Best ROI Colleges in North Carolina

These are the best-value colleges in North Carolina, ranked by our data-driven ROI score. The score weights earnings premium (30%), payback period (25%), debt-to-earnings (20%), completion rate (15%), and loan repayment (10%). Every number comes from Department of Education data.

10 schools ranked

#SchoolROI
1Duke University
Durham, NC
96
2University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
94
3Davidson College
Davidson, NC
90
4Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
88
5North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC
87
6Elon University
Elon, NC
75
7University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC
68
8East Carolina University
Greenville, NC
61
9University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC
59
10Appalachian State University
Boone, NC
58

How We Rank

Rankings are based on our ROI score (0-100), which weights five quantifiable factors: Earnings Premium (30%), Payback Period (25%), Debt-to-Earnings (20%), Completion Rate (15%), and Loan Repayment (10%). All data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. No subjective criteria are used.

Full methodology →