University of Alabama at Birmingham Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

Reported prices fall at the lower end of the income schedule, showing a larger average aid offset there than in the upper bands. The published cost of $28,145 becomes an average net price of $18,749 for aid recipients, a difference of $9,396.

Aid covers about 33% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. That average does not describe any one family’s award.

Across the income bands, average net price runs from $16,172 at the lowest end to $22,597 at the highest, with $15,500, $19,161, and $21,805 in between. The ordering shows aid is more concentrated at lower incomes in the reported averages, rather than stating what a particular family will receive.

Costs vary across income bands at University of Alabama at Birmingham, where the published cost of attendance is $28,145. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,172 for the lowest family-income band, $15,500 for the lower-middle band, and $19,161 for the middle band.

The average net price is $21,805 for the upper-middle family-income band and $22,597 for the highest band; the spread between the lowest and highest bands is $6,425. Azimuth ranks the university #538 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid reduces the published price for the average recipient, though the overall net price remains above the comparable-peer figure. Financial aid offsets $9,396, and aid covers about 33% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $18,749. That is $3,115 above the peer median net price of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size), so the aid offset and peer comparison point in different directions.

Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $22,300, and 85.7% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. This median stands $2,224 above the peer median debt of $20,076 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $20,498. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

85.7% of federal aid recipients at University of Alabama at Birmingham take federal loans, and borrowers who complete leave with median federal student loan debt of $22,300. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076, and the university's median is $2,224 above that figure.

Parent PLUS debt for the separate parent-borrower population has a median of $20,498. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 50% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $26,074 per borrower.

48% of graduates had federal loans averaging $21,383. Private loans, averaging $30,186, were held by 9% of graduates, including some who also borrowed federally.

At University of Alabama at Birmingham, earnings and borrowing point in different directions for the investment picture. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $64,969 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sit in the 77th percentile.

Graduates earn about $7,003 more than the model expects for similar students. Modeled from the program mix, the downside scenario is $44,683 and the upside scenario is $82,466, with the typical scenario matching the median earnings figure.

Median federal debt is $22,300, $2,224 above the $20,076 peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

Above-expected earnings and above-peer debt pull the investment picture in different directions.

Parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $20,498, separate from student federal debt. For borrowers with median federal student debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.