2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina
Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience.
The Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 63 schools in North Carolina to see which programs offered the best value experiences for trade school students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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Top Value Trade Schools in North Carolina
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named McDowell Technical Community College the best value school in North Carolina for trade school students working on their degree. This small public school is located in Marion, North Carolina, and it awarded 342 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at McDowell Technical Community College are $6,566 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, McDowell Technical Community College also is in the top 20% of our Best Trade Schools in North Carolina ranking.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Craven Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Located in New Bern, North Carolina, the small public school awarded 1,198 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Craven Community College are $6,630 a year.
Craven Community College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools in North Carolina list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pitt Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Winterville, North Carolina is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,669 students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Pitt Community College are $6,548 a year.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means South Piedmont Community College is a great place for trade school students who want to get the most value for their educational dollar. South Piedmont Community College is located in Polkton, North Carolina and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 603 degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Piedmont Community College are $6,623 per year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Forsyth Technical Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Forsyth Tech is a public institution located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,987 degrees in 2021-2022.
Forsyth Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $7,168 in tuition and fees each year.
Vance-Granville Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Henderson, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 594 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Vance-Granville Community College are $6,552 per year.
Alamance Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #7 on the list. This small public school is located in Graham, North Carolina, and it awarded 1,271 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at ACC are $8,642 a year.
Montgomery Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. MCC is a public institution located in Troy, North Carolina. The school has a very small population, and it awarded 296 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at MCC are $8,682 a year.
MCC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Trade Schools in North Carolina list.
Durham Technical Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Located in Durham, North Carolina, the small public school awarded 987 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
Durham Technical Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,474 in tuition and fees each year.
Brunswick Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Located in Bolivia, North Carolina, the small public school handed out 454 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Brunswick Community College are $8,676 per year.
Brunswick Community College also claimed a spot on our Best Trade Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
College of the Albemarle came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina ranking. College of the Albemarle is a small public school situated in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It awarded 623 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at College of the Albemarle are $7,346 a year.
Guilford Technical Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #12 on the list. Guilford Technical Community College is a fairly large public school situated in Jamestown, North Carolina. It awarded 2,800 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Guilford Technical Community College are $7,695 per year.
Richmond Community College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Located in Hamlet, North Carolina, the small public school handed out 815 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Richmond Community College are $8,680 a year.
Central Piedmont Community College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Central Piedmont Community College is a fairly large public school situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. It awarded 4,083 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Central Piedmont Community College are $8,936 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Central Piedmont Community College also is in the top 15% of our Best Trade Schools in North Carolina ranking.
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #15 on the list. Salisbury, North Carolina is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,803 students in 2021-2022.
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,632 in tuition and fees each year.
Wayne Community College landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Wayne Community College is located in Goldsboro, North Carolina and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,488 degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Wayne Community College are $8,668 a year.
Davidson County Community College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. DCCC is a public institution located in Thomasville, North Carolina. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1,614 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DCCC are $7,852 per year.
Lenoir Community College ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Lenoir Community College is a small public school situated in Kinston, North Carolina. It awarded 986 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Lenoir Community College are $8,712 a year.
Surry Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #19 on the list. Surry Community College is a small public school located in Dobson, North Carolina that handed out 805 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Surry Community College are $8,807 a year.
Central Carolina Community College ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Central Carolina Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Sanford, North Carolina that handed out 1,151 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Central Carolina Community College are $8,698 a year.
Beaufort County Community College landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. This small public school is located in Washington, North Carolina, and it awarded 745 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Beaufort County Community College are $8,662 per year.
Catawba Valley Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #22 on the list. Hickory, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,765 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CVCC are $7,743 per year.
Southwestern Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #23 on the list. Southwestern Community College is a small public school situated in Sylva, North Carolina. It awarded 778 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southwestern Community College are $7,221 per year.
Johnston Community College ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in North Carolina list. Smithfield, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,184 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Johnston Community College are $8,801 per year.
Isothermal Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #25 on the list. ICC is located in Spindale, North Carolina and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,063 degrees to qualified students.
ICC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,638 in tuition and fees each year.
Best Value Trade Schools in the Southeast Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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