CNA classes in Charlotte, North Carolina
The Charlotte metro has 30 state-approved CNA programs, from $205 to $1,600, taking about 4 to 5 weeks. Once you’re certified, you can start earning a median of $18.96/hr at one of the Charlotte-area employers mapped on this page: hospitals, nursing homes, home-health agencies, hospices, and assisted-living communities.
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- North Carolina-approved programs only
- Data verified July 5 2026
CNA programs in the Charlotte area
Central Piedmont Community College runs the Nurse Aide program at two campuses you can pick between: Central Campus in uptown Charlotte and Levine Campus in Matthews. If you already hold a Nurse Aide I listing, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College adds a Nurse Aide II track that feeds the Concord and Kannapolis hospitals, and Gaston College handles training on the Gastonia side of the metro. All 30 programs below are state-approved, spanning Charlotte plus nearby Kannapolis, Matthews, Mooresville and Gastonia. 19 of them publish tuition, from $205 to $1,600: the least expensive is Rowan-Cabarrus Community College at $205, the highest Carolinas College of Health Sciences at $1,600. The other 11 list cost by request. Every published price is tuition, so budget for the exam (about $140), a background check, and scrubs unless they’re bundled. If price decides it, start from the cheapest and check start dates; if you need evenings or weekends, 0 programs run evening classes and 0 offer weekends.
| Program | City | Format | Length | Total Cost | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blooming Heart School of Health | Charlotte | In-person | 4 wk | $850 | ||
| Carolinas College of Health Sciences | Charlotte | Hybrid | Contact school | $1,600 | ||
| Central Piedmont Community College – Central | Charlotte | In-person | Contact school | $1,182 | ||
| Central Piedmont Community College – Levine | Matthews | In-person | Contact school | $1,182 | ||
| Chosen Healthcare Institute, Inc. | Charlotte | Hybrid | 4 wk | $850 | ||
| EHC Health Career Institute | Matthews | Hybrid | 5 wk | $725 | ||
| Gaston College – Kimbrell Campus | Belmont | In-person | Contact school | $230 | ||
| GraceMed Academy | Mooresville | Hybrid | Contact school | $775 | ||
| Mitchell Community College – Mooresville | Mooresville | In-person | Contact school | $224 | ||
| Nursing Careers Institute Inc. | Matthews | Hybrid | 4 wk | $699 | ||
| Rowan-Cabarrus Community College – College | Kannapolis | In-person | Contact school | $205 | ||
| Rowan-Cabarrus Community College – NC | Kannapolis | In-person | Contact school | $205 | ||
| Rowan-Cabarrus Community College – South | Concord | In-person | Contact school | $205 | ||
| Serenity Nurse Aide Academy | Charlotte | In-person | 5 wk | $1,090 | ||
| South Piedmont Community College – OCH | Monroe | In-person | Contact school | $512 | ||
| Southern College of Health Sciences | Kannapolis | In-person | Contact school | $925 | ||
| Umanah Healthcare Institute – Charlotte | Charlotte | In-person | Contact school | $500 | ||
| Umanah Healthcare Institute – Gastonia | Gastonia | In-person | 4 wk | $750 | ||
| Unity Nursing Institute | Charlotte | Hybrid | 4 wk | $850 | ||
| American Academy of Healthcare, LLC | Charlotte | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Caregivers Institute Inc. | Charlotte | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| CAREGroup Academy | Charlotte | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Divine Health Academy | Charlotte | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Health Care Institute of Charlotte, II | Charlotte | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| HealthCare Professional Education Institute | Kannapolis | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| N C Nursing Academy | Gastonia | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Nurse Aide Institute of Excellence | Charlotte | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Queen City Health Care Academy | Charlotte | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Rudledge Education System/Raleigh | Charlotte | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Victory Health Career Center | Charlotte | N/A | Contact school | Contact school |
Cheapest CNA classes in Charlotte
The cheapest CNA class in the Charlotte area is Rowan-Cabarrus Community College at $205, followed by Mitchell Community College at $224 and Gaston College at $230. The catch with those seats is what the price includes: at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and the options near it, that rate is usually tuition only, so confirm whether the state exam, background check, and scrubs are extra before you choose on price alone.
