College ROI in Alabama

See the strongest eligible ROI and value signals, then browse every covered college located in the state.

Download AL data ↓Read the national value report →Federal data through June 10, 2026

21Colleges with a publishable ROI scenario

$52,246Median observed year-5 earnings

$18,749Median annual net price

−71%Median modeled 10-year ROI

STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024

Alabama's everyday prices are 11.2% below the U.S. average

This statewide BEA benchmark helps put college budgets in context. It is not tuition, a campus-specific cost estimate or an input to our ROI rankings.

Overall prices: 88.8
Housing: 61.8
Utilities: 84.6

TOP 10 · ECONOMIC ROI

Best estimated 10-year return

21 colleges meet the consistent ROI screen.

1University of Alabama in HuntsvilleHuntsville · Public+32%2Auburn UniversityAuburn · Public−16%3The University of AlabamaTuscaloosa · Public−33%4University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham · Public−38%5Tuskegee UniversityTuskegee · Private nonprofit−51%6Samford UniversityBirmingham · Private nonprofit−56%7University of South AlabamaMobile · Public−56%8Auburn University at MontgomeryMontgomery · Public−60%9University of West AlabamaLivingston · Public−64%10Huntingdon CollegeMontgomery · Private nonprofit−70%

TOP 10 · VALUE

Most earnings per price dollar

Observed five-year earnings divided by annual average net price.

1University of North AlabamaFlorence · Public4.2×2University of West AlabamaLivingston · Public4.2×3University of Alabama in HuntsvilleHuntsville · Public4.2×4Auburn University at MontgomeryMontgomery · Public4.1×5Jacksonville State UniversityJacksonville · Public3.6×6University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham · Public3.2×7University of South AlabamaMobile · Public3.2×8Troy UniversityTroy · Public3.1×9Alabama A&M UniversityNormal · Public3.0×10The University of AlabamaTuscaloosa · Public2.8×

LOW DEBT · SOLID COMPLETION

Where completer borrowers leave with less federal debt

Limited to currently operating colleges with at least 500 students and a completion rate at or above the Alabama median among debt-reporting colleges.

1Northeast Alabama Community CollegeRainsville · Public$6,100median federal debt56%college completion 2Snead State Community CollegeBoaz · Public$9,000median federal debt49%college completion 3George C Wallace State Community College-HancevilleHanceville · Public$11,000median federal debt51%college completion 4Samford UniversityBirmingham · Private nonprofit$19,500median federal debt77%college completion 5University of Alabama in HuntsvilleHuntsville · Public$20,705median federal debt64%college completion 6Auburn UniversityAuburn · Public$21,000median federal debt82%college completion 7University of North AlabamaFlorence · Public$22,077median federal debt55%college completion 8Jacksonville State UniversityJacksonville · Public$22,189median federal debt55%college completion 9University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham · Public$22,300median federal debt64%college completion 10The University of AlabamaTuscaloosa · Public$22,750median federal debt73%college completion

Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. This view does not rank ROI or guarantee affordability.

ALL COLLEGES IN AL

Browse the full Alabama directory

82 matching colleges · page 1 of 4

CollegeEarningsNet priceFederal debt10-year ROI

University of Alabama in HuntsvilleHuntsville · Public$78,740$18,796$20,705+32%Columbia Southern UniversityOrange Beach · Private for-profit · Online-only$73,127$14,580$21,339+18%Auburn UniversityAuburn · Public$68,172$24,323$21,000−16%The University of AlabamaTuscaloosa · Public$62,983$22,420$22,750−33%University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham · Public$60,738$18,749$22,300−38%South University-MontgomeryMontgomery · Private for-profit$59,826$27,807$26,123−49%Tuskegee UniversityTuskegee · Private nonprofit$60,741$35,013$27,000−51%Northwest Shoals Community CollegeMuscle Shoals · Public$54,130$2,838$10,000−52%Samford UniversityBirmingham · Private nonprofit$58,732$32,622$19,500−56%University of South AlabamaMobile · Public$55,913$17,648$24,929−56%Auburn University at MontgomeryMontgomery · Public$54,405$13,224$25,000−60%University of West AlabamaLivingston · Public$53,277$12,684$24,944−64%United States Sports UniversityDaphne · Private nonprofit$53,760$24,076Not available−68%Huntingdon CollegeMontgomery · Private nonprofit$53,074$22,566$27,000−70%Alabama A&M UniversityNormal · Public$52,246$17,621$31,000−71%Jefferson State Community CollegeBirmingham · Public$51,020$9,086$9,689−72%University of North AlabamaFlorence · Public$51,301$12,170$22,077−72%Jacksonville State UniversityJacksonville · Public$51,119$14,279$22,189−74%Troy UniversityTroy · Public$50,885$16,527$25,000−76%Oakwood UniversityHuntsville · Private nonprofit$51,429$25,669$27,000−77%Bevill State Community CollegeJasper · Public$49,583$5,937Not available−78%Herzing University-BirminghamBirmingham · Private nonprofit$48,660$19,651$21,500−86%John C Calhoun State Community CollegeTanner · Public$47,398$7,660$12,000−89%Central Alabama Community CollegeAlexander City · Public$47,659$15,996$9,766−89%Southern Union State Community CollegeWadley · Public$47,215$6,142$11,000−89%

The directory includes every College Scorecard institution assigned to Alabama, including online-only colleges at their federal administrative location and historical records marked as not currently operating. Online-only colleges are labeled and excluded from state top-10 lists because their students are not confined to that state. “Not available” means a required federal value was missing or suppressed. Top-10 ROI eligibility requires current operating status, a reported bachelor’s-level program, at least 500 students, observed earnings and average net price of at least $1,000.