Data / Rankings / Graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over / Cities in North Carolina

Cities in North Carolina by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024

Chapel Hill, NC had the highest graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over of 93 cities in 2024, at 45.2%. Eden, NC had the lowest, at 3.7%. The median was 13.5% and the figure for North Carolina was 13.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest45.2Chapel Hill, NC
Lowest3.7Eden, NC
Median13.593 cities
North Carolina13.5History

Top 40 cities, 2024

Chapel Hill, NC: 45.2 %Chapel Hill, NC45.2Carrboro, NC: 43.5 %Carrboro, NC43.5Davidson, NC: 39 %Davidson, NC39Morrisville, NC: 34.6 %Morrisville, NC34.6Cary, NC: 33.7 %Cary, NC33.7Apex, NC: 30.5 %Apex, NC30.5Boone, NC: 30.3 %Boone, NC30.3Elon, NC: 28 %Elon, NC28Pinehurst, NC: 28 %Pinehurst, NC28Durham, NC: 27.2 %Durham, NC27.2Rolesville, NC: 27 %Rolesville, NC27Holly Springs, NC: 26.9 %Holly Springs, NC26.9Weddington, NC: 25.2 %Weddington, NC25.2Summerfield, NC: 24.3 %Summerfield, NC24.3Wake Forest, NC: 23.7 %Wake Forest, NC23.7Southern Pines, NC: 23.5 %Southern Pines, NC23.5Asheville, NC: 22.7 %Asheville, NC22.7Cornelius, NC: 22.1 %Cornelius, NC22.1Huntersville, NC: 21.2 %Huntersville, NC21.2Raleigh, NC: 21.1 %Raleigh, NC21.1Harrisburg, NC: 21 %Harrisburg, NC21Knightdale, NC: 20.6 %Knightdale, NC20.6Waxhaw, NC: 20.5 %Waxhaw, NC20.5Belmont, NC: 19.2 %Belmont, NC19.2Winterville, NC: 18.3 %Winterville, NC18.3Matthews, NC: 18.2 %Matthews, NC18.2Clemmons, NC: 18 %Clemmons, NC18Garner, NC: 17.9 %Garner, NC17.9Greenville, NC: 17.8 %Greenville, NC17.8Charlotte, NC: 17.3 %Charlotte, NC17.3Stallings, NC: 17.3 %Stallings, NC17.3Fuquay-Varina, NC: 17.2 %Fuquay-Varina, NC17.2Winston-Salem, NC: 16.7 %Winston-Salem, NC16.7Wilmington, NC: 16.4 %Wilmington, NC16.4Greensboro, NC: 16.3 %Greensboro, NC16.3Concord, NC: 16 %Concord, NC16Hendersonville, NC: 15.9 %Hendersonville, NC15.9Wendell, NC: 15.3 %Wendell, NC15.3Lewisville, NC: 15.3 %Lewisville, NC15.3Mint Hill, NC: 14.9 %Mint Hill, NC14.9Chapel Hill, NC: 45.2 %Chapel Hill, NC45.2Carrboro, NC: 43.5 %Carrboro, NC43.5Davidson, NC: 39 %Davidson, NC39Morrisville, NC: 34.6 %Morrisville, NC34.6Cary, NC: 33.7 %Cary, NC33.7Apex, NC: 30.5 %Apex, NC30.5Boone, NC: 30.3 %Boone, NC30.3Elon, NC: 28 %Elon, NC28Pinehurst, NC: 28 %Pinehurst, NC28Durham, NC: 27.2 %Durham, NC27.2Rolesville, NC: 27 %Rolesville, NC27Holly Springs, NC: 26.9 %Holly Springs, NC26.9Weddington, NC: 25.2 %Weddington, NC25.2Summerfield, NC: 24.3 %Summerfield, NC24.3Wake Forest, NC: 23.7 %Wake Forest, NC23.7Southern Pines, NC: 23.5 %Southern Pines, NC23.5Asheville, NC: 22.7 %Asheville, NC22.7Cornelius, NC: 22.1 %Cornelius, NC22.1Huntersville, NC: 21.2 %Huntersville, NC21.2Raleigh, NC: 21.1 %Raleigh, NC21.1Harrisburg, NC: 21 %Harrisburg, NC21Knightdale, NC: 20.6 %Knightdale, NC20.6Waxhaw, NC: 20.5 %Waxhaw, NC20.5Belmont, NC: 19.2 %Belmont, NC19.2Winterville, NC: 18.3 %Winterville, NC18.3Matthews, NC: 18.2 %Matthews, NC18.2Clemmons, NC: 18 %Clemmons, NC18Garner, NC: 17.9 %Garner, NC17.9Greenville, NC: 17.8 %Greenville, NC17.8Charlotte, NC: 17.3 %Charlotte, NC17.3Stallings, NC: 17.3 %Stallings, NC17.3Fuquay-Varina, NC: 17.2 %Fuquay-Varina, NC17.2Winston-Salem, NC: 16.7 %Winston-Salem, NC16.7Wilmington, NC: 16.4 %Wilmington, NC16.4Greensboro, NC: 16.3 %Greensboro, NC16.3Concord, NC: 16 %Concord, NC16Hendersonville, NC: 15.9 %Hendersonville, NC15.9Wendell, NC: 15.3 %Wendell, NC15.3Lewisville, NC: 15.3 %Lewisville, NC15.3Mint Hill, NC: 14.9 %Mint Hill, NC14.9
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2024 (%)Change on 2023
1Chapel Hill, NC45.20 pts
2Carrboro, NC43.5-0 pts
3Davidson, NC39+3.5 pts
4Morrisville, NC34.60 pts
5Cary, NC33.7+0.9 pts
6Apex, NC30.5+2.9 pts
7Boone, NC30.3+1.9 pts
8Elon, NC28+3.9 pts
9Pinehurst, NC28+1.1 pts
10Durham, NC27.2+0.3 pts
11Rolesville, NC27-2.4 pts
12Holly Springs, NC26.9+0.6 pts
13Weddington, NC25.2-1.2 pts
14Summerfield, NC24.3+2.2 pts
15Wake Forest, NC23.7+1.2 pts
16Southern Pines, NC23.5+0.9 pts
17Asheville, NC22.7+1.2 pts
18Cornelius, NC22.1+1.5 pts
19Huntersville, NC21.2+0.9 pts
20Raleigh, NC21.1+0.7 pts
21Harrisburg, NC21+2 pts
22Knightdale, NC20.6+4.7 pts
23Waxhaw, NC20.5+0.7 pts
24Belmont, NC19.2+3 pts
25Winterville, NC18.3+1.2 pts
26Matthews, NC18.2+1.8 pts
