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Best Trade Programs in Alabama (2026)

Top 100 of 160 programs in Alabama · Updated 2026

The best trade school programs in Alabama, ranked by overall value. We scored 160 programs across Alabama trade schools on earnings, job demand, and tuition ROI. The top programs average $46,360/yr in graduate earnings.

Programs in AL

160

Avg Earnings (Top 100)

$46,360/yr

Avg TSW Score

67/100

#1 Program

Truck Driving & CDL

Bevill State Community College

Top Trade Programs in Alabama

Top 100 programs by TSW Score. Click any row for full analysis.

#	Program	TSW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Truck Driving & CDL Bevill State Community College · Jasper, AL	86 85–86	$47,167/yr	104.5x
2	Criminal Justice Columbia Southern University · Orange Beach, AL	78 75–80	$58,241/yr	52.7x
3	Practical Nursing Chattahoochee Valley Community College · Phenix City, AL	85 83–86	$63,335/yr	124.7x
4	Practical Nursing Coastal Alabama Community College · Bay Minette, AL	79 78–79	$63,125/yr	62.4x
5	Practical Nursing Northeast Alabama Community College · Rainsville, AL	82 81–83	$53,855/yr	107.1x
6	Nursing Bishop State Community College · Mobile, AL	84 77–84	$71,034/yr	78.7x
7	Business Administration Columbia Southern University · Orange Beach, AL	89 81–92	$49,753/yr	134.2x
8	Nursing Chattahoochee Valley Community College · Phenix City, AL	82 77–82	$67,491/yr	70.8x
9	Nursing Coastal Alabama Community College · Bay Minette, AL	82 77–82	$67,900/yr	69.1x
10	Nursing George C Wallace State Community College-Selma · Selma, AL	84 77–84	$67,158/yr	82.6x
11	Nursing Lurleen B Wallace Community College · Andalusia, AL	82 76–83	$65,605/yr	73.7x
12	Truck Driving & CDL Bishop State Community College · Mobile, AL	76 75–76	$35,619/yr	69.7x
13	Nursing Southern Union State Community College · Wadley, AL	83 77–83	$69,147/yr	67.0x
14	Business Administration Columbia Southern University · Orange Beach, AL	78 74–80	$49,820/yr	43.7x
15	Nursing Central Alabama Community College · Alexander City, AL	80 74–80	$59,634/yr	67.0x
16	Nursing Gadsden State Community College · Gadsden, AL	83 77–83	$61,443/yr	83.8x
17	Nursing George C Wallace Community College-Dothan · Dothan, AL	81 74–82	$59,653/yr	73.2x
18	Nursing George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville · Hanceville, AL	80 74–80	$59,770/yr	65.8x
19	Practical Nursing Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	72 68–73	$47,310/yr	49.0x
20	Nursing Jefferson State Community College · Birmingham, AL	81 75–81	$63,811/yr	68.1x
21	Nursing Lawson State Community College · Birmingham, AL	81 76–81	$64,547/yr	63.8x
22	Nursing Shelton State Community College · Tuscaloosa, AL	79 74–80	$60,540/yr	62.7x
23	Nursing Bevill State Community College · Jasper, AL	82 76–82	$63,532/yr	72.6x
24	Nursing John C Calhoun State Community College · Tanner, AL	78 73–78	$56,995/yr	58.0x
25	Nursing Northwest Shoals Community College · Muscle Shoals, AL	77 73–78	$56,177/yr	57.9x
26	Practical Nursing Reid State Technical College · Evergreen, AL	75 74–76	$44,026/yr	71.6x
27	Nursing Snead State Community College · Boaz, AL	78 73–78	$58,694/yr	56.6x
28	Practical Nursing George C Wallace State Community College-Selma · Selma, AL	77 75–77	$41,533/yr	87.7x
29	Nursing Northeast Alabama Community College · Rainsville, AL	76 71–76	$52,569/yr	54.5x
30	Fire Protection Columbia Southern University · Orange Beach, AL	75 72–77	$75,326/yr	68.4x
31	Practical Nursing George C Wallace Community College-Dothan · Dothan, AL	76 74–77	$40,106/yr	92.6x
32	Medical Assisting Jefferson State Community College · Birmingham, AL	70 67–71	$47,796/yr	52.1x
33	Welding & Metalworking Bevill State Community College · Jasper, AL	69 69–70	$45,423/yr	98.7x
34	Welding & Metalworking Gadsden State Community College · Gadsden, AL	68 67–68	$41,252/yr	103.5x
35	Nursing Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	72 68–73	$73,342/yr	27.4x
36	Nursing University of West Alabama · Livingston, AL	72 68–73	$66,312/yr	29.3x
37	Nursing Troy University · Troy, AL	72 68–73	$61,890/yr	33.8x
38	Nursing Fortis College · Mobile, AL	72 66–73	$64,979/yr	—
39	Electrical Installation Bevill State Community College · Jasper, AL	69 63–69	$39,314/yr	60.2x
40	Electrical Repair Technology Shelton State Community College · Tuscaloosa, AL	72 66–72	$64,821/yr	89.3x
41	Welding & Metalworking George C Wallace Community College-Dothan · Dothan, AL	63 62–64	$36,834/yr	73.9x
42	Vehicle Repair Technology Lawson State Community College · Birmingham, AL	67 65–67	$35,347/yr	80.2x
43	Welding & Metalworking Lawson State Community College · Birmingham, AL	62 61–63	$35,941/yr	71.2x
44	Business Strayer University-Alabama · Birmingham, AL	69 62–71	$44,154/yr	19.1x
45	Criminal Justice George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville · Hanceville, AL	65 63–67	$35,238/yr	34.4x
46	Allied Health Professions Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	65 61–65	$57,114/yr	47.6x
47	Medical Assisting John C Calhoun State Community College · Tanner, AL	65 60–65	$37,672/yr	47.5x
48	Quality Control & Safety Technology Columbia Southern University · Orange Beach, AL	70 65–72	$74,871/yr	71.5x
49	Allied Health Professions Jefferson State Community College · Birmingham, AL	65 62–65	$51,826/yr	53.0x
