Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
EarningsPluscompares student earnings after college against a benchmark that Degreechoices adjusts based on each school’s unique mix of academic programs and the in-state/out-of-state composition of the student body.
Schools are assigned a value from 1-100, where 100 is best for students from households earning up to $30,000. This value is multiplied by the percentage of the school’s student body that received a Pell Grant, to calculate the economic mobility score. A higher score is better. Read the full explanation
The percentage of a school’s student body that has received a Pell Grant.
Payback measures how long it takes the average student to pay back the total cost of attending college with marginal earnings. Marginal earnings are the difference between what the average student would have earned before attending college and what they earn afterwards.
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
The total debt accrued by the median student at the time of graduation.
The debt-to-earnings ratio is calculated by dividing student debt upon graduation by the annual salary. A debt to earnings ratio of 1 means that annual educational debt is the same as annual earnings.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
EarningsPluscompares student earnings after college against a benchmark that Degreechoices adjusts based on each school’s unique mix of academic programs and the in-state/out-of-state composition of the student body.
Payback measures how long it takes the average student to pay back the total cost of attending college with marginal earnings. Marginal earnings are the difference between what the average student would have earned before attending college and what they earn afterwards.
Discover the best colleges in Alabama, including University of Alabama and Auburn University, renowned for their academic excellence and top-notch athletic programs. Alabama is home to the United States Sports Academy, the only sports-focused institution in the nation. The state also offers several respected religiously affiliated colleges, such as Samford University and Birmingham Southern College.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$24,297
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$65,337
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate79%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$18,240
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$61,767
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate61%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$16,755
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$54,501
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate62%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$20,888
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$59,221
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate72%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$10,527
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$45,415
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate55%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$16,717
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$49,379
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate49%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$30,689
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$58,469
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate74%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$17,979
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$45,235
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate51%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$17,174
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$42,957
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate56%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$15,002
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$42,062
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate53%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$32,297
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$49,641
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate62%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$18,441
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$43,611
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate53%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$12,630
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$44,391
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate38%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$14,006
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$44,232
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate42%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$23,610
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$49,601
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate45%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$19,478
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$43,457
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate43%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.
Cost$14,982
The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.
Earnings$40,628
Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.
Graduation rate33%
Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not displayed.
Explore more schools without data
www.degreechoices.com is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate
us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.
Average income based on education level
The following figures are the average salaries in Alabama for each level of education.
Average Income
The average income of people in this state with a high-school diploma, certificate, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or master’s degree, 10 years after enrollment, based on 2021-2022 CSC data.
HS Diploma$34,127
CertificateN/A
Associate$59,780
Bachelor$56,968
Master$69,090
Cost of attending college in Alabama
In-state-tuition$14,584
The average in-state tuition, before financial aid, of all 4-year institutions in the state. Includes public, private, online, on-campus, non-profit, and for-profit institutions. Based on 2021-2022 CSC data.
Out-of-state-tuition$19,390
The average tuition for out-of-state students, before financial aid of all 4-year institutions in the state. Includes public, private, online, on-campus, non-profit, and for-profit institutions. Based on 2021-2022 CSC data.
Most popular degrees in Alabama
In Florida the most popular degrees are Business Administration, Registered Nursing, and Education-grades & methods. To create this list, we complied and analyzed data from IPEDS and College Scorecard.
They both provide information on how many graduates each program has annually. The list below is both undergraduate- and graduate-level programs.
Popular degrees
1Business Administration 6,068graduates
2Registered Nursing 4,493graduates
3Education-grades & methods 2,444graduates
4Biology 1,879graduates
5General Psychology 1,477graduates
6Marketing 1,356graduates
7Accounting 1,281graduates
8Criminal Justice 1,107graduates
9Social Work 1,086graduates
10Finance 1,065graduates
Fastest growing careers
Alabama job growth
6.3%
Nurse Practitioners
53.6%
Epidemiologists
50%
Occupational Therapy Assistants
37.8%
Physical Therapist Assistants
36.8%
Physician Assistants
36.2%
Orthotists and Prosthetists
33.3%
Information Security Analysts
32.1%
Statisticians
31.8%
Medical and Health Services Managers
31.8%
Industrial Engineers
25.6%
Best bachelor’s degrees in Alabama
These majors are most likely to pay off economically after graduation.
Program NamesEconomic Score
1Chemistry 0.87
2Fire Protection 1.19
3Pharmaceutical Sciences 1.37
4Managerial Econ. 1.68
5Computer Programming 1.87
6Materials Engineering 1.89
7Electrical Engineering 1.98
8Mechanical Engineering 2.1
9Architectural Engineering 2.11
10Area Studies 2.24
11Computer Science 2.26
12Computer and Information Sciences 2.52
13Construction Engineering 2.56
14Chemical Engineering 2.74
15Biomedical/Medical Engineering 2.88
16Quality Control & Safety Technician 2.94
17Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management. 2.99
Higher education is supposed to act as an economic elevator that lifts students from low-income households into the middle class. But not all colleges do this: unfortunately, many of the nation’s most “prestigious” schools accept very few students from low-income backgrounds.
To determine what colleges are doing the best job at lifting students out of poverty, we have devised a Social Mobility Index (SMI).
The best colleges for social mobility in Alabama are shown below.
Bachelor's degree holders or higher
26.4%
Filters
Alabama
6.3%
