Best Legal Services Schools Near Chapel Hill, NC (2026)

Chapel Hill, North Carolina has 16 accredited schools offering legal services programs, with tuition ranging from $1,944 to $45,630 per year for indexed programs. Chapel Hill has a population of about 59,889. Median household income is $85,825 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 77.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area, the top-earning legal services-related role is Lawyer at a median $132,790 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).


The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer legal services programs near Chapel Hill, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Chapel Hill city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Chapel Hill. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

#1

Durham Technical Community College

Durham, NC 9.5 miles from Chapel Hill BOC Score 49.8
  • 2 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 24%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $36,142
Avg net price $1,664/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 42

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Meredith College

Raleigh, NC 21.5 miles from Chapel Hill BOC Score 59.6
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 69%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $51,539
Avg net price $22,488/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 80%
  • Programs offered: 29

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#3

Wake Technical Community College

Raleigh, NC 26.8 miles from Chapel Hill BOC Score 55.3
  • 2 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 32%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $41,769
Avg net price $8,759/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 71

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#4

Central Carolina Community College

Sanford, NC 32.1 miles from Chapel Hill BOC Score 60.6
  • 2 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 42%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $33,525
Avg net price $5,446/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 71

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#5

Vance-Granville Community College

Henderson, NC 45.0 miles from Chapel Hill BOC Score 57.2
  • 2 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 32%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $34,304
Avg net price $3,286/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 38

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#6

Johnston Community College

Smithfield, NC 49.2 miles from Chapel Hill BOC Score 64.4
  • 2 year
  • Campus + Online
  • Accredited
Graduation rate 32%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $37,310
Avg net price $1,776/yr
Tuition
In‑state$2,756
Out‑of‑state$8,900
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 44

Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard

#7

Guilford Technical Community College

Jamestown, NC 49.4 miles from Chapel Hill BOC Score 35.2
  • 2 year
  • Campus + Online
  • Accredited
Graduation rate 31%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $33,934
Avg net price $15,002/yr
Tuition
In‑state$2,320
Out‑of‑state$7,696
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 77

Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard

#8

Fayetteville Technical Community College

Fayetteville, NC 59.6 miles from Chapel Hill BOC Score 45.5
  • 2 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 28%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $31,861
Avg net price $3,589/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 75

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all North Carolina schools on the North Carolina legal services page.


Chapel Hill is part of the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area (BLS area code 20500). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to North Carolina statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Paralegal and Legal Assistant$52,500Durham-Chapel Hill, NC$53,791
Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant$47,490Durham-Chapel Hill, NC$48,658
Lawyer$132,790Durham-Chapel Hill, NC$136,055

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.


Chapel Hill at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Population59,889Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$85,825Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+77.2%Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)97.6 (below U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024


Frequently Asked Questions

Our directory has 16 accredited schools offering legal services programs near Chapel Hill. The closest is Durham Technical Community College in Durham, NC (9.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Wilson Community College (65.5 miles). 10 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying legal services-related roles near Chapel Hill are: Lawyer ($132,790), Paralegal and Legal Assistant ($52,500), Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant ($47,490). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with North Carolina statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Carrboro instead of Chapel Hill?

Carrboro, NC is 2.7 miles from Chapel Hill and has its own set of local legal services programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Chapel Hill’s median household income of $85,825 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Chapel Hill while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and North Carolina public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.


Other Programs Available in Chapel Hill

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Chapel Hill:

Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.