by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its Top Alabama Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
After analyzing 40 schools in Alabama, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. To come up with this ranking, we look at more than 20 factors that are all objective measurements. These factors include freshman retention, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, and post graduate earnings, among other things.
We've developed a number of other tools and rankings to help you make your college decision. Start by filtering this list by location or field of study and then explore our other rankings that feature schools great for different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
We've created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Auburn University to be the best school for overall quality in Alabama in this year’s ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $65,337 during the early years of their career..
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia Southern University. The school came in at #2 in Alabama on this year’s overall quality ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Columbia Southern University is $63,534 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 40 schools in Alabama that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Alabama landed the #3 spot on the list.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UA is $59,221 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Alabama at Birmingham. The school came in at #4 in Alabama on this year’s overall quality ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UAB make an average of $54,501 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Samford University. The school came in at #5 in Alabama on this year’s overall quality ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Samford make an average of $58,469 a year.
University of Alabama in Huntsville landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from UAH make an average of $61,767 a year.
With a ranking of #7, University of West Alabama did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from University of West Alabama is $44,232 during the early years of their career.
University of South Alabama did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama ranking, coming in at #8.
During the early years of their career, graduates from USA make an average of $49,379 a year.
With a ranking of #9, Athens State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $50,273 during the early years of their career..
John C Calhoun State Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama ranking, coming in at #10.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Calhoun Community College is $38,192 during the early years of their career.
University of North Alabama came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Alabama ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UNA is $45,415 during the early years of their career.
Wallace State Community College, Hanceville came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Alabama ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Wallace State, Hanceville go into careers with an average salary of $39,842 during the early years of their career.
Wallace Community College, Dothan ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges in Alabama list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Wallace, Dothan go into careers with an average salary of $31,399 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #14, Tuskegee University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee go into careers with an average salary of $49,641 during the early years of their career.
Jacksonville State University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama ranking, coming in at #15.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Jacksonville State University go into careers with an average salary of $45,235 during the early years of their career.
Troy University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in Alabama list.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from TROY make an average of $42,062 a year.
With a ranking of #17, Herzing University - Birmingham did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Herzing University - Birmingham make an average of $36,909 a year.
Jefferson State Community College landed the #18 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,719 during the early years of their career..
Coastal Alabama Community College landed the #19 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Coastal Alabama Community College make an average of $34,894 a year.
With a ranking of #20, Southern Union State Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Southern Union State Community College make an average of $36,597 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #21, Birmingham Southern College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from BSC is $59,481 during the early years of their career.
Marion Military Institute came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Alabama ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Marion Military Institute is $59,644 during the early years of their career.
Bishop State Community College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges in Alabama list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Bishop State Community College is $29,916 during the early years of their career.
University of Montevallo did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama ranking, coming in at #24.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Montevallo is $42,957 during the early years of their career.
Shelton State Community College landed the #25 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Alabama ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Shelton State Community College go into careers with an average salary of $35,014 during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.