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Best Software Engineering Schools Near Wilmington, NC (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Wilmington, North Carolina is home to about 118,578 residents. Median household income is $63,900 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 45.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Wilmington, NC metro area, the top-earning software engineering-related role is Computer and Information Systems Managers at a median $160,980 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Software Engineering Schools to Wilmington
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer software engineering programs near Wilmington, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Wilmington 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 Wilmington.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Wilmington is part of the Wilmington, NC metro area (BLS area code 48900). 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)
Software Developers
$123,730
Wilmington, NC
$128,351
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
$86,200
Wilmington, NC
$89,419
Computer Programmers
$79,530
Wilmington, NC
$82,500
Web Developers
$91,480
Wilmington, NC
$94,896
Computer and Information Systems Managers
$160,980
Wilmington, NC
$166,992
Computer Occupations, All Other
$96,350
Wilmington, NC
$99,948
Computer Network Architects
$114,230
Wilmington, NC
$118,496
Computer Systems Analysts
$93,830
Wilmington, NC
$97,334
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.
Wilmington at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
118,578
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$63,900
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
45.8%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
96.4 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Wilmington-Area Cities With Software Engineering Programs
What are the highest-paying software engineering roles near Wilmington?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying software engineering-related roles near Wilmington are: Computer and Information Systems Managers ($160,980), Software Developers ($123,730), Computer Network Architects ($114,230). 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 Jacksonville instead of Wilmington?
Jacksonville, NC is 45.6 miles from Wilmington and has its own set of local software engineering programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Wilmington an affordable place to study software engineering?
Wilmington’s median household income of $63,900 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Wilmington 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.
Data verified: September 5, 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.
