Raleigh, NC (population: 421,938) has two childhood education schools within its city limits. Meredith College, the highest ranked school in the city with a childhood education program, has a total student population of 2,262. It is the 2353rd highest ranked school in the USA and the 48th highest in the state of North Carolina (#1 is Duke University). To learn more about childhood education programs in Raleigh, ratemyprofessors.com has reviews of childhood education professors at Meredith College such as Jane Gleason, Ellen Graden, Sharon Hill, Linda Hubbard, Mary Ann Johnson, and Monica McKinney.
Childhood Education students from Raleigh schools who go on to become childhood educators, preschool teachers, kindergarten teachers, special education teachers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 181,810 people working as kindergarten teachers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $50,380. Also, Preschool teachers make on average $27,450 per year and there are about 389,660 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Raleigh-Cary area alone, there are 3,500 employed preschool teachers earning an average salary of $23,110. Kindergarten teachers in this area earn $42,210/yr and there are 870 employed.
Raleigh lies in Wake county, which is one of the 64 counties in North Carolina. Overall, the Raleigh-Cary area has 499,330 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.6% unemployment rate, $20.85/hr average worker wage, and a $43,370 average annual salary. Thus, about 1.750 out of every 1000 jobs in Raleigh are held by kindergarten teachers, and 7.018/1000 are held by preschool teachers.
Of the 2 childhood education schools in Raleigh, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Meredith College comes out as the most expensive ($21,466/yr) for childhood education students, with Wake Technical Community College as the lowest, reported at only $12,759/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Raleigh |
| Cary | NC | 145,939 | 1 | 22.8054 | 14 | 8.3 miles |
| Durham | NC | 235,337 | 9 | 27.0185 | 371 | 17.9 miles |
| Chapel Hill | NC | 53,800 | 1 | 88.0971 | 148 | 22.6 miles |
| Wilson | NC | 49,786 | 3 | 25.177 | 101 | 42.0 miles |
| Burlington | NC | 53,389 | 3 | 40.9051 | 223 | 47.8 miles |
| Rocky Mount | NC | 57,428 | 2 | 10.9274 | 84 | 48.6 miles |
| Fayetteville | NC | 177,632 | 7 | 29.3341 | 376 | 53.6 miles |
| Tarboro | NC | - | 1 | 20.0774 | 40 | 63.2 miles |
| Greensboro | NC | 259,523 | 7 | 44.9987 | 387 | 67.9 miles |
| Weldon | NC | - | 1 | 13.6824 | 51 | 72.8 miles |
| Greenville | NC | 85,963 | 10 | 31.6955 | 630 | 74.0 miles |
| Wentworth | NC | - | 1 | 11.7821 | 42 | 74.1 miles |
| High Point | NC | 105,064 | 3 | 31.8326 | 88 | 75.9 miles |
| Alberta | VA | - | 1 | 15.5248 | 32 | 84.2 miles |
| Pembroke | NC | - | 1 | 53.5737 | 73 | 84.4 miles |
| Laurinburg | NC | - | 1 | 18.8047 | 40 | 85.4 miles |
| Martinsville | VA | - | 1 | 12.8903 | 37 | 90.6 miles |
| Winston Salem | NC | - | 7 | 32.3218 | 230 | 90.8 miles |
| Misenheimer | NC | - | 1 | 21.9215 | 70 | 94.4 miles |