50	Welding & Metalworking Lurleen B Wallace Community College · Andalusia, AL	59 58–60	$32,714/yr	64.7x
51	Allied Health Professions Shelton State Community College · Tuscaloosa, AL	64 61–64	$48,862/yr	52.2x
52	IT Management Strayer University-Alabama · Birmingham, AL	68 61–71	$61,810/yr	20.1x
53	Health Administration Columbia Southern University · Orange Beach, AL	68 63–70	$39,247/yr	32.8x
54	Industrial Production Technology Coastal Alabama Community College · Bay Minette, AL	67 62–69	$55,570/yr	76.7x
55	Vehicle Repair Technology Gadsden State Community College · Gadsden, AL	68 63–69	$31,387/yr	119.4x
56	Medical Assisting George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville · Hanceville, AL	62 60–63	$37,346/yr	40.4x
57	Allied Health Professions George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville · Hanceville, AL	64 61–65	$48,422/yr	53.0x
58	Industrial Production Technology John C Calhoun State Community College · Tanner, AL	66 63–67	$59,567/yr	65.3x
59	Allied Health Professions Lurleen B Wallace Community College · Andalusia, AL	65 63–66	$52,384/yr	42.9x
60	Welding & Metalworking George C Wallace State Community College-Selma · Selma, AL	59 57–60	$31,092/yr	84.5x
61	Welding & Metalworking Bishop State Community College · Mobile, AL	56 55–57	$30,688/yr	54.9x
62	Allied Health Professions Bevill State Community College · Jasper, AL	69 65–69	$43,416/yr	91.8x
63	Liberal Arts & Humanities Columbia Southern University · Orange Beach, AL	61 61–61	$55,667/yr	56.0x
64	Heavy Equipment Technology Gadsden State Community College · Gadsden, AL	61 56–62	$37,595/yr	87.8x
65	Allied Health Professions Gadsden State Community College · Gadsden, AL	61 59–62	$41,946/yr	53.7x
66	Allied Health Professions Cardiac and Vascular Institute of Ultrasound · Mobile, AL	61 57–61	$60,226/yr	—
67	Allied Health Professions George C Wallace Community College-Dothan · Dothan, AL	60 57–61	$42,801/yr	45.7x
68	Information Sciences John C Calhoun State Community College · Tanner, AL	65 57–67	$36,258/yr	38.4x
69	Clinical Laboratory Science George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville · Hanceville, AL	58 56–58	$42,590/yr	45.6x
70	Funeral Service & Mortuary Science Jefferson State Community College · Birmingham, AL	57 56–57	$49,566/yr	44.8x
71	Allied Health Professions Southern Union State Community College · Wadley, AL	58 53–58	$37,835/yr	46.1x
72	Clinical Laboratory Science John C Calhoun State Community College · Tanner, AL	57 56–58	$42,551/yr	41.0x
73	Medical Assisting South University-Montgomery · Montgomery, AL	56 52–56	$39,761/yr	12.0x
74	Allied Health Professions Gadsden State Community College · Gadsden, AL	63 60–63	$34,083/yr	83.5x
75	Business Administration Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	60 53–62	$30,536/yr	13.8x
76	Health Administration Fortis College · Mobile, AL	59 52–61	$27,459/yr	—
77	Environmental Technology Gadsden State Community College · Gadsden, AL	53 52–54	$36,407/yr	44.1x
78	Computer Networking Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
79	Electrical Repair Technology Reid State Technical College · Evergreen, AL	53 52–53	$39,940/yr	31.7x
80	Medical Assisting Bishop State Community College · Mobile, AL	55 53–55	$30,528/yr	27.9x
81	Medical Assisting George C Wallace Community College-Dothan · Dothan, AL	55 49–55	$26,719/yr	37.5x
82	Dental Assisting George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville · Hanceville, AL	53 50–53	$34,837/yr	41.5x
83	Health Administration Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	57 51–59	$27,871/yr	23.2x
84	Business Operations Support Jefferson State Community College · Birmingham, AL	54 48–58	$25,648/yr	33.0x
85	Welding & Metalworking Reid State Technical College · Evergreen, AL	46 46–47	$24,349/yr	38.9x
86	Health Administration Ross Medical Education Center-Huntsville · Huntsville, AL	57 50–59	$24,758/yr	—
87	Business Operations Support George C Wallace Community College-Dothan · Dothan, AL	53 49–57	$26,151/yr	28.4x
88	Health Administration Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	56 50–58	$30,821/yr	11.9x
89	Medical Assisting Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	53 50–54	$30,106/yr	24.1x
90	Medical Assisting Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	53 49–53	$34,039/yr	13.2x
91	Accounting Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	57 51–59	$31,620/yr	22.5x
92	Business Operations Support Bevill State Community College · Jasper, AL	53 48–56	$25,182/yr	29.6x
93	Health Administration Fortis Institute-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	56 49–58	$26,833/yr	21.6x
94	Business Operations Support Gadsden State Community College · Gadsden, AL	52 46–56	$22,360/yr	32.9x
95	Allied Health Professions Herzing University-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	52 49–53	$43,769/yr	16.6x
96	Engineering Technology Jefferson State Community College · Birmingham, AL	56 48–59	$38,981/yr	59.9x
97	HVAC Technology Fortis Institute-Birmingham · Birmingham, AL	49 47–48	$36,485/yr	28.5x
98	Electrical Engineering Technology Gadsden State Community College · Gadsden, AL	56 48–59	$37,302/yr	76.3x
99	Criminal Justice Remington College-Mobile Campus · Mobile, AL	51 47–53	$26,952/yr	6.5x
100	Physiology Cardiac and Vascular Institute of Ultrasound · Mobile, AL	55 48–56	$50,024/yr	—

