Data / Rankings / Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over / Cities in North Carolina

Cities in North Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Chapel Hill, NC had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 93 cities in 2022, at 77.4%. Thomasville, NC had the lowest, at 14%. The median was 36.5% and the figure for North Carolina was 33.9%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest77.4Chapel Hill, NC
Lowest14Thomasville, NC
Median36.593 cities
North Carolina33.9History

Top 40 cities, 2022

Chapel Hill, NC: 77.4 %Chapel Hill, NC77.4Davidson, NC: 74.3 %Davidson, NC74.3Morrisville, NC: 73.9 %Morrisville, NC73.9Carrboro, NC: 70.5 %Carrboro, NC70.5Cary, NC: 70.3 %Cary, NC70.3Rolesville, NC: 67.3 %Rolesville, NC67.3Apex, NC: 65.4 %Apex, NC65.4Weddington, NC: 65.2 %Weddington, NC65.2Holly Springs, NC: 64.2 %Holly Springs, NC64.2Pinehurst, NC: 61.3 %Pinehurst, NC61.3Cornelius, NC: 58.6 %Cornelius, NC58.6Wake Forest, NC: 57.8 %Wake Forest, NC57.8Summerfield, NC: 57.1 %Summerfield, NC57.1Huntersville, NC: 56 %Huntersville, NC56Waxhaw, NC: 53.8 %Waxhaw, NC53.8Durham, NC: 53.8 %Durham, NC53.8Southern Pines, NC: 53.3 %Southern Pines, NC53.3Raleigh, NC: 52.7 %Raleigh, NC52.7Matthews, NC: 52.4 %Matthews, NC52.4Elon, NC: 52.1 %Elon, NC52.1Asheville, NC: 51.2 %Asheville, NC51.2Harrisburg, NC: 50.7 %Harrisburg, NC50.7Fuquay-Varina, NC: 49.9 %Fuquay-Varina, NC49.9Stallings, NC: 49.7 %Stallings, NC49.7Clemmons, NC: 48.9 %Clemmons, NC48.9Charlotte, NC: 46.6 %Charlotte, NC46.6Boone, NC: 46.1 %Boone, NC46.1Belmont, NC: 45.7 %Belmont, NC45.7Lewisville, NC: 45.2 %Lewisville, NC45.2Garner, NC: 45.1 %Garner, NC45.1Mooresville, NC: 45.1 %Mooresville, NC45.1Pineville, NC: 44.2 %Pineville, NC44.2Wilmington, NC: 43.6 %Wilmington, NC43.6Knightdale, NC: 42.8 %Knightdale, NC42.8Winterville, NC: 41.1 %Winterville, NC41.1Concord, NC: 40.8 %Concord, NC40.8Indian Trail, NC: 40.5 %Indian Trail, NC40.5Greensboro, NC: 39.9 %Greensboro, NC39.9Leland, NC: 39.9 %Leland, NC39.9Greenville, NC: 39.3 %Greenville, NC39.3Chapel Hill, NC: 77.4 %Chapel Hill, NC77.4Davidson, NC: 74.3 %Davidson, NC74.3Morrisville, NC: 73.9 %Morrisville, NC73.9Carrboro, NC: 70.5 %Carrboro, NC70.5Cary, NC: 70.3 %Cary, NC70.3Rolesville, NC: 67.3 %Rolesville, NC67.3Apex, NC: 65.4 %Apex, NC65.4Weddington, NC: 65.2 %Weddington, NC65.2Holly Springs, NC: 64.2 %Holly Springs, NC64.2Pinehurst, NC: 61.3 %Pinehurst, NC61.3Cornelius, NC: 58.6 %Cornelius, NC58.6Wake Forest, NC: 57.8 %Wake Forest, NC57.8Summerfield, NC: 57.1 %Summerfield, NC57.1Huntersville, NC: 56 %Huntersville, NC56Waxhaw, NC: 53.8 %Waxhaw, NC53.8Durham, NC: 53.8 %Durham, NC53.8Southern Pines, NC: 53.3 %Southern Pines, NC53.3Raleigh, NC: 52.7 %Raleigh, NC52.7Matthews, NC: 52.4 %Matthews, NC52.4Elon, NC: 52.1 %Elon, NC52.1Asheville, NC: 51.2 %Asheville, NC51.2Harrisburg, NC: 50.7 %Harrisburg, NC50.7Fuquay-Varina, NC: 49.9 %Fuquay-Varina, NC49.9Stallings, NC: 49.7 %Stallings, NC49.7Clemmons, NC: 48.9 %Clemmons, NC48.9Charlotte, NC: 46.6 %Charlotte, NC46.6Boone, NC: 46.1 %Boone, NC46.1Belmont, NC: 45.7 %Belmont, NC45.7Lewisville, NC: 45.2 %Lewisville, NC45.2Garner, NC: 45.1 %Garner, NC45.1Mooresville, NC: 45.1 %Mooresville, NC45.1Pineville, NC: 44.2 %Pineville, NC44.2Wilmington, NC: 43.6 %Wilmington, NC43.6Knightdale, NC: 42.8 %Knightdale, NC42.8Winterville, NC: 41.1 %Winterville, NC41.1Concord, NC: 40.8 %Concord, NC40.8Indian Trail, NC: 40.5 %Indian Trail, NC40.5Greensboro, NC: 39.9 %Greensboro, NC39.9Leland, NC: 39.9 %Leland, NC39.9Greenville, NC: 39.3 %Greenville, NC39.3
