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 2023, at 77.2%. Lexington, NC had the lowest, at 13.4%. The median was 36.2% and the figure for North Carolina was 34.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest77.2Chapel Hill, NC
Lowest13.4Lexington, NC
Median36.293 cities
North Carolina34.7History

Top 40 cities, 2023

Chapel Hill, NC: 77.2 %Chapel Hill, NC77.2Davidson, NC: 75.6 %Davidson, NC75.6Morrisville, NC: 73.9 %Morrisville, NC73.9Carrboro, NC: 70.4 %Carrboro, NC70.4Cary, NC: 70.2 %Cary, NC70.2Holly Springs, NC: 67.7 %Holly Springs, NC67.7Apex, NC: 66.6 %Apex, NC66.6Rolesville, NC: 66.5 %Rolesville, NC66.5Weddington, NC: 65.9 %Weddington, NC65.9Pinehurst, NC: 62 %Pinehurst, NC62Cornelius, NC: 59.6 %Cornelius, NC59.6Summerfield, NC: 59.4 %Summerfield, NC59.4Wake Forest, NC: 57.9 %Wake Forest, NC57.9Huntersville, NC: 57.4 %Huntersville, NC57.4Durham, NC: 55.7 %Durham, NC55.7Harrisburg, NC: 55.7 %Harrisburg, NC55.7Waxhaw, NC: 54.9 %Waxhaw, NC54.9Southern Pines, NC: 54.7 %Southern Pines, NC54.7Matthews, NC: 53.9 %Matthews, NC53.9Elon, NC: 53.2 %Elon, NC53.2Boone, NC: 53.1 %Boone, NC53.1Raleigh, NC: 52.9 %Raleigh, NC52.9Fuquay-Varina, NC: 52.9 %Fuquay-Varina, NC52.9Asheville, NC: 52 %Asheville, NC52Stallings, NC: 51 %Stallings, NC51Clemmons, NC: 49.1 %Clemmons, NC49.1Charlotte, NC: 47.5 %Charlotte, NC47.5Pineville, NC: 46.6 %Pineville, NC46.6Wilmington, NC: 45.8 %Wilmington, NC45.8Garner, NC: 45.8 %Garner, NC45.8Belmont, NC: 45.7 %Belmont, NC45.7Mooresville, NC: 45.3 %Mooresville, NC45.3Lewisville, NC: 45 %Lewisville, NC45Knightdale, NC: 44.2 %Knightdale, NC44.2Winterville, NC: 42.4 %Winterville, NC42.4Concord, NC: 41.7 %Concord, NC41.7Indian Trail, NC: 41.1 %Indian Trail, NC41.1Mebane, NC: 40.7 %Mebane, NC40.7Greensboro, NC: 39.9 %Greensboro, NC39.9Greenville, NC: 39.3 %Greenville, NC39.3Chapel Hill, NC: 77.2 %Chapel Hill, NC77.2Davidson, NC: 75.6 %Davidson, NC75.6Morrisville, NC: 73.9 %Morrisville, NC73.9Carrboro, NC: 70.4 %Carrboro, NC70.4Cary, NC: 70.2 %Cary, NC70.2Holly Springs, NC: 67.7 %Holly Springs, NC67.7Apex, NC: 66.6 %Apex, NC66.6Rolesville, NC: 66.5 %Rolesville, NC66.5Weddington, NC: 65.9 %Weddington, NC65.9Pinehurst, NC: 62 %Pinehurst, NC62Cornelius, NC: 59.6 %Cornelius, NC59.6Summerfield, NC: 59.4 %Summerfield, NC59.4Wake Forest, NC: 57.9 %Wake Forest, NC57.9Huntersville, NC: 57.4 %Huntersville, NC57.4Durham, NC: 55.7 %Durham, NC55.7Harrisburg, NC: 55.7 %Harrisburg, NC55.7Waxhaw, NC: 54.9 %Waxhaw, NC54.9Southern Pines, NC: 54.7 %Southern Pines, NC54.7Matthews, NC: 53.9 %Matthews, NC53.9Elon, NC: 53.2 %Elon, NC53.2Boone, NC: 53.1 %Boone, NC53.1Raleigh, NC: 52.9 %Raleigh, NC52.9Fuquay-Varina, NC: 52.9 %Fuquay-Varina, NC52.9Asheville, NC: 52 %Asheville, NC52Stallings, NC: 51 %Stallings, NC51Clemmons, NC: 49.1 %Clemmons, NC49.1Charlotte, NC: 47.5 %Charlotte, NC47.5Pineville, NC: 46.6 %Pineville, NC46.6Wilmington, NC: 45.8 %Wilmington, NC45.8Garner, NC: 45.8 %Garner, NC45.8Belmont, NC: 45.7 %Belmont, NC45.7Mooresville, NC: 45.3 %Mooresville, NC45.3Lewisville, NC: 45 %Lewisville, NC45Knightdale, NC: 44.2 %Knightdale, NC44.2Winterville, NC: 42.4 %Winterville, NC42.4Concord, NC: 41.7 %Concord, NC41.7Indian Trail, NC: 41.1 %Indian Trail, NC41.1Mebane, NC: 40.7 %Mebane, NC40.7Greensboro, NC: 39.9 %Greensboro, NC39.9Greenville, NC: 39.3 %Greenville, NC39.3
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Chapel Hill, NC77.2-0.3 pts
2Davidson, NC75.6+1.3 pts
3Morrisville, NC73.90 pts
4Carrboro, NC70.4-0 pts
5Cary, NC70.2-0.1 pts
6Holly Springs, NC67.7+3.5 pts
7Apex, NC66.6+1.3 pts
