College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

NCLarge public institution · Overall rank #98 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Mobility in the 96th percentile nationally

Who it’s a good fit for

University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a public university in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the degree mix is led by Business, Computer & Information Sciences, and Health Professions. Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study, and mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of that to the factors it measures, which add, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts.

The typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

Families at the bottom of the income scale pay well below the published cost, while those at the top pay closer to it. The admission rate is just above the median for comparable schools.

A student drawn to the largest programs should go in knowing that the best-paid ones are mostly in engineering, and the largest program is not the highest-earning.

UNC Charlotte at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
79.6%
Six-year completion[2]
69.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$65,370

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,690
Median student debt[4]
$21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$19,809

UNC Charlotte rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Charlotte, North Carolina, is home to University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a public university with 24,453 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university lands near the top of the field (composite at the 93rd percentile).

Applicants are accepted at a rate of 79.6%, close to the 78.1% median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Among first-time full-time students, 85.0% continue into a second year, against a peer median of 83.1%.

69.0% complete within six years, against 65.0%. Because an estimated 36.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, that six-year measure describes a minority of the people who study here.

At University of North Carolina at Charlotte, mobility is the strongest (at the 96th percentile), while return is the weakest (at the 64th percentile). Access and affordability sit between them, at the 88th and 73rd percentiles respectively, leaving the four pillars spread across a wide range.

Azimuth ranks the University of North Carolina at Charlotte #98 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's strongest pillar is mobility, where it reaches the 96th percentile, and its weakest is return, at the 64th percentile.

The access pillar sits in the 88th percentile, and affordability lands in the 73rd percentile.

Pell Grant recipients make up 33.9% of undergraduates at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. For access, Azimuth places the university at #182 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For Pell recipients, the six-year completion rate is 61.3%, which is 7.7 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (69.0%). That distance is measured, not explained.

Azimuth ranks the university #60 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,342 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the university's mobility standing.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

UNC Charlotte rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#98

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 96
Access & reach
National percentile: 88
Affordability
National percentile: 73
Return on investment
National percentile: 64

Top-ranked majors

  1. Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians#4
  2. Mathematics and Statistics, Other#4
  3. Systems Engineering#10

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / UNC Charlotte briefing

UNC Charlotte cost & financial aid[6][7]

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte publishes a cost of attendance of $23,010. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $3,812 and required fees of $3,505 for the 2025-26 academic year, with on-campus food and housing at $12,390.

Out-of-state students face tuition of $20,018. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $15,435.

Financial aid reduces the published cost by $7,575 on average, covering about 33% of the sticker price for the average aid recipient. That net price is $199 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #379 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte publishes a cost of attendance of $23,010. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $10,357.

The for families earning $48,001 to $75,000 is $13,690, and for families earning over $110,000 it is $21,761. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,404.

Azimuth ranks the university #379 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 33% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $7,575.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $15,435. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the median net price is $15,634, which places the university's average below by $199.

The median federal student loan debt at completion is $21,500, with 84.5% of federal aid recipients borrowing. The peer median debt is $20,076, so the university's median is above by $1,424.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $19,809. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,690

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UNC Charlotte

Federal loans reach 84.5% of federal aid recipients at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Among completers who borrowed through federal programs, the median debt is $21,500.

That amount is above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,424. Parent borrowers, a separate population, carry a median Parent PLUS loan of $19,809.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 54% of bachelor's graduates in its cohort of 2,893 borrowed from any source, averaging $25,688 per borrower. Among graduates, 53% held federal loans averaging $19,297 and 10% held private loans averaging $33,852.

Graduates of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte earn about $2,342 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 64th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion reach $65,370, placing the university in the 66th percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome of $65,370, with a downside scenario of $48,709 and an upside scenario of $89,373. Borrowers finish with a median federal student debt of $21,500, which is above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years is $244.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $19,809. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $244.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$19,809

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$252/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / UNC Charlotte briefing

UNC Charlotte career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

The return pillar at University of North Carolina at Charlotte sits in the 64th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,342 more than the model expects for similar students, a figure in the 64th percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,646. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $10,304.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,563. Four years after completion, the median earnings for working completers reach $65,370, in the 66th percentile.

Compared with the peer median of $65,610 among comparable institutions (same type and size), the university's median is below by $240.

University of North Carolina at Charlotte records a median of $65,370 four years after completion among the 6,885 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that median in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,342 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth ranks that earnings gap in the 64th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $48,709 to $89,373, with a typical outcome of $65,370 four years after completion. The model estimates graduate-school continuation at 29.4% of programs' graduates. That estimate derives from program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Four years after completion, graduates of University of North Carolina at Charlotte earn a median of $65,370, which places the public university in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610, so the university sits below that mark by $240.

Graduates earn about $2,342 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 64th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,646.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $10,304. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,563.

Azimuth ranks the university #527 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $48,709 and an upside of $89,373.

The largest program, Computer Science, awarded 593 degrees and shows median earnings of $93,037, ranking #97 nationally in its field according to Azimuth. Psychology awarded 396 degrees with a median of $50,507 and a national rank of #164.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, which awarded 75 degrees and shows a median of $97,109. Finance, with 380 degrees awarded, posts a median of $74,965 and ranks #91 nationally.

The range between the downside and upside earnings scenarios spans from $48,709 to $89,373, reflecting the spread of program-level outcomes at the university. Among the largest programs, Computer Science graduates earn a median of $93,037 four years after completion, while Psychology graduates earn $50,507.

The highest-earning program, Computer Engineering, reaches a median of $97,109 with 75 degrees awarded.

Graduates of University of North Carolina at Charlotte earn about $2,342 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $21,500, which is above the median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt yields an estimated monthly payment of $244. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $19,809.

