Cary, North Carolina has 5 accredited schools offering nursing programs. Cary has a population of about 176,686. Median household income is $129,399 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 70.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area, the top-earning nursing-related role is Nurse Anesthetist at a median $155,250 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Nursing Schools to Cary
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer nursing programs near Cary, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Cary 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 Cary.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
49%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$46,643
Avg net price
$21,649/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 68%
- Programs offered: 26
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
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
91%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$72,200
Avg net price
$11,655/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 117
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
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
51%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$54,886
Avg net price
$24,516/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 75%
- Programs offered: 84
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
83%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$74,545
Avg net price
$41,555/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 90%
- Programs offered: 71
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
38%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$48,050
Avg net price
$24,704/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 65%
- Programs offered: 45
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all North Carolina schools on the North Carolina nursing page.
Nursing Wages Near Cary
Cary is part of the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area (BLS area code 39580). 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) |
| Registered Nurse |
$84,830 |
Raleigh-Cary, NC |
$86,385 |
| Licensed Practical Nurse |
$64,080 |
Raleigh-Cary, NC |
$65,255 |
| Nurse Anesthetist |
$155,250 |
Raleigh-Cary, NC |
$158,096 |
| Nurse Midwife |
$132,070 |
Raleigh-Cary, NC |
$134,491 |
| Nurse Practitioner |
$128,150 |
Raleigh-Cary, NC |
$130,499 |
| Nursing Assistant |
$39,710 |
Raleigh-Cary, NC |
$40,438 |
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.
Cary at a Glance
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Population |
176,686 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income |
$129,399 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ |
70.2% |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) |
98.2 (below U.S. average) |
BEA RPP 2024 |
| Nursing-related employment in Wake County |
33,532 workers, 228 establishments |
BLS QCEW 2024 annual |
Other Cary-Area Cities With Nursing Programs
- Morrisville, NC – 3.9 mi away (24,732 pop)
- Apex, NC – 4.8 mi away (47,349 pop)
- Holly Springs, NC – 8.9 mi away (33,260 pop)
- Raleigh, NC – 10.3 mi away (1,005,457 pop)
- Garner, NC – 12.5 mi away (28,776 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited nursing schools are near Cary, NC?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering nursing programs near Cary. The closest is William Peace University in Raleigh, NC (10.0 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (15.9 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying nursing roles near Cary?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying nursing-related roles near Cary are: Nurse Anesthetist ($155,250), Nurse Midwife ($132,070), Nurse Practitioner ($128,150). 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 Morrisville instead of Cary?
Morrisville, NC is 3.9 miles from Cary and has its own set of local nursing programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Cary an affordable place to study nursing?
Cary’s median household income of $129,399 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Cary 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 Nursing Programs
Other Programs Available in Cary
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Cary:
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- Taxation programs in Cary, NC
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- Criminology programs in Cary, NC
- Cybercrime programs in Cary, NC
- Emergency Management programs in Cary, NC
- Fire Science programs in Cary, NC
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- Cloud Computing programs in Cary, NC
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- Machine Learning programs in Cary, NC
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- Data Analytics programs in Cary, NC
- Public Health programs in Cary, NC
- Human Resources programs in Cary, NC
- Project Management programs in Cary, NC
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- Marketing programs in Cary, NC
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- Sports Management programs in Cary, NC
- Early Childhood Education programs in Cary, NC
- Elementary Education programs in Cary, NC
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- Counseling programs in Cary, 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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