Best Actor programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
Play parts in stage, television, radio, video, or film productions, or other settings for entertainment, information, or instruction.
27 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 339 people a year. The job pays a median of $18.83/hr in North Carolina across about 730 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own North Carolina page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0501In North Carolina → | 293 | 86.4% | 20 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0509In North Carolina → | 21 | 6.2% | 4 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0506In North Carolina → | 16 | 4.7% | 3 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0599In North Carolina → | 9 | 2.7% | 4 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
Top 25 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 27 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $18,154 | 56% | — | 89% |
| 2 | University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $21,229 | 78% | — | 30% |
| 3 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $20,256 | 75% | — | 90% |
| 4 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $18,052 | 69% | — | 80% |
| 5 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $21,295 | 63% | — | 89% |
| 6 | Elon University Elon, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 28 | Musical Theatre | $24,345 | 84% | $33,688 | 66% |
| 7 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $20,450 | 71% | — | 64% |
| 8 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $26,457 | 91% | — | 15% |
| 9 | Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $21,824 | 60% | — | 82% |
| 10 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | $20,996 | 57% | — | 50% |
| 11 | Catawba College Salisbury, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 8 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 47% | $17,916 | 75% |
| 12 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 70% | $19,552 | 74% |
| 13 | Greensboro College Greensboro, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Acting | — | 46% | $19,549 | 70% |
| 14 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 44% | — | 93% |
| 15 | Fayetteville State University Fayetteville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Other | — | 38% | — | 82% |
| 16 | Mars Hill University Mars Hill, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 45% | $20,402 | 68% |
| 17 | Davidson College Davidson, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 91% | $16,628 | 13% |
| 18 | High Point University High Point, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 74% | $37,072 | 75% |
| 19 | North Carolina Wesleyan University Rocky Mount, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 42% | $18,905 | 80% |
| 20 | University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 54% | — | 92% |
| 21 | Brevard College Brevard, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 49% | $21,334 | 42% |
| 22 | Duke University Durham, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 97% | $16,260 | 6% |
| 23 | Lees - McRae College Banner Elk, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Musical Theatre | — | 42% | $23,349 | 77% |
| 24 | Campbell University Buies Creek, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Acting | — | 61% | $23,331 | 87% |
| 25 | Gardner - Webb University Boiling Springs, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Other | — | 55% | $22,863 | 77% |
All 27 schools in North Carolina
Every school in North Carolina with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro | Public | 57 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina School of the Arts | Winston Salem | Public | 36 | 1 |
| Appalachian State University | Boone | Public | 31 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte | Public | 30 | 1 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville | Public | 29 | 1 |
| Elon University | Elon | Private not-for-profit | 28 | 3 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | Wilmington | Public | 26 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Western Carolina University | Cullowhee | Public | 17 | 1 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | Greensboro | Public | 13 | 1 |
| Catawba College | Salisbury | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 2 |
| Meredith College | Raleigh | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Greensboro College | Greensboro | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Pembroke | Pembroke | Public | 5 | 1 |
| Fayetteville State University | Fayetteville | Public | 4 | 1 |
What actors earn in North Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
BLS publishes an hourly wage only for this occupation. The work is intermittent, so no annual figure is estimated.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in North Carolina, by employment
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Actors page.
How to become a Actor
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- Some college, no degree
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in North Carolina
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Actors7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 50.0501Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General
- 50.0506Acting
- 50.0507Directing and Theatrical Production
- 50.0509Musical Theatre
- 50.0511Comedy Writing and Performance
- 50.0512Theatre and Dance
- 50.0599Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing actors programs in North Carolina.
What degree do you need to become an Actor?+
Some college, no degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General, which awarded 293 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 86.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Actor?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. Together they graduate about 339 people a year in North Carolina.
How much do actors earn in North Carolina?+
The median is $18.83 an hour (BLS OEWS May 2025). This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for actors growing?+
BLS projects a +0.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 6,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+
27 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 4 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do actors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Actor, Actress, Comedian, Performer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-2011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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