8Rolesville, NC66.5-0.8 pts
9Weddington, NC65.9+0.7 pts
10Pinehurst, NC62+0.7 pts
11Cornelius, NC59.6+1 pts
12Summerfield, NC59.4+2.3 pts
13Wake Forest, NC57.9+0.1 pts
14Huntersville, NC57.4+1.4 pts
15Durham, NC55.7+1.9 pts
16Harrisburg, NC55.7+5 pts
17Waxhaw, NC54.9+1.1 pts
18Southern Pines, NC54.7+1.4 pts
19Matthews, NC53.9+1.5 pts
20Elon, NC53.2+1.1 pts
21Boone, NC53.1+6.9 pts
22Raleigh, NC52.9+0.3 pts
23Fuquay-Varina, NC52.9+3 pts
24Asheville, NC52+0.8 pts
25Stallings, NC51+1.2 pts
26Clemmons, NC49.1+0.3 pts
27Charlotte, NC47.5+0.8 pts
28Pineville, NC46.6+2.4 pts
29Wilmington, NC45.8+2.2 pts
30Garner, NC45.8+0.7 pts
31Belmont, NC45.7-0 pts
32Mooresville, NC45.3+0.2 pts
33Lewisville, NC45-0.1 pts
34Knightdale, NC44.2+1.4 pts
35Winterville, NC42.4+1.3 pts
36Concord, NC41.7+0.9 pts
37Indian Trail, NC41.1+0.5 pts
38Mebane, NC40.7+3.1 pts
39Greensboro, NC39.9-0.1 pts
40Greenville, NC39.30 pts
41Leland, NC39-0.9 pts
42Mint Hill, NC38.4-0.4 pts
43Hendersonville, NC37.9+0.4 pts
43Mount Holly, NC37.9+0.5 pts
45Wendell, NC37.3+0.4 pts
46Winston-Salem, NC37.2+1.7 pts
47Kernersville, NC36.2+0.5 pts
48Aberdeen, NC36+4.4 pts
49Hickory, NC35.9-0.6 pts
50Clayton, NC35.6+3.2 pts
51Morehead City, NC34.6-3.2 pts
52High Point, NC33.9-0.4 pts
53Waynesville, NC31.4-0.4 pts
54New Bern, NC29.6+1.3 pts
55Burlington, NC28.70 pts
56Fayetteville, NC28.6+0.1 pts
57Kannapolis, NC28.1+0.6 pts
58Elizabeth City, NC28+0.4 pts
59Gastonia, NC27.7+1.2 pts
60Statesville, NC27-0.4 pts
61Salisbury, NC26.9+0.4 pts
62Shelby, NC26.6+2.1 pts
63Smithfield, NC26+0.8 pts
64Tarboro, NC25.4-0.6 pts
65Jacksonville, NC25+0.3 pts
66Spring Lake, NC24.8-2.3 pts
67Mount Airy, NC24.3-0.4 pts
68Zebulon, NC24+1.3 pts
69Hope Mills, NC23.6+1.4 pts
70Graham, NC23.5+1.8 pts
71Morganton, NC23-1 pts
72Wilson, NC22.8+0.7 pts
73Archdale, NC22.7+2.5 pts
74Sanford, NC22.4+1.5 pts
75Reidsville, NC21.9+2.2 pts
76Roanoke Rapids, NC21.8-1.2 pts
77Monroe, NC21.6+0.8 pts
78Rocky Mount, NC21.5-0.4 pts
79Albemarle, NC21.5+0.4 pts
80Goldsboro, NC21.4-0 pts
81Lumberton, NC21.3-0.3 pts
82Lenoir, NC20.6+3.1 pts
83Asheboro, NC20.1+1.4 pts
84Lincolnton, NC19.4+1 pts
85Newton, NC19.3-1.7 pts
86Laurinburg, NC18.8-0.2 pts
87Kings Mountain, NC17-0.3 pts
88Havelock, NC16.9-0.2 pts
89Henderson, NC16.2-0.9 pts
90Kinston, NC16.1+1.4 pts
91Thomasville, NC15.6+1.6 pts
92Eden, NC14-0.7 pts
93Lexington, NC13.4-1.2 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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-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, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-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, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2023. 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, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2023.

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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2023. 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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-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, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/north-carolina-cities?period=2023.
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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in North Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

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

Chapel Hill, NC, with 77.2% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Lexington, NC, with 13.4% in 2023.

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