Best Childcare Worker programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions.
36 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 549 people a year. The job pays a median of $29,140 in North Carolina across about 12,550 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.
1 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 19.0706In North Carolina → | 549 | 100.0% | 36 | $31,642 | $23,092 |
Top 25 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 36 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 85 | Child Development | — | 33% | — | — |
| 2 | Alamance Community College Graham, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Child Development | — | 39% | — | — |
| 3 | Stanly Community College Albemarle, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Child Development | — | 48% | — | — |
| 4 | Rowan - Cabarrus Community College Salisbury, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Child Development | — | 35% | — | — |
| 5 | Davidson - Davie Community College Thomasville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Child Development | $22,448 | 46% | — | — |
| 6 | James Sprunt Community College Kenansville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Child Development | — | 48% | — | — |
| 7 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Child Development | $30,062 | 75% | — | 90% |
| 8 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Child Development | $37,458 | 57% | — | 50% |
| 9 | Blue Ridge Community College Flat Rock, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Child Development | — | 50% | — | — |
| 10 | Randolph Community College Asheboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Child Development | — | 58% | — | — |
| 11 | Asheville - Buncombe Technical Community College Asheville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Child Development | — | 40% | — | — |
| 12 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Child Development | — | 70% | $19,552 | 74% |
| 13 | Haywood Community College Clyde, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Child Development | — | 34% | — | — |
| 14 | Gaston College Dallas, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Child Development | — | 63% | — | — |
| 15 | Cleveland Community College Shelby, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Child Development | — | 32% | — | — |
| 16 | Wayne Community College Goldsboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Child Development | — | 49% | — | — |
| 17 | Piedmont Community College Roxboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Child Development | — | 20% | — | — |
| 18 | Richmond Community College Hamlet, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Child Development | — | 46% | — | — |
| 19 | Durham Technical Community College Durham, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Child Development | — | 45% | — | — |
| 20 | Fayetteville Technical Community College Fayetteville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Child Development | — | 24% | — | — |
| 21 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Child Development | $29,607 | 63% | — | 89% |
| 22 | Lenoir Community College Kinston, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Child Development | — | 36% | — | — |
| 23 | Surry Community College Dobson, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Child Development | — | 6% | — | — |
| 24 | Mitchell Community College Statesville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Child Development | — | 28% | — | — |
| 25 | South Piedmont Community College Polkton, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Child Development | — | 38% | — | — |
All 36 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Technical Community College | Raleigh | Public | 85 | 1 |
| Alamance Community College | Graham | Public | 44 | 1 |
| Stanly Community College | Albemarle | Public | 40 | 1 |
| Rowan - Cabarrus Community College | Salisbury | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Davidson - Davie Community College | Thomasville | Public | 33 | 1 |
| James Sprunt Community College | Kenansville | Public | 32 | 1 |
| Appalachian State University | Boone | Public | 25 | 1 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | Greensboro | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Blue Ridge Community College | Flat Rock | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Randolph Community College | Asheboro | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Asheville - Buncombe Technical Community College | Asheville | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Meredith College | Raleigh | Private not-for-profit | 16 | 1 |
| Haywood Community College | Clyde | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Gaston College | Dallas | Public | 14 | 1 |
| Cleveland Community College | Shelby | Public | 13 | 1 |
What childcare workers earn in North Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $34,980. North Carolina pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in North Carolina
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 Childcare Workers page.
How to become a Childcare Worker
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-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 3 majors mapped to Childcare Workers3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 19.0706Child Development
- 19.0709Child Care Provider/Assistant
- 19.0711Early Childhood and Family Studies
Common questions
Answers for people weighing childcare workers programs in North Carolina.
What degree do you need to become a Childcare Worker?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Child Development, which awarded 549 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Childcare Worker?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Development. Together they graduate about 549 people a year in North Carolina.
How much do childcare workers earn in North Carolina?+
The median is $29,140 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 16.7% below the U.S. median of $34,980. 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 childcare workers growing?+
BLS projects a -2.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 160,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+
36 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 1 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 childcare workers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Nanny, House Manager, Infant Teacher, Toddler Teacher, Family Assistant, Child Care Worker among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 39-9011.
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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