Verified Federal Data · No Paid Rankings

Best Colleges in Alabama

Top Alabama colleges ranked by what actually matters after graduation: earnings, completion rates, and what you actually pay. Federal data. No surveys, no sponsorships.

Schools in ranking

Alabama schools in dataset

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How We Rank Alabama Colleges

Rankings use a composite score from verified federal data: graduate earnings (28%), graduation rate (25%), social mobility via Pell Grant share (20%), debt burden (15%), and net cost for low-income students (12%). Only 4-year non-profit schools with sufficient data qualify.

→Earnings: Median annual earnings 10 years after enrollment. Source: College Scorecard.
→Graduation rate: Full-time first-time students completing within 150% of normal time. Source: IPEDS.
→Net price: Average annual cost after all grants and scholarships. Source: IPEDS.
→Social mobility: Share of students receiving Pell Grants — a direct measure of access for low-income students. Source: IPEDS.
→Debt burden: Median federal loan debt at graduation. Source: College Scorecard.

Top 10 Colleges in Alabama (2026)

Ranked by composite: earnings, graduation rate, social mobility, debt, affordability.

#	School	Accept	Net Price/yr	Grad Rate	Earnings (10yr)
1	Auburn University Auburn, AL	46%	$23,897	82%	$65,337
2	University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL	69%	$19,880	64%	$61,767
3	University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL	88%	$17,727	64%	$54,501
4	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	77%	$22,150	73%	$59,221
5	Jacksonville State University Jacksonville, AL	78%	$14,850	55%	$45,235
6	Samford University Birmingham, AL	82%	$30,795	77%	$58,469
7	University of South Alabama Mobile, AL	71%	$15,142	53%	$49,379
8	University of North Alabama Florence, AL	87%	$11,024	55%	$45,415
9	University of West Alabama Livingston, AL	43%	$13,832	35%	$44,232
10	Troy University Troy, AL	96%	$13,869	50%	$42,062