Nursing graduates from North Carolina public universities are finding quick entry into the workforce and strong earnings after completing their degrees, according to recent data from NC TOWER. The analysis tracked the career paths of the 2019 cohort of nursing graduates, highlighting their employment outcomes and wage growth over five years.
The majority of these graduates moved directly into employment rather than pursuing further education. Only 3% of nursing majors from the 2019 class went on to graduate-level training for advanced practice or specialized clinical roles.
Most new nurses began working soon after graduation, with about 91% employed within a year. Of those employed, 96% found jobs in the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, reflecting the job-ready nature of nursing degrees designed for clinical settings such as hospitals and long-term care facilities. Initial wages for these positions averaged over $55,000, placing nursing among the highest-earning bachelor’s degree fields in North Carolina.
These positive trends continued in subsequent years. Three years after graduation, approximately 90% of employed nursing graduates remained in healthcare roles, with average earnings increasing to more than $63,000. After five years, nearly 88% were still in the sector and earning almost $73,000 on average.
Some graduates also transitioned into other industries as they gained experience. By year three post-graduation, 18% worked in Professional & Business Services—a figure that adjusted to 14% by year five—taking on roles such as healthcare administration or medical consulting that build on their clinical backgrounds.
The data come amid a nationwide shortage of nurses and suggest that North Carolina’s nursing graduates are both meeting essential workforce needs and establishing stable careers.
“More data and insights are available on NC TOWER. The dataset underlying this story can be downloaded here.”
