Durham, North Carolina has 5 accredited schools offering liberal arts programs. Durham has a population of about 288,465. Median household income is $79,234 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 55.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area, the top-earning liberal arts-related role is Management Analyst at a median $126,110 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Liberal Arts Schools to Durham
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer liberal arts programs near Durham, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Durham 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:
BOCSCORE
- 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 Durham.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
52%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$42,968
Avg net price
$15,359/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 74%
- Programs offered: 52
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
24%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$36,142
Avg net price
$1,664/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
97%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$97,800
Avg net price
$29,612/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 144
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all North Carolina schools on the North Carolina liberal arts page.
Liberal Arts Wages Near Durham
Durham 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.
| Occupation |
Median Wage |
Source |
COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
| Public Relations Specialist |
$76,970 |
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
$78,863 |
| Management Analyst |
$126,110 |
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
$129,211 |
| Technical Writer |
$94,520 |
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
$96,844 |
| News Analyst, Reporter, or Journalist |
$58,670 |
NC statewide |
$60,113 |
| Editor |
$80,410 |
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
$82,387 |
| Training and Development Specialist |
$74,530 |
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
$76,363 |
| Human Resources Specialist |
$81,100 |
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
$83,094 |
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.
Durham at a Glance
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Population |
288,465 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income |
$79,234 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ |
55.7% |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) |
97.6 (below U.S. average) |
BEA RPP 2024 |
| Liberal Arts-related employment in Durham County |
900 workers, 81 establishments |
BLS QCEW 2024 annual |
Other Durham-Area Cities With Liberal Arts Programs
- Chapel Hill, NC – 8.4 mi away (59,246 pop)
- Morrisville, NC – 10.7 mi away (24,732 pop)
- Carrboro, NC – 10.9 mi away (21,265 pop)
- Cary, NC – 14.6 mi away (162,320 pop)
- Apex, NC – 17.8 mi away (47,349 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited liberal arts schools are near Durham, NC?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering liberal arts programs near Durham. The closest is North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC (0.5 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Meredith College (17.3 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying liberal arts roles near Durham?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying liberal arts-related roles near Durham are: Management Analyst ($126,110), Technical Writer ($94,520), Human Resources Specialist ($81,100). 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 Chapel Hill instead of Durham?
Chapel Hill, NC is 8.4 miles from Durham and has its own set of local liberal arts programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Durham an affordable place to study liberal arts?
Durham’s median household income of $79,234 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Durham 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.
Learn More About Liberal Arts Programs
Other Programs Available in Durham
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Durham:
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- Behavioral Health Science programs in Durham, NC
- Mental Health Counseling programs in Durham, NC
- Substance Abuse Counseling programs in Durham, NC
- Journalism programs in Durham, NC
- Public Relations programs in Durham, NC
- Communication Disorders programs in Durham, NC
- Speech Pathology programs in Durham, NC
- Technical Communication programs in Durham, NC
- Professional Writing programs in Durham, NC
- Strategic Communications programs in Durham, NC
- Business Development programs in Durham, NC
- Construction Management programs in Durham, NC
- Economics programs in Durham, NC
- Financial Technology programs in Durham, NC
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- Health Information Management programs in Durham, NC
- Hospitality Management programs in Durham, NC
- International Business programs in Durham, NC
- Organizational Leadership programs in Durham, NC
- Management Information Systems programs in Durham, NC
- Nonprofit Management programs in Durham, NC
- Operations Management programs in Durham, NC
- Public Administration programs in Durham, NC
- Real Estate programs in Durham, NC
- Recreation Management programs in Durham, NC
- Retail Management programs in Durham, NC
- Risk Management programs in Durham, NC
- Statistics programs in Durham, NC
- Taxation programs in Durham, NC
- Corrections programs in Durham, NC
- Crime Analysis programs in Durham, NC
- Criminal Justice Administration programs in Durham, NC
- Criminology programs in Durham, NC
- Cybercrime programs in Durham, NC
- Emergency Management programs in Durham, NC
- Fire Science programs in Durham, NC
- Forensic Science programs in Durham, NC
- Legal Services programs in Durham, NC
- Legal Studies programs in Durham, NC
- Paralegal programs in Durham, NC
- Security Management programs in Durham, NC
- Cloud Computing programs in Durham, NC
- Computer Engineering programs in Durham, NC
- Innovation programs in Durham, NC
- Mobile App Development programs in Durham, NC
- Software Development programs in Durham, NC
- User Experience programs in Durham, NC
- Web Development programs in Durham, NC
- Artificial Intelligence programs in Durham, NC
- Machine Learning programs in Durham, NC
- Supply Chain Management programs in Durham, NC
- Data Analytics programs in Durham, NC
- Public Health programs in Durham, NC
- Human Resources programs in Durham, NC
- Project Management programs in Durham, NC
- Special Education programs in Durham, NC
- Homeland Security programs in Durham, NC
- Marketing programs in Durham, NC
- Finance programs in Durham, NC
- Kinesiology programs in Durham, NC
- Sports Management programs in Durham, NC
- Early Childhood Education programs in Durham, NC
- Elementary Education programs in Durham, NC
- Biology programs in Durham, NC
- Communications programs in Durham, NC
- Graphic Design programs in Durham, NC
- Human Services programs in Durham, NC
- MBA programs in Durham, NC
- Criminal Justice programs in Durham, NC
- Nursing programs in Durham, NC
- Business Administration programs in Durham, NC
- Computer Science programs in Durham, NC
- Psychology programs in Durham, NC
- Education programs in Durham, NC
- Engineering programs in Durham, NC
- Technology programs in Durham, NC
- Healthcare programs in Durham, NC
- Cybersecurity programs in Durham, NC
- Accounting programs in Durham, NC
- Healthcare Administration programs in Durham, NC
- Social Work programs in Durham, NC
- Counseling programs in Durham, NC
Data verified: September 6, 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.
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