Students at one Alabama college go on to make the most money, according to new federal data.
Auburn University students and graduates make about $2,000 more annually than people who studied at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, and about $4,000 more than those at Samford, according to the latest version of the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard.
The scorecard matches up data from the national treasury, which surveyed cohorts of college students who enrolled in 2007-08 and 2011-12 and tracked their median earnings 10 and six years later. The salaries are adjusted to 2020 dollars. The scorecard tracks people who enrolled at institutions and took some undergraduate-level classes; not every student finished a program or received a degree. Some may also go on to medical and professional degrees, further boosting their eventual earnings.
Six years after enrolling, former Auburn students made a median top salary of $49,695. The school’s highest-grossing bachelor’s program was chemical engineering, with majors earning a median annual salary of $75,285 one year out of college.
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Statewide, students of Alabama public and private not-for-profit two-year and four-year colleges made an average median salary of $31,574 six years after enrolling, and $37,056 10 years after enrolling.
Enterprise State Community College led public, non-military two-year universities, with students earning a median salary of $32,481 six years after enrolling, and $37,260 10 years after enrolling.
The average median salary for students at four-year schools was $34,689 six years after entry, and $40,849 10 years after entry.
Nationally, it took years for earnings and employment rates to recover from the Great Recession, and, depending on their field, graduates of the Class of 2012, in particular, may still be feeling the effects of depressed wages and lower earnings.
Earnings also vary greatly depending on a graduate’s location, field and gender. Nearly all Alabama colleges reported higher average salaries for male graduates than female graduates – a gap that generally got wider over time.
Read more: Increasing Alabama women’s pay, gender equity would bring $22 billion to state
Below are the highest median annual salaries for Alabama graduates, and a list of schools that reported the largest gender wage gaps 10 years after enrollment. For-profit schools are excluded from these lists.
Top-earning institutions, six years after entry
Auburn University – $49,695
University of Alabama in Huntsville – $47,533
Samford University – $45,778
Marion Military Institute – $44,567
The University of Alabama – $44,485
Top-earning institutions, 10 years after entry
Auburn University – $56,933
University of Alabama in Huntsville – $54,361
Samford University – $53,223
The University of Alabama – $52,751
Birmingham-Southern College – $50,775
Largest wage gaps between male and female students
Enterprise State Community College – male students made $23,700 more
Samford University – male students made $22,700 more
Faulkner University – male students made $19,700 more
University of South Alabama – male students made $19,700 more
Amridge University – male students made $17,300 more
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