Alabama·Office and Administrative Support Occupations·SOC 43-4161

Best Human Resources Assistant programs in Alabama, ranked by enrollment

Compile and keep personnel records. Record data for each employee, such as address, weekly earnings, absences, amount of sales or production, supervisory reports, and date of and reason for termination.

29 schools in Alabama run programs that feed this job, graduating 907 people a year. The job pays a median of $42,140 in Alabama across about 960 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledPersonnel ClerkHuman Resources Assistant (HR Assistant)Human Resources Associate (HR Associate)Human Resources Administrative Assistant (HR Administrative Assistant)Benefits ClerkContract ClerkAssignment ClerkEmployment Clerk
Graduates / yr
907
in Alabama
Median pay · Alabama
$42,140
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
960
people employed
Schools
29
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
42%
across those schools
Median net price
$22,923
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Alabama that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in Alabama that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Alabama (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Alabama page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 52.0401In Alabama
547
60.3%
19$25,993$9,500
2
CIP 52.1001In Alabama
360
39.7%
10$49,084$26,536

Top 25 schools in Alabama

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 29 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Columbia Southern University
Orange Beach, AL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
182Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General$53,84333%$15,554
2Shelton State Community College
Tuscaloosa, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
143Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General30%
3J F Ingram State Technical College
Deatsville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
78Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General21%
4George C Wallace Community College - Dothan
Dothan, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
70Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General$26,15135%
5Gadsden State Community College
Gadsden, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
52Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General$22,36038%
6Faulkner University
Montgomery, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
44Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General$40,76437%$25,80173%
7Troy University
Troy, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
41Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General50%96%
8Athens State University
Athens, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
35Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General$44,130
9Jefferson State Community College
Birmingham, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
28Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General$25,64826%
10University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
25Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General$45,34364%88%
11Coastal Alabama Community College
Bay Minette, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
24Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General31%
12Central Alabama Community College
Alexander City, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
19Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General33%
13Lurleen B Wallace Community College
Andalusia, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
16Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General$20,25241%
14Northwest Shoals Community College
Muscle Shoals, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
16Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General39%
15Snead State Community College
Boaz, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
16Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General49%
16George C Wallace State Community College - Hanceville
Hanceville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
15Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General51%
17Lawson State Community College
Birmingham, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
14Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General27%
18Northeast Alabama Community College
Rainsville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
12Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General56%
19Bevill State Community College
Jasper, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
11Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General$25,18238%
20Southern Union State Community College
Wadley, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
11Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General36%
21Amridge University
Montgomery, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General100%
22Enterprise State Community College
Enterprise, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
9Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General42%
23Strayer University - Alabama
Birmingham, AL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General0%$22,923
24Reid State Technical College
Evergreen, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
8Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General59%
25Auburn University at Montgomery
Montgomery, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
7Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General33%92%

All 29 schools in Alabama

Every school in Alabama with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Alabama that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Columbia Southern UniversityOrange BeachPrivate for-profit1821
Shelton State Community CollegeTuscaloosaPublic1431
J F Ingram State Technical CollegeDeatsvillePublic781
George C Wallace Community College - DothanDothanPublic701
Gadsden State Community CollegeGadsdenPublic521
Faulkner UniversityMontgomeryPrivate not-for-profit441
Troy UniversityTroyPublic411
Athens State UniversityAthensPublic351
Jefferson State Community CollegeBirminghamPublic281
University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamPublic251
Coastal Alabama Community CollegeBay MinettePublic241
Central Alabama Community CollegeAlexander CityPublic191
Lurleen B Wallace Community CollegeAndalusiaPublic161
Northwest Shoals Community CollegeMuscle ShoalsPublic161
Snead State Community CollegeBoazPublic161

What human resources assistants earn in Alabama

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Alabama
$42,140
Mean annual
$44,270
Jobs in state
960
What the range looks like
10th pct$31,520Median$42,14090th pct$61,460
Versus the national median
-16.7%

U.S. median $50,610. Alabama pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.78×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Alabama

Auburn-Opelika, AL
$51,570median
40 jobs
Birmingham, AL
$45,500median
180 jobs
Montgomery, AL
$47,830median
170 jobs
Huntsville, AL
$43,620median
110 jobs
Tuscaloosa, AL
$40,430median
40 jobs
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL
$37,360median
30 jobs
Mobile, AL
$39,630median
90 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-7.1%
Decline
Openings per year
9,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-6,800
95,200 → 88,400
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Human Resources Assistants page.

How to become a Human Resources Assistant

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingWritingMonitoringCritical Thinking

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Alabama

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 4 majors mapped to Human Resources Assistants4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 52.0401Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General
  • 52.0407Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry
  • 52.1001Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General
  • 52.1099Human Resources Management and Services, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing human resources assistants programs in Alabama.

What degree do you need to become a Human Resources Assistant?+

Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General, which awarded 547 degrees in Alabama in 2024-25, 60.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Human Resources Assistant?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Operations Support and Assistant Services, Human Resources Management and Services. Together they graduate about 907 people a year in Alabama.

How much do human resources assistants earn in Alabama?+

The median is $42,140 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 16.7% below the U.S. median of $50,610. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for human resources assistants growing?+

BLS projects a -7.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 9,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Alabama?+

29 institutions in Alabama reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do human resources assistants work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Personnel Clerk, Human Resources Assistant (HR Assistant), Human Resources Associate (HR Associate), Human Resources Administrative Assistant (HR Administrative Assistant) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 43-4161.

Human Resources Assistants in other statesArizonaCaliforniaUtahIdahoTexasMinnesotaColoradoGeorgia

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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