 957 | 1130 | 0.5871 | |
| 14 | University of North Carolina School of the Arts | 15100 | 23400 | 0.3561 | 946 | 1241 | 0.2997 | |
| 15 | Mars Hill University | 15200 | 54500 | 0.7202 | 1,062 | 1100 | 0.6822 | |
| 16 | Gardner-Webb University | 15600 | 54900 | 0.716 | 1,861 | 1110 | 0.7721 | |
| 17 | Greensboro College | 16100 | 37800 | 0.5743 | 899 | 1005 | 0.7014 | |
| 17 | North Carolina State University | 16100 | 28500 | 0.4348 | 29,340 | 1374 | 0.3954 | |
| 19 | North Carolina Wesleyan University | 16400 | 77400 | 0.788 | 1,262 | 980 | 0.8026 | |
| 20 | Winston-Salem State University | 16800 | 25500 | 0.3417 | 4,192 | 945 | 0.7826 | |
| 21 | Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte | 17000 | 17200 | 0.0117 | 1,184 | 1015 | 0.7989 | |
| 22 | Appalachian State University | 17100 | 26000 | 0.3432 | 19,732 | 1174 | 0.9388 | |
| 23 | North Carolina Central University | 17200 | 33000 | 0.4797 | 7,232 | 865 | 0.8605 | |
| 24 | East Carolina University | 17600 | 26100 | 0.3256 | 21,693 | 1065 | 0.9003 | |
| 25 | Mid-Atlantic Christian University | 17900 | 48400 | 0.6289 | 141 | 1018 | 0.6216 | |
| 25 | Warren Wilson College | 17900 | 57000 | 0.6866 | 740 | 1275 | 0.7134 | |
| 27 | Elizabeth City State University | 18900 | 23700 | 0.2031 | 2,252 | 916 | 0.8671 | |
| 28 | Lenoir-Rhyne University | 19200 | 58100 | 0.6701 | 1,495 | 1075 | 0.8761 | |
| 29 | Guilford College | 19300 | 66300 | 0.7084 | 1,132 | 1100 | 0.8 | |
| 29 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 19300 | 22300 | 0.1345 | 26,213 | 1209 | 0.7778 | |
| 31 | Johnson C Smith University | 19700 | 56000 | 0.648 | 1,252 | 885 | 0.4521 | |
| 32 | Brevard College | 20600 | 43700 | 0.5292 | 823 | 1060 | 0.4216 | |
| 33 | Belmont Abbey College | 20900 | 38200 | 0.4527 | 1,300 | 1094 | 0.7465 | |
| 34 | Salem College | 21400 | 55300 | 0.6125 | 464 | 1080 | 0.789 | |
| 35 | William Peace University | 21500 | 50200 | 0.5715 | 778 | 1150 | 0.8633 | |
| 36 | Carolina University | 22400 | 57300 | 0.609 | 470 | 975 | 0.3954 | |
| 37 | Meredith College | 22500 | 61800 | 0.6367 | 1,212 | 1239 | 0.7506 | |
| 38 | Catawba College | 23500 | 55200 | 0.5748 | 1,285 | 1115 | 0.7867 | |
| 39 | Wingate University | 24500 | 67100 | 0.6354 | 2,673 | 1100 | 0.9113 | |
| 40 | Saint Augustine's University | 25900 | 47400 | 0.4546 | 173 | 840 | 0.3465 | |
| 41 | Shaw University | 26000 | 32800 | 0.2086 | 877 | 767 | 0.8016 | |
| 42 | Pfeiffer University | 26900 | 56100 | 0.5199 | 696 | 941 | 0.9603 | |
| 43 | Methodist University | 28100 | 88000 | 0.6802 | 1,467 | 1185 | 0.7516 | |
| 44 | Queens University of Charlotte | 29500 | 70400 | 0.581 | 1,210 | 1244 | 0.805 | |
| 45 | Bennett College | 30700 | 61500 | 0.5011 | 182 | 940 | 0.5066 | |
| 46 | Elon University | 32200 | 69300 | 0.5359 | 6,191 | 1283 | 0.6326 | |
| 47 | Montreat College | 32400 | 58100 | 0.4419 | 781 | 1164 | 0.692 | |
| 48 | Barton College | 32600 | 55900 | 0.4162 | 1,129 | 1050 | 0.96 | |
| 49 | University of North Carolina Wilmington | 34100 | 34100 | 0.0021 | 16,131 | 1275 | 0.6472 | |
| 50 | Campbell University | 34600 | 68700 | 0.497 | 2,699 | 1120 | 0.872 | |
| 51 | Lees-McRae College | 35000 | 58700 | 0.4031 | 869 | 1140 | 0.8036 | |
| 52 | University of Mount Olive | 39600 | 48200 | 0.1777 | 1,944 | 1075 | 0.7575 | |
| 53 | High Point University | 45300 | 70300 | 0.3559 | 5,135 | 1263 | 0.7531 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.