Colleges in Alabama With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 22 four-year colleges we rank in Alabama run from $81,045 at the top to $39,579 at the bottom, a spread of $41,466.
The median college sits at $55,183, which is $4,220 (7%) below the national median of $59,403. Private nonprofit colleges (8) have a median of $50,923 and public colleges (13) a median of $55,551, and the typical net price across the list is $18,216.
University of Alabama in Huntsville ranks first at $81,045, ahead of Columbia Southern University ($80,589) and Auburn University ($73,151).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- All 4-year colleges (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
- Ranked by earnings after 4 years, highest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in Alabama
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported earnings after 4 years value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Alabama has 22
- Data period
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Graduate debt: median federal loan debt of completers, pooled 2020 and 2021 cohorts.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 22 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL Public · 4-year | $81,045 | $18,796 | $20,705 | 63% | 6,591 |
| 2 | Columbia Southern University Orange Beach, AL For-profit · 4-year | $80,589 | $14,580 | $21,339 | 35% | 12,176 |
| 3 | Auburn University Auburn, AL Public · 4-year | $73,151 | $24,323 | $21,000 | 81% | 26,816 |
| 4 | The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL Public · 4-year | $70,439 | $22,420 | $22,750 | 74% | 33,227 |
| 5 | Tuskegee University Tuskegee, AL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $69,077 | $35,013 | $27,000 | 56% | 2,630 |
| 6 | Samford University Birmingham, AL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $66,567 | $32,622 | $19,500 | 78% | 4,206 |
| 7 | University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL Public · 4-year | $64,969 | $18,749 | $22,300 | 63% | 11,635 |
| 8 | University of West Alabama Livingston, AL Public · 4-year | $64,122 | $12,684 | $24,944 | 36% | 2,974 |
| 9 | University of South Alabama Mobile, AL Public · 4-year | $62,459 | $17,648 | $24,929 | 53% | 8,879 |
| 10 | Auburn University at Montgomery Montgomery, AL Public · 4-year | $55,551 | $13,224 | $25,000 | 34% | 2,542 |
| 11 | Jacksonville State University Jacksonville, AL Public · 4-year | $55,318 | $14,279 | $22,189 | 53% | 7,036 |
| 12 | Troy University Troy, AL Public · 4-year | $55,048 | $16,527 | $25,000 | 48% | 9,805 |
| 13 | Alabama A & M University Normal, AL Public · 4-year | $54,018 | $17,621 | $31,000 | 26% | 6,124 |
| 14 | Faulkner University Montgomery, AL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $52,824 | $22,085 | $23,000 | 38% | 1,549 |
| 15 | Huntingdon College Montgomery, AL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,132 | $22,566 | $27,000 | 47% | 879 |
| 16 | University of North Alabama Florence, AL Public · 4-year | $50,818 | $12,170 | $22,077 | 54% | 5,811 |
| 17 | Oakwood University Huntsville, AL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,714 | $25,669 | $27,000 | 47% | 1,153 |
| 18 | University of Mobile Mobile, AL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $46,865 | $22,382 | $26,500 | 56% | 1,307 |
| 19 | University of Montevallo Montevallo, AL Public · 4-year | $46,262 | $17,683 | $24,000 | 52% | 2,151 |
| 20 | Alabama State University Montgomery, AL Public · 4-year | $45,998 | $20,435 | $31,000 | 30% | 3,477 |
| 21 | Stillman College Tuscaloosa, AL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,622 | $15,258 | $29,067 | 32% | 706 |
| 22 | Talladega College Talladega, AL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $39,579 | $15,560 | $28,500 | 43% | 701 |
How to compare these colleges
High earnings partly reflect who enrolls and what they study: engineering, nursing and business programs usually pay more than education or the arts, so a school with strong health or technical programs can top the list. Read the earnings next to net price, debt and graduation rate, because earnings count only people who finished, and four years after graduation is early in a career.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Alabama
Cheapest colleges in Alabama
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Cheap colleges in Alabama for out-of-state students
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Best value colleges in Alabama
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Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in Florida
65 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Georgia
49 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Tennessee
37 schools
All 34 colleges in Alabama See the national version of this ranking