Best Musician programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
Play one or more musical instruments or sing.
40 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 443 people a year. The job pays a median of $57.96/hr in North Carolina across about 750 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.
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.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Music Performance, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0903In North Carolina → | 224 | 50.6% | 15 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 2 | Music, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0901In North Carolina → | 172 | 38.8% | 30 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0509In North Carolina → | 21 | 4.7% | 4 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 4 | Jazz/Jazz Studiesmain feeder CIP 50.0910In North Carolina → | 12 | 2.7% | 2 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 5 | Music, Othermain feeder CIP 50.0999In North Carolina → | 6 | 1.4% | 3 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 6 | Voice and Operamain feeder CIP 50.0908In North Carolina → | 4 | 0.9% | 4 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 7 | Music Pedagogymain feeder CIP 50.0912In North Carolina → | 3 | 0.7% | 2 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 8 | Keyboard Instrumentsmain feeder CIP 50.0907In North Carolina → | 1 | 0.2% | 1 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
Top 25 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 40 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 · 3 feeder programs | 93 | Music Performance, General | $15,670 | 56% | — | 89% |
| 2 | University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 53 | Music Performance, General | — | 78% | — | 30% |
| 3 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 41 | Music, General | — | 63% | — | 89% |
| 4 | Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 34 | Music Performance, General | $26,135 | 60% | — | 82% |
| 5 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Music Performance, General | $23,304 | 75% | — | 90% |
| 6 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 22 | Music Performance, General | $38,831 | 69% | — | 80% |
| 7 | Elon University Elon, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 20 | Musical Theatre | $24,345 | 84% | $33,688 | 66% |
| 8 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 17 | Music Performance, General | $32,880 | 91% | — | 15% |
| 9 | University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 14 | Jazz/Jazz Studies | — | 54% | — | 92% |
| 10 | Duke University Durham, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Music, General | — | 97% | $16,260 | 6% |
| 11 | North Carolina Central University Durham, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Music, General | — | 42% | — | 87% |
| 12 | Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Music, General | — | 44% | — | 64% |
| 13 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 9 | Music Performance, General | — | 70% | $19,552 | 74% |
| 14 | Catawba College Salisbury, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 8 | Music, General | $23,577 | 47% | $17,916 | 75% |
| 15 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Music, General | — | 44% | — | 93% |
| 16 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Music, General | — | 57% | — | 50% |
| 17 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Music, General | — | 71% | — | 64% |
| 18 | Wingate University Wingate, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Music, General | — | 46% | $21,585 | 91% |
| 19 | Campbell University Buies Creek, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 5 | Music, General | — | 61% | $23,331 | 87% |
| 20 | Winston - Salem State University Winston-Salem, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Music, General | — | 47% | — | 78% |
| 21 | Davidson College Davidson, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Music, General | — | 91% | $16,628 | 13% |
| 22 | Salem College Winston-Salem, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 4 | Music, Other | — | 57% | $19,415 | 77% |
| 23 | Warren Wilson College Swannanoa, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Music, General | — | 42% | $22,259 | 71% |
| 24 | Chowan University Murfreesboro, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Music, General | — | 30% | $17,195 | 69% |
| 25 | Guilford College Greensboro, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Music, General | — | 46% | $25,345 | 80% |
All 40 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 | 93 | 3 |
| University of North Carolina School of the Arts | Winston Salem | Public | 53 | 2 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville | Public | 41 | 2 |
| Western Carolina University | Cullowhee | Public | 34 | 2 |
| Appalachian State University | Boone | Public | 22 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte | Public | 22 | 2 |
| Elon University | Elon | Private not-for-profit | 20 | 3 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | Public | 17 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina Asheville | Asheville | Public | 14 | 2 |
| Duke University | Durham | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| North Carolina Central University | Durham | Public | 10 | 2 |
| Elizabeth City State University | Elizabeth City | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Meredith College | Raleigh | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 3 |
| Catawba College | Salisbury | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina at Pembroke | Pembroke | Public | 8 | 1 |
What musicians and singers 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 Musicians and Singers page.
How to become a Musician
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
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 12 majors mapped to Musicians and Singers12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 50.0509Musical Theatre
- 50.0901Music, General
- 50.0903Music Performance, General
- 50.0907Keyboard Instruments
- 50.0908Voice and Opera
- 50.0910Jazz/Jazz Studies
- 50.0911Stringed Instruments
- 50.0912Music Pedagogy
- 50.0914Brass Instruments
- 50.0915Woodwind Instruments
- 50.0916Percussion Instruments
- 50.0999Music, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing musicians and singers programs in North Carolina.
What degree do you need to become a Musician?+
No formal educational credential is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Music Performance, General, which awarded 224 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 50.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Musician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Music, Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. Together they graduate about 443 people a year in North Carolina.
How much do musicians and singers earn in North Carolina?+
The median is $57.96 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 musicians and singers growing?+
BLS projects a +1.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 19,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+
40 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 musicians and singers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Singer, Musician, Violinist, Choir Member among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-2042.
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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