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Chapel Hill, NC77.4-1 pts
2Davidson, NC74.3-0.7 pts
3Morrisville, NC73.9+2.4 pts
4Carrboro, NC70.5+1.8 pts
5Cary, NC70.3+0.8 pts
6Rolesville, NC67.3+3.9 pts
7Apex, NC65.4+0.9 pts
8Weddington, NC65.2+0.4 pts
9Holly Springs, NC64.2+3.1 pts
10Pinehurst, NC61.3-0.2 pts
11Cornelius, NC58.6+2.9 pts
12Wake Forest, NC57.8+2 pts
13Summerfield, NC57.1+0.6 pts
14Huntersville, NC56+0.5 pts
15Waxhaw, NC53.8-2.6 pts
16Durham, NC53.8+1 pts
17Southern Pines, NC53.3+1.4 pts
18Raleigh, NC52.7+0.3 pts
19Matthews, NC52.4-2.7 pts
20Elon, NC52.1-2.2 pts
21Asheville, NC51.2+0.4 pts
22Harrisburg, NC50.7-0.8 pts
23Fuquay-Varina, NC49.9+2.9 pts
24Stallings, NC49.7+1.6 pts
25Clemmons, NC48.9-1.6 pts
26Charlotte, NC46.6+0.9 pts
27Boone, NC46.1-1.2 pts
28Belmont, NC45.7+1.9 pts
29Lewisville, NC45.2-0.8 pts
30Garner, NC45.1+1.5 pts
31Mooresville, NC45.1+1.3 pts
32Pineville, NC44.2+1.1 pts
33Wilmington, NC43.60 pts
34Knightdale, NC42.8-1.3 pts
35Winterville, NC41.1-2.4 pts
36Concord, NC40.8+0.7 pts
37Indian Trail, NC40.5+1 pts
38Greensboro, NC39.9+0.4 pts
39Leland, NC39.9+0.8 pts
40Greenville, NC39.3+0.3 pts
41Mint Hill, NC38.7-0.4 pts
42Morehead City, NC37.8+1.7 pts
43Mebane, NC37.6+0.4 pts
44Hendersonville, NC37.6-0.3 pts
45Mount Holly, NC37.5+2.2 pts
46Wendell, NC36.9+5.4 pts
47Hickory, NC36.5-0.2 pts
48Kernersville, NC35.7+1.9 pts
49Winston-Salem, NC35.6+1 pts
50High Point, NC34.4+1 pts
51Clayton, NC32.4+2.9 pts
52Waynesville, NC31.8+2.1 pts
53Aberdeen, NC31.6-3.2 pts
54Burlington, NC28.7+1.5 pts
55Fayetteville, NC28.5+0.9 pts
56New Bern, NC28.4-0.5 pts
57Elizabeth City, NC27.6+0.2 pts
58Kannapolis, NC27.5+2.3 pts
59Statesville, NC27.4+0.6 pts
60Spring Lake, NC27.1+0.1 pts
61Gastonia, NC26.5+1.6 pts
61Salisbury, NC26.5+0.6 pts
63Tarboro, NC26+1.1 pts
64Smithfield, NC25.1-1.3 pts
65Jacksonville, NC24.7-1.1 pts
66Mount Airy, NC24.7-0.5 pts
67Shelby, NC24.4-0.5 pts
68Morganton, NC24.1+0.1 pts
69Roanoke Rapids, NC23+2.3 pts
70Zebulon, NC22.7-0.1 pts
71Hope Mills, NC22.2-0.3 pts
72Wilson, NC22.1-0.2 pts
73Rocky Mount, NC21.9-0.1 pts
74Graham, NC21.7-0.9 pts
75Lumberton, NC21.6-0.1 pts
76Goldsboro, NC21.4-0.7 pts
77Albemarle, NC21.1+2.5 pts
78Newton, NC20.9-1.2 pts
79Sanford, NC20.9-0.8 pts
80Monroe, NC20.8+1.1 pts
81Archdale, NC20.3-0.7 pts
82Reidsville, NC19.7-0.8 pts
83Laurinburg, NC19-0.9 pts
84Asheboro, NC18.7+0.9 pts
85Lincolnton, NC18.4-0.7 pts
86Lenoir, NC17.4+0.7 pts
87Kings Mountain, NC17.3+1 pts
88Henderson, NC17.1-0.7 pts
89Havelock, NC17.1+0.5 pts
90Kinston, NC14.8+0.1 pts
91Eden, NC14.6-1.5 pts
92Lexington, NC14.5+1.1 pts
93Thomasville, NC14+0.5 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in North Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in North Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2022. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in North Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in North Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_2022,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in North Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2022. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in North Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2022.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Chapel Hill, NC, with 77.4% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Thomasville, NC, with 14% in 2022.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Cities in North Carolina: more rankings