Best Editor programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
Plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material.
36 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,536 people a year. The job pays a median of $73,740 in North Carolina across about 1,870 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.
9 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 09.0102In North Carolina → | 776 | 50.5% | 12 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0100In North Carolina → | 331 | 21.5% | 14 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 3 | Creative Writingmain feeder CIP 23.1302In North Carolina → | 151 | 9.8% | 8 | $28,725 | $25,250 |
| 4 | CIP 09.9999In North Carolina → | 148 | 9.6% | 1 | $36,931 | $24,500 |
| 5 | CIP 09.0401In North Carolina → | 72 | 4.7% | 6 | $34,515 | $24,250 |
| 6 | CIP 23.1303In North Carolina → | 39 | 2.5% | 5 | $28,725 | $25,250 |
| 7 | Writing, Generalmain feeder CIP 23.1301In North Carolina → | 13 | 0.8% | 2 | $28,725 | $25,250 |
| 8 | General Literaturemain feeder CIP 23.1401In North Carolina → | 5 | 0.3% | 3 | $23,868 | $26,552 |
| 9 | Literature, Othermain feeder CIP 23.1499In North Carolina → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $23,868 | $26,552 |
Top 25 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 15 of the 36 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 Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 409 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $43,348 | 91% | — | 15% |
| 2 | High Point University High Point, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 248 | Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other | — | 74% | $37,072 | 75% |
| 3 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 149 | Communication, General | $42,055 | 89% | $20,914 | 22% |
| 4 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 121 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $28,985 | 57% | — | 50% |
| 5 | Queens University of Charlotte Charlotte, NC Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 72 | Communication, General | $36,279 | 61% | $24,872 | 62% |
| 6 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 70 | Creative Writing | $24,205 | 71% | — | 64% |
| 7 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 68 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $30,559 | 56% | — | 89% |
| 8 | Winston - Salem State University Winston-Salem, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $24,899 | 47% | — | 78% |
| 9 | North Carolina Central University Durham, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $25,750 | 42% | — | 87% |
| 10 | Elon University Elon, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 37 | Journalism | $34,105 | 84% | $33,688 | 66% |
| 11 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Journalism | $27,116 | 75% | — | 90% |
| 12 | University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $27,682 | 54% | — | 92% |
| 13 | Warren Wilson College Swannanoa, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 29 | Creative Writing | — | 42% | $22,259 | 71% |
| 14 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $26,411 | 44% | — | 93% |
| 15 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 25 | Professional, Technical, Business, and Scientific Writing | — | 63% | — | 89% |
| 16 | Davidson College Davidson, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Communication, General | — | 91% | $16,628 | 13% |
| 17 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Creative Writing | — | 85% | — | 42% |
| 18 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Writing, General | — | 69% | — | 80% |
| 19 | Barton College Wilson, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | — | 46% | $23,133 | 94% |
| 20 | Johnson C Smith University Charlotte, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $26,090 | 34% | $21,563 | 45% |
| 21 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $35,157 | 70% | $19,552 | 74% |
| 22 | Montreat College Montreat, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Communication, General | — | 50% | $25,763 | 69% |
| 23 | Campbell University Buies Creek, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Communication, General | — | 61% | $23,331 | 87% |
| 24 | Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte Charlotte, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Communication, General | $28,062 | 49% | $29,446 | 80% |
| 25 | Shaw University Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | — | 22% | $16,542 | 80% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | Public | 409 | 1 |
| High Point University | High Point | Private not-for-profit | 248 | 3 |
| Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem | Private not-for-profit | 149 | 1 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | Greensboro | Public | 121 | 1 |
| Queens University of Charlotte | Charlotte | Private not-for-profit | 72 | 4 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | Wilmington | Public | 70 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro | Public | 68 | 2 |
| Winston - Salem State University | Winston-Salem | Public | 49 | 1 |
| North Carolina Central University | Durham | Public | 38 | 1 |
| Elon University | Elon | Private not-for-profit | 37 | 3 |
| Appalachian State University | Boone | Public | 33 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina Asheville | Asheville | Public | 32 | 1 |
| Warren Wilson College | Swannanoa | Private not-for-profit | 29 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina at Pembroke | Pembroke | Public | 26 | 1 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville | Public | 25 | 2 |
What editors earn in North Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $77,920. 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 Editors page.
How to become a Editor
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational 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 18 majors mapped to Editors18 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0100Communication, General
- 09.0102Mass Communication/Media Studies
- 09.0401Journalism
- 09.0402Broadcast Journalism
- 09.0908Technical and Scientific Communication
- 09.1001Publishing
- 09.9999Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other
- 23.1301Writing, General
- 23.1302Creative Writing
- 23.1303Professional, Technical, Business, and Scientific Writing
- 23.1304Rhetoric and Composition
- 23.1399Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, Other
- 23.1401General Literature
- 23.1405Children's and Adolescent Literature
- 23.1499Literature, Other
- 52.0501Business/Corporate Communications, General
- 52.0502Grantsmanship
- 52.0599Business/Corporate Communications, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing editors programs in North Carolina.
What degree do you need to become an Editor?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Mass Communication/Media Studies, which awarded 776 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 50.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Editor?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Communication and Media Studies, Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, Communication, Journalism, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 1,536 people a year in North Carolina.
How much do editors earn in North Carolina?+
The median is $73,740 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.4% below the U.S. median of $77,920. 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 editors growing?+
BLS projects a +0.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 9,800 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 9 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 editors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Editor, News Editor, Sports Editor, Newspaper Copy Editor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-3041.
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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