North Carolina·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1212

Best Information Security Analyst programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment

Plan, implement, upgrade, or monitor security measures for the protection of computer networks and information. Assess system vulnerabilities for security risks and propose and implement risk mitigation strategies.

89 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 12,384 people a year. The job pays a median of $131,540 in North Carolina across about 8,670 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledNetwork Security AnalystInformation Security OfficerInformation Systems Security Officer (ISSO)Information Technology Security Analyst (IT Security Analyst)CryptologistThreat HunterCyber OperatorRed Team Member
Graduates / yr
12,384
in North Carolina
Median pay · North Carolina
$131,540
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
8,670
people employed
Schools
89
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
48%
across those schools
Median net price
$22,863
per year, IPEDS

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.

8 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.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
16,176
49.9%
69$57,986$24,286
23,741
30.2%
24$70,374$23,250
31,642
13.3%
4$43,901$22,822
4627
5.1%
16$48,185$25,250
5104
0.8%
2$48,185$25,250
660
0.5%
5$40,889$25,000
726
0.2%
1$48,185$25,250
88
0.1%
1$48,185$25,250

Top 25 schools in North Carolina

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 29 of the 89 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1MyComputerCareer at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC Private for-profit · 4 feeder programs
1,963Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications$38,02860%$26,791
2University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC Public · 3 feeder programs
1,507Computer Science$67,70469%80%
3Wake Technical Community College
Raleigh, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
1,430Information Technology$55,26433%
4North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC Public · 2 feeder programs
899Computer Science$85,80985%42%
5Fayetteville Technical Community College
Fayetteville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
468Information Technology$32,15424%
6University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
420Computer Science$90,29391%15%
7Central Piedmont Community College
Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
377Information Technology$40,85431%
8Rowan - Cabarrus Community College
Salisbury, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
337Information Technology$34,85335%
9Forsyth Technical Community College
Winston-Salem, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
327Information Technology$38,83734%
10University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC Public · 4 feeder programs
319Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications$48,07756%89%
11Duke University
Durham, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
314Computer Science$133,35697%$16,2606%
12Davidson - Davie Community College
Thomasville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
254Information Technology$36,16846%
13North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, NC Public · 4 feeder programs
243Computer Science$81,17457%50%
14Wayne Community College
Goldsboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
235Information Technology49%
15Asheville - Buncombe Technical Community College
Asheville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
222Information Technology$41,02740%
16East Carolina University
Greenville, NC Public · 4 feeder programs
182Computer Science$65,95863%89%
17University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC Public · 3 feeder programs
165Computer Science$66,97771%64%
18Guilford Technical Community College
Jamestown, NC Public · 2 feeder programs
163Information Technology$36,22731%
19Appalachian State University
Boone, NC Public · 2 feeder programs
147Computer Science$68,67575%90%
20Johnston Community College
Smithfield, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
137Information Technology37%
21Pitt Community College
Winterville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
105Information Technology35%
22Cape Fear Community College
Wilmington, NC Public · 2 feeder programs
95Information Technology34%
23Coastal Carolina Community College
Jacksonville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
94Information Technology49%
24Cleveland Community College
Shelby, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
86Information Technology32%
25Strayer University - North Carolina
Greensboro, NC Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
75Information Technology$67,31533%

All 89 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.

All schools in North Carolina that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
MyComputerCareer at RaleighRaleighPrivate for-profit1,9634
University of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlottePublic1,5073
Wake Technical Community CollegeRaleighPublic1,4301
North Carolina State University at RaleighRaleighPublic8992
Fayetteville Technical Community CollegeFayettevillePublic4681
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillPublic4201
Central Piedmont Community CollegeCharlottePublic3771
Rowan - Cabarrus Community CollegeSalisburyPublic3371
Forsyth Technical Community CollegeWinston-SalemPublic3271
University of North Carolina at GreensboroGreensboroPublic3194
Duke UniversityDurhamPrivate not-for-profit3141
Davidson - Davie Community CollegeThomasvillePublic2541
North Carolina A & T State UniversityGreensboroPublic2434
Wayne Community CollegeGoldsboroPublic2351
Asheville - Buncombe Technical Community CollegeAshevillePublic2221

What information security analysts earn in North Carolina

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in North Carolina
$131,540
Mean annual
$130,990
Jobs in state
8,670
What the range looks like
10th pct$77,150Median$131,54090th pct$173,670
Versus the national median
+1.8%

U.S. median $129,180. North Carolina pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.43×

Concentrated here: North Carolina employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in North Carolina

Asheville, NC
$149,350median
200 jobs
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
$131,440median
2,640 jobs
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
$129,670median
860 jobs
Raleigh-Cary, NC
$143,640median
2,510 jobs
Winston-Salem, NC
$129,980median
280 jobs
Wilmington, NC
$145,170median
230 jobs
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
$115,250median
40 jobs
Greensboro-High Point, NC
$103,960median
240 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+28.5%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
16,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
52,100
182,800 → 234,900
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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 Information Security Analysts page.

How to become a Information Security Analyst

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

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingActive ListeningSpeakingWritingMonitoring

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 9 majors mapped to Information Security Analysts9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0103Information Technology
  • 11.0701Computer Science
  • 11.0901Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
  • 11.1001Network and System Administration/Administrator
  • 11.1002System, Networking, and LAN/WAN Management/Manager
  • 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance
  • 11.1005Information Technology Project Management
  • 43.0403Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism
  • 51.0723Healthcare Information Privacy Assurance and Security

Common questions

Answers for people weighing information security analysts programs in North Carolina.

What degree do you need to become an Information Security Analyst?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Information Technology, which awarded 6,176 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 49.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Information Security Analyst?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Science, Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 12,384 people a year in North Carolina.

How much do information security analysts earn in North Carolina?+

The median is $131,540 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.8% above the U.S. median of $129,180. 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 information security analysts growing?+

BLS projects a +28.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 16,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+

89 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 8 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 information security analysts work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Network Security Analyst, Information Security Officer, Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO), Information Technology Security Analyst (IT Security Analyst) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1212.

Information Security Analysts in other statesCaliforniaIllinoisNew YorkUtahTexasFloridaArizonaMaryland

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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