27Clemmons, NC18+0.3 pts
28Garner, NC17.9+0.5 pts
29Greenville, NC17.8-0.3 pts
30Charlotte, NC17.3+0.3 pts
31Stallings, NC17.3+0.2 pts
32Fuquay-Varina, NC17.2+1.9 pts
33Winston-Salem, NC16.7+1.1 pts
34Wilmington, NC16.4-0.3 pts
35Greensboro, NC16.3+0.7 pts
36Concord, NC16-0.4 pts
37Hendersonville, NC15.9+1.5 pts
38Wendell, NC15.3+1.1 pts
39Lewisville, NC15.3+3.7 pts
40Mint Hill, NC14.9+1.4 pts
41Mooresville, NC14.7+1.2 pts
42Leland, NC14.3+0.9 pts
43Waynesville, NC13.9+1.4 pts
44Kernersville, NC13.8+0.4 pts
45New Bern, NC13.8-0.8 pts
46Mebane, NC13.7+1.4 pts
47Indian Trail, NC13.50 pts
48Pineville, NC13.5+0.9 pts
49Clayton, NC13.4+1.6 pts
50Aberdeen, NC13.2-0.7 pts
51Hickory, NC13.2+0.3 pts
52High Point, NC12.6+0.3 pts
53Salisbury, NC12.1+1.9 pts
54Mount Holly, NC11.8-0.2 pts
55Morehead City, NC11.1-0.4 pts
56Shelby, NC10.8-0 pts
57Kannapolis, NC10.6+0.8 pts
58Morganton, NC10.4+0.2 pts
59Fayetteville, NC10.3+0.3 pts
60Tarboro, NC10.2+1.3 pts
61Zebulon, NC10+2.7 pts
62Jacksonville, NC9.6+1.6 pts
63Burlington, NC9.5+0.9 pts
64Wilson, NC9.10 pts
65Lincolnton, NC9+3.2 pts
66Smithfield, NC8.9+0.9 pts
67Gastonia, NC8.8+0.1 pts
68Statesville, NC8.7-0.5 pts
69Elizabeth City, NC8.5-1 pts
70Rocky Mount, NC8.2+0.4 pts
71Mount Airy, NC8.1-1.3 pts
72Monroe, NC7.9+1.5 pts
73Laurinburg, NC7.9+0.8 pts
74Lumberton, NC7.8-1.1 pts
75Goldsboro, NC7.7-0.8 pts
76Hope Mills, NC7.5-0.6 pts
77Roanoke Rapids, NC7.3-0 pts
78Sanford, NC7+0.4 pts
79Kinston, NC6.9+0.1 pts
80Archdale, NC6.8-0.3 pts
81Graham, NC6.8+0.3 pts
82Spring Lake, NC6.7+0.8 pts
83Havelock, NC6.6+1.2 pts
84Asheboro, NC6.1-0.6 pts
85Reidsville, NC5.9-0.7 pts
86Lenoir, NC5.5+0.8 pts
87Kings Mountain, NC5.4-0.1 pts
88Newton, NC5.2-0.1 pts
89Albemarle, NC5+1.3 pts
90Thomasville, NC4.7-0 pts
91Henderson, NC4.5+0.4 pts
92Lexington, NC4-0.5 pts
93Eden, NC3.7-0.7 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a 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.

A subset of bachelors_degree_share, which also counts people whose highest degree is a bachelor's.

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 master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-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 master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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 graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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 graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/north-carolina-cities. 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 master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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 graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/north-carolina-cities.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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 graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/north-carolina-cities (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_2024,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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 graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/north-carolina-cities. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-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 master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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 graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/north-carolina-cities
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/north-carolina-cities.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in North Carolina by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"graduate_degree_share","level":"municipality","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
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Questions

Which city has the highest graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over?

Chapel Hill, NC, with 45.2% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over?

Eden, NC, with 3.7% in 2024.

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 master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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.

Graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over: other rankings

Cities in North Carolina: more rankings