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Best Fire Science Schools Near Birmingham, AL (2026)
Updated September 6, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Birmingham, Alabama has 2 accredited schools offering fire science programs, with tuition ranging from $23,920 to $37,626 per year for indexed programs. Birmingham has a population of about 196,357. In the Birmingham, AL metro area, the top-earning fire science-related role is Emergency Management Director at a median $88,510 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Fire Science Schools to Birmingham
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer fire science 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:
BOCSCORE
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.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Alabama schools on the Alabama fire science page.
Fire Science 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)
Firefighter
$51,050
Birmingham, AL
$55,731
First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
$83,030
Birmingham, AL
$90,644
Fire Inspector and Investigator
$78,110
AL statewide
$85,273
Emergency Management Director
$88,510
Birmingham, AL
$96,627
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 Fire Science Programs
How many accredited fire science schools are near Birmingham, AL?
Our directory has 2 accredited schools offering fire science programs near Birmingham. The closest is Faulkner University in Montgomery, AL (85.9 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is West Georgia Technical College (93.5 miles). 2 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying fire science roles near Birmingham?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying fire science-related roles near Birmingham are: Emergency Management Director ($88,510), First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers ($83,030), Fire Inspector and Investigator ($78,110). 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 fire science 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.
Data verified: September 6, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-2035) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
