Private nonprofit · College
Miles College
Fairfield, Alabama · Large suburb
- —
- Admit rate
- $14,271
- Avg net price
- 16%
- Graduation rate
- $32,627
- Median earnings
Miles College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Fairfield, Alabama (large suburb setting), enrolling 1,155 undergraduates. It is a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). It has a Christian Methodist Episcopal religious affiliation.
About Fairfield, Alabama
Fairfield is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. Corey departed U.S. Steel under a cloud of scandal, and the town's name was later changed to the city in which his successor as president lived, Fairfield, Connecticut. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large suburb
- Highest degree offered
- Bachelor's
- Nearest big city
- 6 miles to Birmingham, AL
- To the ocean
- 199 miles
- Nearest airport
- 11 miles to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth (BHM) · major hub
How Miles College compares
Higher than 4% · #26 of 29 in Alabama
Higher than 10%
Higher than 4% · #29 of 30 in Alabama
Cheaper than 75% · #4 cheapest of 27 in Alabama
Lower than 3%
Lower than 59%
Larger than 41%
Percentiles compare Miles College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Alabama.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women53947%
- Men61653%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White3.3%
- Black93%
- Hispanic2.0%
- Other or multiracial1.4%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 1,155
- Student–faculty ratio
- 12 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 72%
- First-generation students
- 42%
- Students over 25
- 14%
- Median family income
- $17,702
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $48,780
- Endowment
- $30,341,252
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $13,314
- Room & board
- $7,348
- Books & supplies
- $250
- Total cost of attendance
- $21,154
- Average net price
- $14,271
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 16%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 10%
- First-year retention
- 56%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $25,822
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $32,627
- Median debt at graduation
- $31,217
- Students with federal loans
- 73%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 10%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 882
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 76%
- Housing charge (year)
- $4,182
- Meal plan (year)
- $3,388
- Application fee
- Free
- Athletics
- NCAA Division II with football
- Football conference
- Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 274 (195 men · 79 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (8)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- D
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 10.2 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 8
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 28
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,180 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$16,747/year × about 4.5 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Modest institutional aid: 34% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $5,281. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 296 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $32,627
- Typical debt at graduation
- $31,217
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 96%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 33%
Typical debt would take roughly 9.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $4,298 (14%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 92°F
- Winter low
- 34°F
- Annual rain
- 55.5″
- Annual snow
- 1.2″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Bessemer 3 Wsw, AL US station (8.3 mi from campus).
What Miles College graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Miles College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Miles College side by side →
Livingstone College
Salisbury, North Carolina · Large suburb · 33 mi to Winston-Salem
- Students
- 924
- Admission
- 59%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $33k
Edward Waters University
Jacksonville, Florida · Large city · 2 mi to Jacksonville
- Students
- 1,087
- Admission
- 85%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $35k
Shaw University
Raleigh, North Carolina · Large city · 1 mi to Raleigh
- Students
- 875
- Admission
- 80%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $34k
Talladega College
Talladega, Alabama · Distant town · 41 mi to Birmingham
- Students
- 701
- Admission
- 85%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $32k
Benedict College
Columbia, South Carolina · Midsize city · 1 mi to Columbia
- Students
- 1,536
- Admission
- 96%
- Net price
- $18k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $32k
Stillman College
Tuscaloosa, Alabama · Midsize city · 50 mi to Birmingham
- Students
- 706
- Admission
- 62%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $35k
Colleges near Miles College
Midfield Institute of Cosmetology
Midfield, AL · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 9 students
Lawson State Community College
Birmingham, AL · Public · Associate · 2,900 students
Fortis Institute-Birmingham
Birmingham, AL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 613 students
Herzing University-Birmingham
Birmingham, AL · Private nonprofit · Associate · 442 students
Brown Beauty Barber School
Bessemer, AL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 54 students
Strayer University-Alabama
Birmingham, AL · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 1,196 students
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL · Public · Bachelor's · 11,635 students
Samford University
Birmingham, AL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 4,206 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.












