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Florida ranking · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges in Florida

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data retrieved March-July 2026, these operating Florida colleges (undergraduate enrollment 1,000+) rank highest on value: median earnings ten years after enrollment minus average net price. That single gap is the sort key - not prestige, selectivity, or a composite score.

$66,773
Top earnings-price gap
80
Florida colleges ranked
$4,815
#1 avg net price

The list in one line

Among Florida colleges with enrollment of 1,000+, every school on this list clears a $-14,417 earnings-minus-net-price gap. University of Florida-Online leads at $66,773.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$66,773
#1 - University of Florida-Online
$71,588
#1 ten-year median earnings
$-14,417
#80 cutoff gap
1,000+
undergraduate enrollment floor

Value = 10-year median earnings - average net price for federal-aid students. See methodology for cohort and lag details.

Top 15 Florida colleges by earnings-price gap

Higher gap = more earnings relative to average net price

earnings - net price

What this shows Specialized health and career schools can rank highly when program mix lifts earnings; compare completion rates and debt on each school profile before reading value as overall quality.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full Florida list

# School Name Median Earnings (10yr)Avg Net PriceEarnings - PriceEnrollment
1 University of Florida-Online $71,588 $4,815 $66,773 4,627
2 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide $84,131 $18,725 $65,406 9,139
3 University of Florida $71,588 $6,541 $65,047 35,629
4 Florida International University $60,249 $9,288 $50,961 39,508
5 Florida State University $61,675 $11,297 $50,378 32,212
6 Florida Atlantic University $56,746 $8,752 $47,994 23,757
7 University of South Florida $57,743 $9,812 $47,931 37,207
8 University of Central Florida $58,308 $10,411 $47,897 59,146
9 University of North Florida $56,343 $10,154 $46,189 13,359
10 George T Baker Aviation Technical College $52,312 $7,489 $44,823 1,040
11 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach $84,131 $41,272 $42,859 7,860
12 Jacksonville University $68,010 $25,180 $42,830 2,930
13 AdventHealth University $72,282 $30,135 $42,147 1,361
14 Florida Gulf Coast University $54,560 $12,568 $41,992 13,874
15 St Petersburg College $42,557 $1,471 $41,086 18,950
16 University of West Florida $49,137 $9,364 $39,773 9,330
17 Florida State College at Jacksonville $42,244 $4,128 $38,116 19,648
18 University of Miami $75,328 $37,244 $38,084 12,913
19 Hillsborough College $40,782 $3,861 $36,921 21,472
20 Manatee Technical College $38,129 $1,808 $36,321 1,486
21 Chipola College $37,378 $1,133 $36,245 1,312
22 Florida SouthWestern State College $43,421 $7,247 $36,174 11,052
23 South Florida State College $39,990 $3,877 $36,113 2,045
24 Saint Johns River State College $41,728 $6,135 $35,593 4,403
25 Miami Dade College $40,654 $5,463 $35,191 46,182
26 Northwest Florida State College $39,664 $4,571 $35,093 3,010
27 Pasco-Hernando State College $39,903 $5,203 $34,700 6,900
28 Indian River State College $38,315 $3,815 $34,500 11,822
29 Lake-Sumter State College $39,876 $5,855 $34,021 4,177
30 Gulf Coast State College $38,359 $4,709 $33,650 3,934
31 Barry University $55,966 $22,613 $33,353 2,212
32 Galen College of Nursing-Tampa Bay $61,480 $28,197 $33,283 1,465
33 Pensacola State College $36,739 $3,957 $32,782 7,538
34 Seminole State College of Florida $41,733 $8,970 $32,763 12,864
35 Palm Beach State College $41,923 $9,182 $32,741 21,956
36 Florida Gateway College $37,894 $5,364 $32,530 2,301
37 Stetson University $51,642 $19,372 $32,270 2,297
38 Polk State College $40,624 $9,427 $31,197 7,180
39 Eastern Florida State College $37,195 $6,440 $30,755 10,490
40 Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University $44,349 $13,739 $30,610 7,582
41 Santa Fe College $41,631 $11,098 $30,533 11,122
42 Daytona State College $37,096 $7,177 $29,919 10,176
43 Tallahassee State College $37,561 $7,781 $29,780 11,053
44 The College of the Florida Keys $42,508 $13,636 $28,872 1,012
45 Nova Southeastern University $59,209 $30,371 $28,838 7,240
46 Valencia College $40,594 $12,037 $28,557 39,486
47 Atlantic Technical College $38,560 $10,414 $28,146 3,000
48 St. Thomas University $54,272 $26,312 $27,960 2,214
49 Broward College $41,939 $14,506 $27,433 24,922
50 Saint Leo University $48,364 $21,293 $27,071 6,721
51 Florida Southern College $55,294 $28,551 $26,743 2,656
52 Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology $47,792 $21,276 $26,516 1,315
53 Sheridan Technical College $33,166 $6,677 $26,489 1,352
54 Bethune-Cookman University $38,518 $12,030 $26,488 2,732
55 College of Central Florida $38,203 $12,088 $26,115 5,033
56 Robert Morgan Educational Center and Technical College $37,543 $12,776 $24,767 1,045
57 Ave Maria University $49,520 $24,860 $24,660 1,298
58 Orange Technical College-South Campus $33,350 $9,215 $24,135 1,124
59 Strayer University-Florida $40,092 $16,064 $24,028 1,107
60 Suncoast Technical College $40,621 $16,917 $23,704 1,116
61 Rollins College $58,295 $34,732 $23,563 2,631
62 The University of Tampa $59,436 $36,211 $23,225 10,572
63 Edward Waters University $34,782 $13,649 $21,133 1,087
64 Palm Beach Atlantic University $49,232 $28,354 $20,878 2,603
65 Everglades University $47,597 $27,371 $20,226 2,789
66 Flagler College $49,483 $30,525 $18,958 2,391
67 State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota $40,318 $22,356 $17,962 7,379
68 Rasmussen University-Florida $39,080 $21,909 $17,171 3,121
69 Southeastern University $46,744 $31,942 $14,802 4,813
70 Eckerd College $51,819 $38,071 $13,748 1,888
71 Florida Memorial University $36,624 $23,238 $13,386 1,183
72 Florida National University-Main Campus $33,928 $23,043 $10,885 2,449
73 Southern Technical College $29,893 $20,623 $9,270 1,875
74 Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale $39,696 $30,498 $9,198 17,678
75 Ultimate Medical Academy $29,194 $20,457 $8,737 8,932
76 Florida Institute of Technology $43,137 $35,639 $7,498 3,404
77 Lynn University $49,006 $44,089 $4,917 2,859
78 Full Sail University $38,219 $38,875 $-656 25,777
79 South Florida Institute of Technology $28,570 $31,695 $-3,125 9,747
80 Ringling College of Art and Design $43,325 $57,742 $-14,417 1,662

About This Ranking

Schools in Florida are ranked by the same value metric as the national best-value list: 10-year median earnings minus average net price. Only operating schools with at least 1,000 undergraduates and both figures published are included. Ties break toward larger enrollment. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. See methodology.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means the largest earnings-minus-price gap among eligible Florida schools - not teaching quality, campus life, or the right fit for any applicant. Program mix (for example nursing or engineering) can lift institution-level earnings without proving a stronger undergraduate experience.

Earnings cover federally aided students only and describe a lagged cohort. Net price averages aided students and will not match every family's bill. Always open the school profile for completion, debt, and program detail.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or admissions advice.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard and IPEDS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.