Public · Community college

Carteret Community College

Morehead City, North Carolina · Distant town

14%
Transfer rate: $10,764
Avg net price: 49%
Grad / completion: $33,357
Median earnings

Carteret Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Morehead City, North Carolina (distant town setting), enrolling 1,172 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,172 undergradsDistant townNear the coast

About Morehead City, North Carolina

Morehead City is a port city in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. By the early 1850s, a group of investors had been formed and incorporated a land development project known as the "Shepard Point Land Company," which purchased 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land on the eastern tip of the peninsula bordering the Newport River, known then as "Shepards Point," which is the present location of Morehead City. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Distant town
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 76 miles to Wilmington, NC
To the ocean: < 1 mile
Nearest airport: 29 miles to Coastal Carolina (EWN)

How Carteret Community College compares

Graduation rate49%

Higher than 36% · #39 of 90 in North Carolina

First-year retention62%

Higher than 26%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$33,357

Higher than 44% · #43 of 84 in North Carolina

Average net price$10,764

Cheaper than 67% · #55 cheapest of 90 in North Carolina

Student–faculty ratio10 : 1

Lower than 82%

Undergraduate enrollment1,172

Larger than 75%

Percentiles compare Carteret Community College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in North Carolina.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women78067%
Men39233%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White74%
Black6.8%
Hispanic10%
Asian1.3%
Other or multiracial7.1%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,172
Student–faculty ratio: 10 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 37%
First-generation students: 48%
Students over 25: 28%
Median family income: $17,302
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $54,801
Endowment: $3,871,491

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 307 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From North Carolina98%
Other U.S. states1.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Carteret Community College draws overwhelmingly from North Carolina.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition: $2,310
Out-of-state tuition: $8,222
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,400
Total cost of attendance: $19,621
Average net price: $10,764

Outcomes

Graduated: 49%
First-year retention: 62%
Transferred to another college: 14%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $31,047
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $33,357
Median debt at graduation: —
Students with federal loans: 0%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 27%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

49%

First-generation

24%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$10,411

$30–48k

$9,212

$48–75k

$10,321

$75–110k

$15,701

$110k+

—

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

19%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,413

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 19% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,413. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 173 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $33,357
Typical debt at graduation: —
Debt vs. one year's pay: —
Out-earn a HS grad: 31%

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$30,697

Men

$37,803

Men out-earn women by $7,106 (23%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 86°F
Winter low: 36°F
Annual rain: 61.2″
Annual snow: 0.5″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Morehead City 2 Wnw, NC US station (1.3 mi from campus).

What Carteret Community College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

123 grads$31k 1 yr$42k 5 yr$6k debt

123$31,113$42,115$5,566 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsCert.

38 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

38———Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

36 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

36———Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming ServicesCert.

35 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

35———Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

32 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

32———Culinary Arts and Related ServicesCert.

29 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

29———Criminal Justice and CorrectionsCert.

28 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

28———Audiovisual Communications Technologies/TechniciansCert.

27 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

27———Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralCert.

25 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

25———Precision Metal WorkingCert.

24 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

24———Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssoc.

24 grads$53k 1 yr$57k 5 yr— debt

24$53,425$56,721—Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business ServicesCert.

20 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

20———

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Carteret Community College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Carteret Community College side by side →

Isothermal Community College

Public

Spindale, North Carolina · Distant town · 40 mi to Asheville

Students: 1,169
Tuition: $2k
Transfer: 30%
Earnings: $33k

Bladen Community College

Public

Dublin, North Carolina · Distant rural · 53 mi to Wilmington

Students: 1,030
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 23%
Earnings: $31k

Montgomery Community College

Public

Troy, North Carolina · Distant rural · 49 mi to Greensboro

Students: 852
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $33k

Brunswick Community College

Public

Bolivia, North Carolina · Distant rural · 21 mi to Wilmington

Students: 1,211
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 14%
Earnings: $37k

Halifax Community College

Public

Weldon, North Carolina · Fringe rural · 72 mi to Raleigh

Students: 723
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $32k

Southeastern Community College

Public

Whiteville, North Carolina · Distant rural · 45 mi to Myrtle Beach

Students: 820
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 26%
Earnings: $30k

Colleges near Carteret Community College

Pamlico Community College

Grantsboro, NC · Public · Certificate · 165 students

24 mi

Craven Community College

New Bern, NC · Public · Associate · 1,989 students

33 mi

Coastal Carolina Community College

Jacksonville, NC · Public · Associate · 2,724 students

36 mi

Miller-Motte College-Jacksonville

Jacksonville, NC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 195 students

39 mi

Beaufort County Community College

Washington, NC · Public · Certificate · 1,074 students

57 mi

Lenoir Community College

Kinston, NC · Public · Certificate · 1,469 students

58 mi

Pitt Community College

Winterville, NC · Public · Certificate · 5,317 students

68 mi

Alexander Paul Institute of Hair Design

Greenville, NC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 55 students

70 mi

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.