2025 Best Registered Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina

Registered Nursing is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #3 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 54 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Registered Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,485 associate degrees in registered nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Registered Nursing School for Your Associate Degree

The registered nursing associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to registered nursing students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of registered nursing students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized registered nursing related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for registered nursing students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Registered Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Registered Nursing in North Carolina

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in registered nursing. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top North Carolina Schools for an Associate in Registered Nursing

1

Sampson Community College
Clinton, NC

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

35 Annual Graduates

Sampson Community College is a wonderful choice for individuals interested in an associate degree in registered nursing. Sampson Community College is a small public college located in the town of Clinton.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Sampson Community College

2

Richmond Community College
Hamlet, NC

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

34 Annual Graduates

Richmond Community College is a good decision for individuals interested in an associate degree in registered nursing. Located in the town of Hamlet, Richmond Community College is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Richmond Community College

3

Wake Technical Community College
Raleigh, NC

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

120 Annual Graduates

Wake Technical Community College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in registered nursing. Wake Technical Community College is a fairly large public college located in the suburb of Raleigh.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Wake Technical Community College

4

Gaston College
Dallas, NC

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

51 Annual Graduates

Gaston College is a good choice for individuals pursuing an associate degree in registered nursing. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Dallas, Gaston College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Gaston College

5

Cabarrus College of Health Sciences
Concord, NC

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

79 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Concord, Cabarrus College of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Cabarrus College of Health Sciences

6

Gardner - Webb University
Boiling Springs, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

13 Annual Graduates

Located in the rural area of Boiling Springs, Gardner - Webb is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Gardner - Webb University

7

Carolinas College of Health Sciences
Charlotte, NC

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

111 Annual Graduates

Carolinas College of Health Sciences is a fairly small public college located in the city of Charlotte.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Carolinas College of Health Sciences

8

Brunswick Community College
Bolivia, NC

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

46 Annual Graduates

Located in the rural area of Bolivia, Brunswick Community College is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Brunswick Community College

9

Lenoir Community College
Kinston, NC

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

25 Annual Graduates

Located in the distant town of Kinston, Lenoir Community College is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Lenoir Community College

10

Durham Technical Community College
Durham, NC

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

41 Annual Graduates

Durham Technical Community College is a small public college located in the large city of Durham.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Durham Technical Community College

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Registered Nursing students in the state of North Carolina that almost earned our Best Registered Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina award.

Rank	College	Location
11	Surry Community College	Dobson, NC
12	Central Piedmont Community College	Charlotte, NC
13	Sandhills Community College	Pinehurst, NC
14	Rockingham Community College	Wentworth, NC
15	Alamance Community College	Graham, NC
16	Fayetteville Technical Community College	Fayetteville, NC
17	Davidson County Community College	Thomasville, NC
18	South Piedmont Community College	Polkton, NC

Best Registered Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Registered Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Mississippi	272	1,269
Florida	232	9,011
Georgia	217	1,473
West Virginia	180	813
Tennessee	170	1,235
Arkansas	161	1,212
Virginia	158	2,569
Kentucky	129	1,848
Louisiana	124	966
Alabama	109	2,116
South Carolina	105	1,223

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Registered Nursing

Registered Nursing is one of 23 different types of Nursing programs to choose from.

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle. More about our data sources and methodologies.