Community colleges
Community Colleges in North Carolina
CampusPin lists 57 public community colleges among North Carolina's 134 colleges, about 42.5% of the state's institutions. Community colleges are the most affordable on-ramp to higher education, with a median published in-state tuition of $2,545 in this snapshot.
North Carolina community colleges by the numbers
- Community colleges
- 57
- Share of state colleges
- 42.5%
- Median published in-state tuition
- $2,545
- National public 2-year median
- $4,288
- Lowest published tuition
- Pamlico Community College ($1,867)
Counts and shares come from CampusPin's committed institution-distribution snapshot; the tuition median is the published in-state figure from the tuition-by-state snapshot. Those cover every community college in the state. Here a community college means a public two-year college; private two-year and career schools are not counted. The list below covers all 57 of them. Published prices are before financial aid, net price is typically lower, and lower tuition is not a measure of quality.
What work without a bachelor's degree pays in North Carolina
70% of jobs in North Carolina are in occupations the federal government reports as typically entered with an associate degree, a certificate, some college, a high-school diploma, or no formal credential. 28% of that employment pays more than $47,970, the median wage across all occupations there.
- Jobs not typically needing a bachelor's
- 70%
- Of those, paying above the local median
- 28%
- North Carolina median wage, all occupations
- $47,970
- Best-paid such occupation in North Carolina
- Air traffic controllers ($129,230) — typically entered with an associate's degree
These figures describe occupations, not graduates. They do not measure what community-college students in North Carolina earn, and they are not evidence that any credential caused the pay. Typical entry education is a national assignment describing what people entering an occupation usually hold, not a requirement and not a guarantee that a particular employer accepts it. A median describes everyone working in an occupation, experienced and new alike, so it is not a starting salary, and wages are not adjusted for cost of living.
All community colleges in North Carolina
- Alamance Community College, Graham · $2,592 published in-state tuition
- Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Asheville · $2,882 published in-state tuition
- Beaufort County Community College, Washington · $2,540 published in-state tuition
- Bladen Community College, Dublin · $2,618 published in-state tuition
- Brunswick Community College, Bolivia · $2,553 published in-state tuition
- Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, Hudson · $2,526 published in-state tuition
- Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington · $2,748 published in-state tuition
- Carteret Community College, Morehead City · $2,310 published in-state tuition
- Catawba Valley Community College, Hickory · $2,427 published in-state tuition
- Central Carolina Community College, Sanford · $2,711 published in-state tuition
- Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte · $2,792 published in-state tuition
- Cleveland Community College, Shelby · $2,602 published in-state tuition
- Coastal Carolina Community College, Jacksonville · $2,512 published in-state tuition
- College of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City · $2,242 published in-state tuition
- Craven Community College, New Bern · $2,022 published in-state tuition
- Davidson-Davie Community College, Thomasville · $1,980 published in-state tuition
- Durham Technical Community College, Durham · $1,986 published in-state tuition
- Edgecombe Community College, Tarboro · $2,640 published in-state tuition
- Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville · $2,628 published in-state tuition
- Forsyth Technical Community College, Winston-Salem · $2,276 published in-state tuition
- Gaston College, Dallas · $3,186 published in-state tuition
- Guilford Technical Community College, Jamestown · $2,320 published in-state tuition
- Halifax Community College, Weldon · $2,608 published in-state tuition
- Haywood Community College, Clyde · $2,580 published in-state tuition
- Isothermal Community College, Spindale · $2,030 published in-state tuition
- James Sprunt Community College, Kenansville · $2,592 published in-state tuition
- Johnston Community College, Smithfield · $2,756 published in-state tuition
- Lenoir Community College, Kinston · $2,578 published in-state tuition
- Martin Community College, Williamston · $2,523 published in-state tuition
- Mayland Community College, Spruce Pine · $2,626 published in-state tuition
- McDowell Technical Community College, Marion · $2,032 published in-state tuition
- Mitchell Community College, Statesville · $2,641 published in-state tuition
- Montgomery Community College, Troy · $2,538 published in-state tuition
- Nash Community College, Rocky Mount · $2,866 published in-state tuition
- Pamlico Community College, Grantsboro · $1,867 published in-state tuition
- Piedmont Community College, Roxboro · $2,556 published in-state tuition
- Pitt Community College, Winterville · $2,580 published in-state tuition
- Randolph Community College, Asheboro · $2,416 published in-state tuition
- Richmond Community College, Hamlet · $1,956 published in-state tuition
- Roanoke-Chowan Community College, Ahoskie · $2,642 published in-state tuition
- Robeson Community College, Lumberton · $2,581 published in-state tuition
- Rockingham Community College, Wentworth · $1,966 published in-state tuition
- Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Salisbury · $2,064 published in-state tuition
- Sampson Community College, Clinton · $2,877 published in-state tuition
- Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst · $2,040 published in-state tuition
- South Piedmont Community College, Polkton · $2,022 published in-state tuition
- Southeastern Community College, Whiteville · $2,600 published in-state tuition
- Southwestern Community College, Sylva · $4,112 published in-state tuition
- Stanly Community College, Albemarle · $2,672 published in-state tuition
- Surry Community College, Dobson · $2,668 published in-state tuition
- Tri-County Community College, Murphy · $2,636 published in-state tuition
- Vance-Granville Community College, Henderson · $1,944 published in-state tuition
- Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh · $2,254 published in-state tuition
- Wayne Community College, Goldsboro · $2,566 published in-state tuition
- Western Piedmont Community College, Morganton · $2,650 published in-state tuition
- Wilkes Community College, Wilkesboro · $2,572 published in-state tuition
- Wilson Community College, Wilson · $2,572 published in-state tuition
Why start at a North Carolina community college?
Community colleges typically offer open or less-selective admission, the lowest published tuition of any sector, and transfer pathways that let students complete lower-division coursework before moving to a four-year university. They also serve working and returning students with part-time, evening, and online options. Confirm transfer-credit and articulation agreements with each college and your target university. Because two-year colleges anchor the low-cost end of every state's mix, our cost and outcomes by state research puts that affordability in context against each state's overall medians.
Community colleges in nearby states
Data sources & methodology
Community-college counts and shares for North Carolina come from CampusPin's committed institution-distribution and tuition-by-state snapshots; the college list is compiled live from each institution's record.
Sources used across this page
Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.
Institutional websites
Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.
Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. Community Colleges in North Carolina. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/community-colleges-in/north-carolina