CNA classes in Charlotte, North Carolina
The Charlotte area has 30 state-approved CNA programs, from $205 at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College – College, against the 75-hour federal minimum, so your real decision is location and schedule. CNAs here earn a median $18.96/hr. GraceMed Academy spreads its tuition over four payments across the course.
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- North Carolina-approved programs only
- Data verified July 5 2026
CNA programs in the Charlotte area
If you cannot get to a weekday class, most of these have a way around it. Umanah Healthcare Institute – Gastonia runs the same course three ways: weekdays over four weeks, evenings over four, or Saturdays over eight. GraceMed Academy does five weeks of mornings, five of evenings or eight of weekends. American Academy of Healthcare, LLC packs its weekend track into seven Saturdays and Sundays.
| 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 | Hybrid | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Caregivers Institute INC. | Charlotte | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| CAREGroup Academy | Charlotte | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Divine Health Academy | Charlotte | In-person | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Health Care Institute of Charlotte, II | Charlotte | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| HealthCare Professional Education Institute | Kannapolis | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| N C Nursing Academy | Gastonia | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Nurse Aide Institute of Excellence | Charlotte | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Queen City Health Care Academy | Charlotte | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Rudledge Education System/Raleigh | Charlotte | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Victory Health Career Center | Charlotte | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school |
Cheapest CNA classes in Charlotte
You can start at $205, but that price is in Kannapolis rather than Charlotte itself. That is Rowan-Cabarrus Community College – College, and the drug screen and background check are billed on top of that tuition, not inside it. Inside Charlotte the cheapest is Umanah Healthcare Institute – Charlotte at $500.
| 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?
Southern College of Health Sciences charges $750 in tuition, then $50 to register, $45 for the background check, $50 for the drug screen and $55 for books. Nursing Careers Institute Inc. asks $699 and puts the uniform, blood pressure kit, stethoscope, background check and drug test inside it. Compare the totals each school will actually bill you, not the two tuition lines.
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.
Ask about a payment plan before you rule a school out on price. Umanah Healthcare Institute – Gastonia takes $300 on the first day and the balance by the second week, and GraceMed Academy splits its tuition into a first payment and three weekly ones. Central Piedmont Community College runs a scholarship attached to its Accelerated Career Training nurse aide course.
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Where CNAs work in Charlotte
Atrium, Novant and CaroMont all hire here, across three different corridors, and none of them is only a hospital. Between them they run skilled nursing, home health and hospice sites too, which is where most people find a first CNA job. Your commute is worth checking before your employer is: the three corridors do not overlap much.
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
Three things, in the order they usually pay off: shift, setting, and time on the job. Nights, weekends and holidays carry a differential almost everywhere, and picking up those shifts is the fastest raise available to a new aide. Hospitals and hospital-run skilled nursing generally start higher than freestanding nursing homes or agency home care, though the home-care schedule can be worth more than the hourly gap. Experience moves you less than either in the first year. Compare a few of the 50 Charlotte-area listings below 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
North Carolina’s approved test sites are public, so you can choose one before you enroll. The sites below are the closest to Charlotte. Ask your school whether the exam fee is inside its price, because the screening costs above are not the only things that get billed separately.
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.
More CNA resources for North Carolina
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