Graduates earn median 4-year earnings of $50,812, placing North Carolina Central University in the 10.9 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn at roughly the same level as similar students at comparable institutions, placing North Carolina Central University in the 56.0 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Those figures represent meaningful returns relative to NC's no-degree-equivalent earnings baseline of $30,928 — the state median earnings of working adults with only a high school credential. Azimuth ranks North Carolina Central University #1063 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern at North Carolina Central University is anchored by its Social Sciences concentration, with program-level outcomes spanning applied, professional, and public-service fields. Criminal Justice stands out as the program combining broad enrollment scale with strong four-year earnings, making it a key driver of the institution's overall return profile. Among the most-enrolled programs, Criminal Justice program graduates 122 students with median four-year earnings of $48,443, and Azimuth ranks it #165 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions per the program-ranking methodology. Business Administration and Social Sciences round out the high-enrollment tier, with graduates earning median four-year earnings of $54,999 and $43,859, respectively. On the higher-earning end, Psychology, General and Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General deliver median four-year earnings of $44,053 and $46,136, reflecting the salary upside available in more specialized or professionally oriented fields at North Carolina Central University.
Graduates earn median 4-year earnings of $50,812, placing North Carolina Central University in the 10.9 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn at roughly the same level as similar students at comparable institutions, placing North Carolina Central University in the 56.0 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Those figures represent meaningful returns relative to NC's no-degree-equivalent earnings baseline of $30,928 — the state median earnings of working adults with only a high school credential. Azimuth ranks North Carolina Central University #1063 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern at North Carolina Central University is anchored by its Social Sciences concentration, with program-level outcomes spanning applied, professional, and public-service fields. Criminal Justice stands out as the program combining broad enrollment scale with strong four-year earnings, making it a key driver of the institution's overall return profile. Among the most-enrolled programs, Criminal Justice program graduates 122 students with median four-year earnings of $48,443, and Azimuth ranks it #165 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions per the program-ranking methodology. Business Administration and Social Sciences round out the high-enrollment tier, with graduates earning median four-year earnings of $54,999 and $43,859, respectively. On the higher-earning end, Psychology, General and Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General deliver median four-year earnings of $44,053 and $46,136, reflecting the salary upside available in more specialized or professionally oriented fields at North Carolina Central University.
Latest FE earnings field: 10-year
How graduate earnings grow across the currently available FE horizons.
Financial justification for the investment.
Graduates earn median 4-year earnings of $50,812, placing North Carolina Central University in the 10.9 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn at roughly the same level as similar students at comparable institutions, placing North Carolina Central University in the 56.0 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Those figures represent meaningful returns relative to NC's no-degree-equivalent earnings baseline of $30,928 — the state median earnings of working adults with only a high school credential. Azimuth ranks North Carolina Central University #1063 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern at North Carolina Central University is anchored by its Social Sciences concentration, with program-level outcomes spanning applied, professional, and public-service fields. Criminal Justice stands out as the program combining broad enrollment scale with strong four-year earnings, making it a key driver of the institution's overall return profile. Among the most-enrolled programs, Criminal Justice program graduates 122 students with median four-year earnings of $48,443, and Azimuth ranks it #165 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions per the program-ranking methodology. Business Administration and Social Sciences round out the high-enrollment tier, with graduates earning median four-year earnings of $54,999 and $43,859, respectively. On the higher-earning end, Psychology, General and Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General deliver median four-year earnings of $44,053 and $46,136, reflecting the salary upside available in more specialized or professionally oriented fields at North Carolina Central University.
Program mix and student pathways explain much of the earnings story.
North Carolina Central University's program mix is anchored in social sciences, criminal justice, and applied professional fields — a signature that reflects the university's identity as a historically Black university in Durham serving a broad range of students pursuing careers in public service, law, and community-oriented fields. Social Sciences accounts for 14% of graduates, followed by Business at 13% and Education at 3%, a distribution that shapes both the institution's earnings profile and the career pathways most graduates pursue. Across 26 programs serving roughly 998 students annually, 18 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold. The program with the strongest combination of scale and earnings is Criminal Justice, which anchors the institution's return profile by pairing meaningful cohort size with competitive four-year earnings. Among the most popular programs, Criminal Justice program graduates 122 students annually with median earnings of $48,443 four years after enrollment, and Azimuth ranks it #165 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Business Administration and Social Sciences follow as the next largest programs by cohort, with graduates earning $54,999 and $43,859 respectively four years after enrollment. The highest-earning programs at North Carolina Central University are Nursing, where graduates earn median earnings of $90,760 four years after enrollment and Azimuth ranks the program #179 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, and Business Administration, with graduates earning $54,999 and Azimuth ranking it #262 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Several of North Carolina Central University's strongest programs feed directly into stable workforce pathways — particularly in criminal justice, nursing, and business, where graduates enter the labor market with defined credentials and consistent employer demand. Fields like Biology, General and Social Work, with four-year median earnings of $54,192 and $49,856 respectively, reflect the university's applied-professional orientation. Social sciences and pre-law adjacent programs, by contrast, are more likely to be grad-school-dependent pathways where four-year earnings undercount the longer-term trajectory of graduates who continue to law school or graduate study. The provides context for how these program families align with national labor-market trends.
Lower quartile, 10-year field
Upper quartile, 10-year field
Graduates earn median 4-year earnings of $50,812, placing North Carolina Central University in the 10.9 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn at roughly the same level as similar students at comparable institutions, placing North Carolina Central University in the 56.0 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Those figures represent meaningful returns relative to NC's no-degree-equivalent earnings baseline of $30,928 — the state median earnings of working adults with only a high school credential. Azimuth ranks North Carolina Central University #1063 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern at North Carolina Central University is anchored by its Social Sciences concentration, with program-level outcomes spanning applied, professional, and public-service fields. Criminal Justice stands out as the program combining broad enrollment scale with strong four-year earnings, making it a key driver of the institution's overall return profile. Among the most-enrolled programs, Criminal Justice program graduates 122 students with median four-year earnings of $48,443, and Azimuth ranks it #165 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions per the program-ranking methodology. Business Administration and Social Sciences round out the high-enrollment tier, with graduates earning median four-year earnings of $54,999 and $43,859, respectively. On the higher-earning end, Psychology, General and Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General deliver median four-year earnings of $44,053 and $46,136, reflecting the salary upside available in more specialized or professionally oriented fields at North Carolina Central University.