About This Ranking

What we ranked

Best Trades in Alabama ranks 100 programs across the United States by the TradeSchoolOutlook Score, which combines graduate earnings, return on investment, and job-market demand into a single 0-100 metric.

Data sources

Earnings figures come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, which tracks graduate income one and five years after program completion. Job-market projections use Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 employment data.

How to read the table

Use the sort controls below the headline to re-rank by earnings, ROI, or other metrics. Click any school name for full earnings projections, three-scenario modeling, and detailed program data. Most students attend a school within driving distance — local rankings are usually more actionable than national.

Caveats & limitations

Rankings reflect what the data can measure: post-graduation earnings, debt levels, and broad labor-market trends. They cannot capture program quality nuances like instructor expertise, hands-on equipment access, or industry connections. Treat rankings as a starting point — visit schools and talk to current students before committing.

Methodology

This ranking includes the top 100 trade programs at Alabama schools, drawn from 160 total programs with earnings data. Programs are ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score (0–100), which combines graduate earnings, job market demand, and tuition ROI.

Only in-state tuition is used for ROI calculations. Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best trade program in Alabama?

By TradeSchoolOutlook Score, Truck Driving & CDL at Bevill State Community College ranks #1 in Alabama with a score of 86/100 and graduate earnings of $47,167/yr.

How many trade programs are in Alabama?

Our database includes 160 trade programs across Alabama schools with reported earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections). Last updated 2025.