The university's average net price of $15,435 sits below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price drops to $10,357, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $11,404.

Aid covers about 33% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 69.0%, and the first-year retention rate is 85.0%.

Pell recipients complete at 61.3%, which is 7.7 percentage points below the overall rate. An estimated 36.8% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students, and 33.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$12,646
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$10,304
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$2,342

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / UNC Charlotte briefing

UNC Charlotte acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte admits 79.6% of applicants, a figure that sits near the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 27,218 applicants, 21,170 admitted, and 4,934 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
79.6%
25th percentile
1150
Median
1250
75th percentile
1340

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / UNC Charlotte briefing

What are the largest majors at UNC Charlotte?[12]

The university's largest program, Computer Science, awarded 593 degrees and shows a median of $93,037 four years after completion, with an Azimuth national rank of #97 in the field. Finance follows at $74,965 on 380 degrees awarded and ranks #91 nationally.

Earnings step down in fields such as Psychology, where the median reaches $50,507 alongside 396 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #164. Health and Medical Administrative Services reports $52,400 on 354 degrees awarded and ranks #46 nationally, illustrating the spread between higher- and moderate-earning fields at the university.

The university's strongest national program rank belongs to Mathematics and Statistics, which Azimuth places #4 in its field and #1 in North Carolina. The program awarded 23 degrees and its completers earn a median of $87,419 four years after completion.

Among the largest programs, Computer Science awarded 593 degrees and ranks #97 nationally, with a median of $93,037. Finance ranks #91 nationally and #2 in North Carolina, with 380 degrees awarded and median earnings of $74,965.

Communication and Media Studies holds a national rank of #64 and a state rank of #4, with 311 degrees awarded and a median of $60,407. Across 45 nationally ranked programs, earnings data is available for 51 fields of study.

University of North Carolina at Charlotte awards bachelor's degrees across 45 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 51 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is led by Business, which accounts for 18.7% of degrees awarded, followed by Computer & Information Sciences at 11.2% and Health Professions at 10.4%.

The largest single programs are Computer Science at 593 degrees awarded, Psychology at 396, and Finance at 380. The highest-ranked program is Mathematics and Statistics, which ranks #1 in North Carolina within its field.

It awards 23 degrees a year, and graduates earn a median of $87,419 four years after completion. Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians is also among the top-ranked, at #4 nationally and #1 in North Carolina, with 20 degrees awarded.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where graduates earn a median of $97,109 four years out, from 75 degrees a year. Computer Science, the largest program, also ranks among the top earners at $93,037.

The top-ranked programs span mathematics, engineering, and technology, with the highest-earning programs clustered in engineering and technology fields. The largest programs span business, computing, and health, and several carry solid state-level ranks. Across all fields, 37.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Computer Science 593 degrees awarded
$93,037
Psychology, General 396 degrees awarded
$50,507
Finance and Financial Management Services 380 degrees awarded
$74,965
Health and Medical Administrative Services 354 degrees awarded
$52,400
Communication and Media Studies 311 degrees awarded
$60,407
Biology, General 267 degrees awarded
$56,388

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / UNC Charlotte briefing

How does UNC Charlotte serve students from different backgrounds?

The mobility pillar at University of North Carolina at Charlotte sits in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 69.0%, while Pell recipients complete at 61.3% — below the overall rate by 7.7 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $2,342 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 64th percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 79.6% of applicants and enrolls 24,453 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 33.9% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 36.8% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / UNC Charlotte briefing

What colleges are similar to UNC Charlotte?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with UNC Charlotte.

Admissions peerUniversity of North Carolina at Greensboro88.5% admitted
Comparison with UNC Charlotte
MeasureUNC CharlotteUniversity of North Carolina at Greensboro
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,370$51,594-$13,776 vs UNC Charlotte
Average annual net price$15,435$10,965-$4,470 vs UNC Charlotte · lower cost
Admission rate79.6%88.5%
Explore University of North Carolina at Greensboro →
Higher-admission alternativeWingate University91.1% admitted
Comparison with UNC Charlotte
MeasureUNC CharlotteWingate University
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,370$58,916-$6,454 vs UNC Charlotte
Average annual net price$15,435$20,748+$5,313 vs UNC Charlotte · higher cost
Admission rate79.6%91.1%
Nearby alternativeHigh Point UniversityNearby option · NC
Comparison with UNC Charlotte
MeasureUNC CharlotteHigh Point University
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,370$65,028-$342 vs UNC Charlotte
Average annual net price$15,435$38,707+$23,272 vs UNC Charlotte · higher cost
Admission rate79.6%75.3%
Higher-earnings alternativeSan Jose State University$89,614 earnings
Comparison with UNC Charlotte
MeasureUNC CharlotteSan Jose State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,370$89,614+$24,244 vs UNC Charlotte
Average annual net price$15,435$13,760-$1,675 vs UNC Charlotte · lower cost
Admission rate79.6%84.6%
Explore San Jose State University →
Lower-cost alternativeNorth Carolina A & T State University$10,846 average net price
Comparison with UNC Charlotte
MeasureUNC CharlotteNorth Carolina A & T State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,370$56,996-$8,374 vs UNC Charlotte
Average annual net price$15,435$10,846-$4,589 vs UNC Charlotte · lower cost
Admission rate79.6%49.9%
Explore North Carolina A & T State University →
Similar profileUniversity of KentuckyMatched across several measures
Comparison with UNC Charlotte
MeasureUNC CharlotteUniversity of Kentucky
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,370$65,922+$552 vs UNC Charlotte
Average annual net price$15,435$18,851+$3,416 vs UNC Charlotte · higher cost
Admission rate79.6%92.9%
Explore University of Kentucky →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings