Best Child Development Schools Near Birmingham, AL (2026)

Birmingham, Alabama has 5 accredited schools offering child development programs, with tuition ranging from $7,590 to $34,172 per year for indexed programs. Birmingham has a population of about 196,357. In Alabama, the top-earning child development-related role is Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education at a median $50,900 annually (BLS, May 2025).


Closest Child Development Schools to Birmingham

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer child development programs near Birmingham, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Birmingham city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Birmingham. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score โ€” U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

Samford University

Birmingham, AL 4.4 miles from Birmingham
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
66.9 BOC Score
Graduation rate 77%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $58,469
Avg net price $32,622/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 90%
  • Programs offered: 90

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Alabama schools on the Alabama child development page.


Child Development Wages Near Birmingham

Birmingham is part of the Birmingham, AL metro area (BLS area code 13820). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Alabama statewide.

Occupation Median Wage Source COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education $28,540 Birmingham, AL $31,157
Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare $44,470 Birmingham, AL $48,548
Child, Family, and School Social Workers $46,540 Birmingham, AL $50,808
Childcare Workers $23,070 Birmingham, AL $25,186
Special Education Teachers, Preschool N/A AL statewide
Social and Human Service Assistants $36,510 Birmingham, AL $39,858
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education $50,900 AL statewide $55,568
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other N/A AL statewide

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.


Birmingham at a Glance

Metric Value Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100) 91.6 (below U.S. average) BEA RPP 2024

Other Birmingham-Area Cities With Child Development Programs


Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited child development schools are near Birmingham, AL?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering child development programs near Birmingham. The closest is Samford University in Birmingham, AL (4.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Amridge University (88.3 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying child development roles near Birmingham?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying child development-related roles near Birmingham are: Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education ($50,900), Child, Family, and School Social Workers ($46,540), Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare ($44,470). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Alabama statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Mountain Brook instead of Birmingham?

Mountain Brook, AL is 4.3 miles from Birmingham and has its own set of local child development programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.


Learn More About Child Development Programs

Other Programs Available in Birmingham

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Birmingham:

Data verified: September 5, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024โ€“2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.