Which Alabama civil engineering program has the lowest debt?

University of Alabama in Huntsville reports the lowest median federal debt, $20,799, with first-year pay of $64,122.

How much do civil engineering graduates earn in Alabama?

The median across 5 Alabama civil engineering bachelor's programs is $64,122 in the first year after graduating and $85,669 five years after.

How many civil engineering bachelor's programs are in Alabama?

5 Alabama programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

Civil Engineering (Bachelor's) Programs in Alabama, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

5 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Civil Engineering

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Alabama civil engineering bachelor's program pays its graduates $64,122 in their first year, $5,460 less than the national median. University of Alabama reports the highest first-year pay ($70,619), and University of Alabama in Huntsville the lowest median debt ($20,799).

Median first-year pay$64,122National $69,582

Median pay after 5 years$85,669National $85,897

Median federal debt$25,454National $24,500

Debt-to-earnings36%National 35%

All 5 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	University of AlabamaTuscaloosa · public	$70,619	$86,784	$25,454	36%
2	Auburn UniversityAuburn · public	$68,291	$81,856	$23,375	34%
3	University of Alabama in HuntsvilleHuntsville · public	$64,122	Not reported	$20,799	32%
4	UABBirmingham · public	$62,283	$84,553	$26,596	43%
5	University of South AlabamaMobile · public	$59,547	$86,917	$28,000	47%

Debt and first-year pay at every Alabama civil engineering program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Alabama medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

University of Alabama$70,619
Auburn University$68,291
University of Alabama in Huntsville$64,122
UAB$62,283
University of South Alabama$59,547

Lowest median debt

University of Alabama in Huntsville$20,799
Auburn University$23,375
University of Alabama$25,454
UAB$26,596
University of South Alabama$28,000

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to civil engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Civil Engineers

$99,010

Median pay in Alabama. 5,370 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 22,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $63,930Top 10%: $168,370

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$162,350

Median pay in Alabama. 3,790 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $106,100Top 10%: $236,230

Environmental Engineers

$102,650

Median pay in Alabama. 780 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $66,720Top 10%: $158,910

Petroleum Engineers

$144,910

Median pay nationwide. 50 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Common questions

University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa reports the highest median first-year pay, $70,619. Its median federal debt is $25,454.

Civil Engineering (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked207 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Alabama rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the civil engineering bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024