The 10 Best College Towns In North Carolina For 2024


Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in North Carolina.

Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality

It's actually not even close and North Carolina is home to a handful of them.

While we could debate which colleges within the are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in North Carolina are the best.

You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.

Without further ado, here are the best college towns in North Carolina for 2024.

The 10 Best College Towns In North Carolina For 2024

  1. Chapel Hill, NC
  2. Boone, NC
  3. Raleigh, NC
  4. Greenville, NC
  5. Davidson, NC
  6. Durham, NC
  7. Elon, NC
  8. Brevard, NC
  9. Wilmington, NC
  10. Greensboro, NC

While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.

And for those who live in Chapel Hill, Boone and Raleigh - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Chapel Hill ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Finally, if you live in Laurinburg, NC - it's officially the worst college town in North Carolina. Sorry, Laurinburg!

Read on to find out more or for more on North Carolina check out:

The 10 Best College Towns In North Carolina For 2024

Chapel Hill, NC
Source: Wikipedia User Caroline Culler (User:Wgreaves) | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Population: 58,919
% Undergrad Pop.: 26.5% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $1,419 (20th best)
Unemployment Rate: 469.1% (10th best)
Crime Rank: 7th best
More on Chapel Hill: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Aveda Institute-Chapel Hill

Boone, NC
Source: Wikipedia User Jeremy Mikkola from Boone, NC | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 19,368
% Undergrad Pop.: 62.5% (best)
Median Rent: $1,071 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 1663.6% (24th best)
Crime Rank: 6th best
More on Boone: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Appalachian State University

Raleigh, NC
Source: Wikipedia User Atlpedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 465,517
% Undergrad Pop.: 6.3% (10th best)
Median Rent: $1,371 (18th best)
Unemployment Rate: 453.6% (9th best)
Crime Rank: 9th best
More on Raleigh: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: North Carolina State University at Raleigh, Wake Technical Community College, Meredith College

Greenville, NC
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 87,894
% Undergrad Pop.: 17.1% (4th best)
Median Rent: $933 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 873.7% (22nd best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Greenville: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: East Carolina University, Miller-Motte College-Greenville, Grace College of Barbering

Davidson, NC
Source: Flickr User davidwilson1949 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
9.5
/10

Population: 15,199
% Undergrad Pop.: 11.0% (5th best)
Median Rent: $1,615 (23rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 236.8% (best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Davidson: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Davidson College

Durham, NC
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 284,094
% Undergrad Pop.: 3.7% (14th best)
Median Rent: $1,296 (17th best)
Unemployment Rate: 429.4% (7th best)
Crime Rank: 17th best
More on Durham: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Duke University, Durham Technical Community College, North Carolina Central University

Elon, NC
Source: Flickr User MPD01605 | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Population: 11,161
% Undergrad Pop.: 34.9% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $1,496 (2best)
Unemployment Rate: 389.3% (5th best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on Elon: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Elon University

Brevard, NC
Source: Wikipedia User -ted from Raleigh, NC, USA | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 7,777
% Undergrad Pop.: 9.1% (6th best)
Median Rent: $786 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 560.5% (15th best)
Crime Rank: 5th best
More on Brevard: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Brevard College

Wilmington, NC
Source: Wikipedia User Jason W. Smith | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 116,933
% Undergrad Pop.: 8.4% (7th best)
Median Rent: $1,213 (14th best)
Unemployment Rate: 490.0% (13th best)
Crime Rank: 14th best
More on Wilmington: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of North Carolina Wilmington, Cape Fear Community College, Miller-Motte College-Wilmington

Greensboro, NC
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 297,202
% Undergrad Pop.: 6.7% (8th best)
Median Rent: $1,048 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 554.6% (14th best)
Crime Rank: 20th best
More on Greensboro: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina A & T State University, Guilford College

How'd we figure out the best college towns in North Carolina?

To crunch our data on North Carolina's best college towns, we had to first decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.

First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.

You might be surprised to hear that there are only 23 places in North Carolina with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.

Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:

  • Students Make Up Large % of the Population
  • College-specific Factors
    • Graduation rate
    • Tuition Cost
    • Student Body Diversity
  • Town Characteristics
    • Safety
    • Affordability
    • Income and Employment Opportunities
  • Things to Do
    • Bars
    • Museums & Libraries
    • Population Density

We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.

We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.

Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In North Carolina For 2024".

And it looks like Chapel Hill placed Summa Cum Laude.

There You Have It -- The Best College Towns In The

If you're looking for the best college towns in North Carolina, you came to the right place.

These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.

If you're curious, these are the worst college towns in North Carolina, starting with the absolute worst, Laurinburg:

  1. Laurinburg
  2. High Point
  3. Dunn
  4. Winston-Salem
  5. Rocky Mount
  6. Fayetteville
  7. Charlotte
  8. Salisbury
  9. Wilson
  10. Belmont

For more reading, check out:

23 Best College Towns In North Carolina

Rank City Population
1 Chapel Hill, NC 58919
2 Boone, NC 19368
3 Raleigh, NC 465517
4 Greenville, NC 87894
5 Davidson, NC 15199
6 Durham, NC 284094
7 Elon, NC 11161
8 Brevard, NC 7777
9 Wilmington, NC 116933
10 Greensboro, NC 297202
11 Morrisville, NC 29756
12 Concord, NC 105335
13 Asheville, NC 93695
14 Belmont, NC 14842
15 Wilson, NC 47767
16 Salisbury, NC 35437
17 Charlotte, NC 875045
18 Fayetteville, NC 208697
19 Rocky Mount, NC 54260
20 Winston-Salem, NC 249571
21 Dunn, NC 8549
22 High Point, NC 114120
23 Laurinburg, NC 14971

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?