Census ACS 2023 · 96 cities

Most Educated Cities in North Carolina

Educational attainment is one of the strongest predictors of income and economic opportunity. In North Carolina, Chapel Hill town has the highest bachelor's degree rate at 77.2%. Cities with more educated populations tend to attract knowledge-economy employers, have higher incomes, and offer more cultural amenities. Compare education levels across all 96 major cities in North Carolina.

Source: Census ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates

#	City	Bachelor's+	Median Income	Population
1	Winterville town	42.4%	$82,783	10,624
2	Winston-Salem city	37.2%	$57,673	250,887
3	Wilson city	22.8%	$47,294	47,740
4	Wilmington city	45.8%	$63,900	118,578
5	Wendell town	37.3%	$93,848	11,585
6	Weddington town	65.9%	$196,159	13,468
7	Waynesville town	31.3%	$50,554	10,408
8	Waxhaw town	54.9%	$128,115	21,565
9	Wake Forest town	57.8%	$120,777	51,199
10	Thomasville city	15.6%	$58,246	27,261
11	Tarboro town	25.4%	$49,386	10,705
12	Summerfield town	59.4%	$151,131	11,031
13	Statesville city	26.9%	$55,492	29,161
14	Stallings town	51.0%	$106,074	16,495
15	Spring Lake town	24.8%	$50,497	11,613
16	Spout Springs Cdp	41.8%	$87,905	11,073
17	Southern Pines town	54.7%	$83,681	16,052
18	Smithfield town	26.0%	$37,827	11,798
19	Shelby city	26.6%	$50,705	21,868
20	Sanford city	22.4%	$54,294	30,833
21	Salisbury city	26.9%	$51,058	35,730
22	Rolesville town	66.5%	$148,250	10,200
23	Rocky Mount city	21.5%	$52,927	54,175
24	Roanoke Rapids city	21.8%	$53,981	15,024
25	Reidsville city	21.9%	$42,702	14,547
26	Raleigh city	52.9%	$82,424	470,763
27	Piney Green Cdp	24.2%	$65,179	14,205
28	Pineville town	46.6%	$64,257	10,780
29	Pinehurst village	62.0%	$104,955	17,992
30	Newton city	19.3%	$56,869	13,223
31	New Bern city	29.6%	$56,893	31,563
32	Myrtle Grove Cdp	46.5%	$112,139	12,404
33	Murraysville Cdp	44.5%	$75,720	17,307
34	Mount Holly city	37.9%	$75,928	17,928
35	Mount Airy city	24.3%	$39,873	10,631
36	Morrisville town	73.9%	$125,404	30,471
37	Morganton city	23.0%	$49,434	17,541
38	Mooresville town	45.3%	$88,592	51,447
39	Monroe city	21.6%	$67,265	35,596
40	Mint Hill town	38.4%	$99,272	26,954
41	Mebane city	40.7%	$84,312	18,899
42	Matthews town	53.9%	$105,579	29,959
43	Lumberton city	21.3%	$43,114	19,220
44	Lincolnton city	19.4%	$43,294	11,503
45	Lexington city	13.4%	$41,775	19,691
46	Lewisville town	45.0%	$84,424	13,655
47	Lenoir city	20.6%	$48,889	18,282
48	Leland town	39.0%	$88,576	26,307
49	Laurinburg city	18.8%	$39,258	15,079
50	Lake Norman of Iredell Cdp	66.7%	$194,519	12,496
51	Knightdale town	44.2%	$91,638	19,532
52	Kinston city	16.1%	$35,250	19,576
53	Kings Mountain city	17.0%	$45,507	11,472
54	Kernersville town	36.2%	$69,923	27,439
55	Kannapolis city	28.1%	$70,691	56,470
56	Jacksonville city	25.0%	$54,069	73,507
57	Indian Trail town	41.1%	$99,073	41,146
58	Huntersville town	57.3%	$119,951	62,458
59	Hope Mills town	23.6%	$60,671	17,823
60	Holly Springs town	67.7%	$132,435	43,429
61	High Point city	33.9%	$61,228	115,263
62	Hickory city	35.9%	$63,361	43,747
63	Hendersonville city	37.9%	$52,337	15,253
64	Henderson city	16.2%	$38,780	14,922
65	Havelock city	16.9%	$64,433	16,471
66	Harrisburg town	55.7%	$143,393	19,203
67	Greenville city	39.3%	$50,564	88,540
68	Greensboro city	39.9%	$58,884	298,564
69	Graham city	23.5%	$54,783	17,537
70	Goldsboro city	21.4%	$47,005	33,448
71	Gastonia city	27.7%	$60,554	81,632
72	Garner town	45.8%	$77,496	32,543
73	Fuquay-Varina town	52.9%	$111,447	37,749
74	Fayetteville city	28.6%	$56,395	209,692
75	Elon town	53.2%	$82,717	11,325
76	Elizabeth City city	28.0%	$50,947	18,740
77	Eden city	14.0%	$50,959	15,353
78	Durham city	55.7%	$79,234	288,465
79	Davidson town	75.6%	$152,969	14,852
80	Cornelius town	59.6%	$114,688	32,009
81	Concord city	41.7%	$84,752	106,518
82	Clemmons village	49.1%	$84,326	21,574
83	Clayton town	35.6%	$73,348	28,043
84	Charlotte city	47.4%	$78,438	886,283
85	Chapel Hill town	77.2%	$85,825	59,889
86	Cary town	70.2%	$129,399	176,686
87	Carrboro town	70.4%	$85,927	21,170
88	Burlington city	28.7%	$54,941	58,599
89	Boone town	53.1%	$28,633	19,534
90	Belmont city	45.7%	$86,442	15,140
91	Asheville city	52.0%	$67,221	94,369
92	Asheboro city	20.1%	$48,628	27,353
93	Archdale city	22.7%	$64,984	11,992
94	Apex town	66.6%	$138,442	67,765
95	Anderson Creek Cdp	33.0%	$86,661	14,021
96	Albemarle city	21.5%	$52,825	16,527

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Frequently Asked Questions

Chapel Hill town is the #1 ranked city in North Carolina by bachelor's degree rate, with a value of 77.2% according to Census ACS 2023 data.

North Carolina has 96 cities with 10,000+ population tracked in Census ACS 2023 data.

All data comes from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-Year estimates by the US Census Bureau.

Sources: US Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates

Data from the American Community Survey 2023 5-Year estimates. Covers cities with populations of 10,000 or more in North Carolina.