US College Programs

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

  • 7 programs report first-year pay
  • 7 also report federal debt
  • Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Alabama mechanical engineering bachelor's program pays its graduates $73,984 in their first year, $3,259 more than the national median. Tuskegee University reports the highest first-year pay ($75,759), and Auburn University the lowest median debt ($24,514).

Median first-year pay$73,984National $70,725
Median pay after 5 years$90,362National $91,554
Median federal debt$26,354National $24,730
Debt-to-earnings39%National 35%

All 7 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.

Debt and first-year pay at every Alabama mechanical 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 7 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Tuskegee University$75,759
  2. University of Alabama$75,238
  3. Auburn University$74,005
  4. University of Alabama in Huntsville$73,984
  5. Alabama A&M University$71,954

Lowest median debt

  1. Auburn University$24,514
  2. University of Alabama$24,755
  3. University of Alabama in Huntsville$24,897
  4. UAB$26,354
  5. University of South Alabama$26,500

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. University of Alabama33%
  2. Auburn University33%
  3. University of Alabama in Huntsville34%
  4. University of South Alabama39%
  5. Tuskegee University40%

"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 mechanical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Mechanical Engineers

$100,230

Median pay in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $72,110Top 10%: $162,420

Cost Estimators

$74,990

Median pay in Alabama. 3,000 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $42,400Top 10%: $118,160

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

Aerospace Engineers

$127,540

Median pay in Alabama. 5,820 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $78,660Top 10%: $195,190

Common questions

Tuskegee University in Tuskegee reports the highest median first-year pay, $75,759. Its median federal debt is $30,500.

Related pages

Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked302 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 mechanical 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

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