Bachelor's · Durham, North Carolina

Is Social Work at North Carolina Central University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $43,064; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $53,551; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $25,740; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $71k (likely $71k – $98k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $17k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6.7 years (likely 4.9–10.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$88k (likely −$180k – −$12k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $126k (likely −$26k – $300k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 47%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in: ≤ 20% / ≤ 20%; NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20