Public · University
University of North Carolina Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina · Small city
- 91.9%
- Admit rate
- $12,250
- Avg net price
- 54%
- Graduation rate
- $44,030
- Median earnings
University of North Carolina Asheville is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Asheville, North Carolina (small city setting), enrolling 2,910 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against University of North Carolina Asheville's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 91.9%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1170–1360
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.51
Enter a test score to see where you land against University of North Carolina Asheville's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and University of North Carolina Asheville's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Before the arrival of the European Colonists, the land where Asheville now exists lay within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation, which had homelands in modern western North and South Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, and northeastern Georgia. Live music is a significant element in the tourism-based economy of Asheville and the surrounding area. Seasonal festivals and numerous nightclubs and performance venues offer opportunities for visitors and locals to attend a wide variety of live entertainment events. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 2 miles to Asheville, NC
- To the ocean
- 234 miles
- Nearest airport
- 13 miles to Asheville (AVL)
How University of North Carolina Asheville compares
More selective than 20% · #48 most selective of 53 in North Carolina
Higher than 71%
Higher than 49% · #22 of 56 in North Carolina
Higher than 37%
Higher than 21% · #36 of 57 in North Carolina
Cheaper than 84% · #7 cheapest of 57 in North Carolina
Lower than 72%
Lower than 50%
Larger than 68%
Percentiles compare University of North Carolina Asheville with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in North Carolina.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate2,91099%
- Graduate241%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women1,78261%
- Men1,12839%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White73%
- Black6.0%
- Hispanic10%
- Asian2.0%
- Other or multiracial8.9%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 2,910
- Graduate enrollment
- 24
- Student–faculty ratio
- 13 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 32%
- First-generation students
- 22%
- Students over 25
- 16%
- Median family income
- $44,221
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $82,395
- Endowment
- $75,642,604
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 630 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From North Carolina81%
- Other U.S. states18%
- International0.5%
Most first-years stay in state — University of North Carolina Asheville draws overwhelmingly from North Carolina.
1% came from outside the U.S. 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.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 91.9%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1170–1360
- SAT average
- 1251
- SAT reading
- 600–700
- SAT math
- 570–660
- ACT composite
- 23–29
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.51
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $7,501
- Out-of-state tuition
- $24,849
- Room & board
- $13,992
- Books & supplies
- $1,200
- Total cost of attendance
- $21,685
- Average net price
- $12,250
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 54%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 43%
- First-year retention
- 72%
- Transferred to another college
- 34%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $36,947
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $44,030
- Median debt at graduation
- $20,500
- Students with federal loans
- 39%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 55%
About 11% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 1,563
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 54%
- Housing charge (year)
- $6,130
- Meal plan (year)
- $4,888
- Application fee
- $75
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I without football
- Varsity athletes
- 405 (195 men · 210 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (8)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- C
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 3.3 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 21
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 9
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (3,056 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
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.
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.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$11,570/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
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.
Modest institutional aid: 90% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $4,617. 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 503 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)
- $44,030
- Typical debt at graduation
- $20,500
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 47%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 51%
Typical debt would take roughly 4.7 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
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.
Men out-earn women by $4,651 (11%) 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
- 29°F
- Annual rain
- 40.6″
- Annual snow
- 11.5″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Asheville, NC US station (1.6 mi from campus).
What University of North Carolina Asheville graduates study — and earn
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 University of North Carolina Asheville
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare University of North Carolina Asheville side by side →
Western Colorado University
Gunnison, Colorado · Remote town · 115 mi to Colorado Springs
- Students
- 1,586
- Admission
- 100%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1230
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $47k
The University of Montana
Missoula, Montana · Small city · 1 mi to Missoula
- Students
- 7,488
- Admission
- 96%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- 1190
- GPA
- 3.4
- Earnings
- $45k
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana · Midsize city · 1 mi to Lafayette
- Students
- 12,428
- Admission
- 87%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- 1219
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $47k
Framingham State University
Framingham, Massachusetts · Small city · 19 mi to Worcester
- Students
- 2,566
- Admission
- 84%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1180
- GPA
- 3.4
- Earnings
- $52k
Dakota State University
Madison, South Dakota · Distant town · 37 mi to Sioux Falls
- Students
- 2,071
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $21k
- SAT
- 1215
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $51k
University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio · Large city · 4 mi to Toledo
- Students
- 9,770
- Admission
- 92%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- 1235
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $51k
Colleges near University of North Carolina Asheville
Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts
Asheville, NC · Private for-profit · Graduate
Center for Massage
Asheville, NC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 51 students
Carolina College of Hair Design Inc
Asheville, NC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 46 students
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Asheville, NC · Public · Certificate · 5,110 students
Warren Wilson College
Swannanoa, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 707 students
Galen Health Institutes-Asheville
Asheville, NC · Private for-profit · Associate · 253 students
Mars Hill University
Mars Hill, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,044 students
Montreat College
Montreat, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 762 students
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.