| Program | City | Length | Total Cost | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowan-Cabarrus Community College – College | Kannapolis | Contact school | $205 | ||
| Mitchell Community College – Mooresville | Mooresville | Contact school | $224 | ||
| Gaston College – Kimbrell Campus | Belmont | Contact school | $230 | ||
| Umanah Healthcare Institute – Charlotte | Charlotte | Contact school | $500 | ||
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| South Piedmont Community College – OCH | Monroe | Contact school | $512 | ||
| Nursing Careers Institute Inc. | Matthews | 4 wk | $699 | ||
| EHC Health Career Institute | Matthews | 5 wk | $725 | ||
| GraceMed Academy | Mooresville | Contact school | $775 | ||
Is the cheapest class the best value?
Not always. The $205 sticker is really about $345 once you add the roughly $140 exam, plus a background check and scrubs, and the cheapest programs rarely bundle any of that. And a faster program like Blooming Heart School of Health (4 weeks, $850) that costs more but finishes in weeks rather than months can be the better deal if getting to work quickly matters more than saving on tuition.
Ways to pay
Get reimbursed after you’re hired. You may qualify for pro-rata reimbursement of eligible training costs if a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing home hires you within 12 months of paying for your own training (federal rule 42 CFR 483.152). Ask the facility how it handles reimbursement.
Local help paying for class. The NCWorks Career Centers serving Mecklenburg County can help cover training costs through WIOA if you qualify; ask whether your chosen program is on the WIOA-eligible training list before you enroll.
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Where CNAs work in Charlotte
Charlotte’s CNA hiring is led by Atrium Health, whose flagship Carolinas Medical Center runs the uptown core. Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center covers the east side, and Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center serves north Mecklenburg. Atrium Health Cabarrus covers the Concord-Kannapolis corridor, and CaroMont Regional Medical Center anchors Gastonia. White Oak of Charlotte is one of the large skilled-nursing employers hiring alongside the hospitals. The 50 Charlotte-area employers below span 10 hospitals and health systems, 10 skilled nursing and rehab centers, 11 home-health agencies, 8 hospice providers, 11 assisted-living communities. Hospitals cluster in Charlotte itself, while the list also reaches Gastonia, Monroe and Huntersville. Each listing links to that employer’s careers page.
Hospitals (10)
Nursing homes & skilled nursing (10)
Home health agencies (11)
Hospice care (8)
Assisted living (11)
These employers hire CNAs across the Charlotte metro. Get matched to a program near where you want to work.
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What CNAs earn in Charlotte
Depending on your setting and experience, expect somewhere between $16.22 and $23.58 an hour (the 10th to 90th percentile across the Charlotte metro).
At $18.96/hr, Charlotte pays a little above the North Carolina statewide median of $18.49.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia NC-SC metro area (OEWS area 16740)
What moves you up the range
Your pay depends more on setting, shift, and experience than on the city itself. The 50 Charlotte-area employers below span hospitals, skilled nursing, home health, and hospice (Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center and Atrium Health Pineville), and each sets its own rates and schedules, so compare a few listings on this page against the median above before you take the first offer.
Where you’ll take the CNA exam near Charlotte
North Carolina’s nurse aide competency exam is run by Credentia. Finish a state-approved program first, then register and schedule the written and skills test through Credentia’s CNA365 platform. The exam runs about $140. You get 24 months and up to 3 attempts after finishing training. Passing lists you on the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry.
Charlotte-area test sites
You’ll most likely test at one of these approved test sites, which regularly host nurse aide competency testing (sites verified July 5, 2026). North Carolina’s live test-site list and open dates live inside Credentia’s CNA365 system; confirm the current site and seats there.
Charlotte CNA questions
How we verify this page
We build this page from the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry and approved-training guide (which programs are state-approved), each program’s own published materials (cost, hours, and schedule), Credentia (the state exam), and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (pay). Tuition and fees change and aren’t guaranteed here, so confirm the current cost directly with the school before you enroll.
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