State rankings

Best colleges in Florida, ranked by ROI

Name: Florida colleges — cost, earnings and ROI rankings
Creator: Degree Dividend

By the Degree Dividend editorial data teamEvery figure verified against its federal source — methodologyData updated June 2026

We rank all 166 Florida institutions we profile by payback years — total net cost divided by earnings above the $48,360 high-school baseline. The state's median net price is $19,812/yr (above the $16,902 national median), and its graduates earn a median $38,539 ten years out (below the $43,549 national median). University of Florida-Online leads, clearing its cost in 0.8 years. (Scorecard, 2026.)

$19,812

Median net price / yr

Scorecard, 2026

$38,539

Median earnings, 10 yrs

Scorecard, 2026

7 yrs

Median payback

Our math, 2026

166

Colleges ranked

degreedividend.com

Florida colleges by payback (best first)

#	College	Net price/yr	Earnings 10y	Payback
1	University of Florida-Online	$4,815	$71,588	0.8 yrs
2	University of Florida	$6,541	$71,588	1.1 yrs
3	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide	$18,725	$84,131	2.1 yrs
4	West Coast University-Miami	$32,539	$102,672	2.4 yrs
5	Chamberlain University-Florida	$31,269	$92,405	2.8 yrs
6	Florida International University	$9,288	$60,249	3.1 yrs
7	Florida State University	$11,297	$61,675	3.4 yrs
8	Taylor College	$20,300	$60,311	3.4 yrs
9	Galen Health Institutes-Miami Campus	$27,151	$61,480	4.1 yrs
10	Florida Atlantic University	$8,752	$56,746	4.2 yrs
11	University of Central Florida	$10,411	$58,308	4.2 yrs
12	University of South Florida	$9,812	$57,743	4.2 yrs
13	Galen College of Nursing-Tampa Bay	$28,197	$61,480	4.3 yrs
14	Galen Health Institutes-Sarasota	$28,476	$61,480	4.3 yrs
15	Galen Health Institutes-Gainesville	$29,559	$61,480	4.5 yrs
16	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach	$41,272	$84,131	4.6 yrs
17	AdventHealth University	$30,135	$72,282	5 yrs
18	Jacksonville University	$25,180	$68,010	5.1 yrs
19	University of North Florida	$10,154	$56,343	5.1 yrs
20	University of Miami	$37,244	$75,328	5.5 yrs
21	George T Baker Aviation Technical College	$7,489	$52,312	7.6 yrs
22	Florida Gulf Coast University	$12,568	$54,560	8.1 yrs
23	Aviator College of Aeronautical Science and Technology	$43,941	$67,739	9.1 yrs
24	National Aviation Academy of Tampa Bay	$27,476	$59,029	10.3 yrs
25	Nova Southeastern University	$30,371	$59,209	11.2 yrs
26	Barry University	$22,613	$55,966	11.9 yrs
27	Universal Technical Institute-South Florida Miramar	$28,759	$52,873	12.7 yrs
28	The University of Tampa	$36,211	$59,436	13.1 yrs
29	Rollins College	$34,732	$58,295	14 yrs
30	Florida Southern College	$28,551	$55,294	16.5 yrs
31	St. Thomas University	$26,312	$54,272	17.8 yrs
32	Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Orlando	$24,995	$53,341	20.1 yrs
33	Stetson University	$19,372	$51,642	23.6 yrs
34	Eckerd College	$38,071	$51,819	44 yrs
35	University of West Florida	$9,364	$49,137	48.2 yrs
36	Ave Maria University	$24,860	$49,520	85.7 yrs
37	Flagler College	$30,525	$49,483	108.7 yrs
38	Palm Beach Atlantic University	$28,354	$49,232	130.1 yrs
39	Lynn University	$44,089	$49,006	273 yrs
40	Saint Leo University	$21,293	$48,364	21293 yrs
41	New College of Florida	$7,195	$48,082	no payback
42	Universal Technical Institute-Orlando	$25,003	$48,341	no payback
43	Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology	$21,276	$47,792	no payback
44	Academy for Nursing and Health Occupations	$30,381	$47,039	no payback
45	South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary	$21,751	$45,354	no payback
46	Florida SouthWestern State College	$7,247	$43,421	no payback
47	St Petersburg College	$1,471	$42,557	no payback
48	Warner University	$19,748	$46,086	no payback
49	Everglades University	$27,371	$47,597	no payback
50	Florida State College at Jacksonville	$4,128	$42,244	no payback
51	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	$13,739	$44,349	no payback
52	The College of the Florida Keys	$13,636	$42,508	no payback
53	Saint Johns River State College	$6,135	$41,728	no payback
54	Palm Beach State College	$9,182	$41,923	no payback
55	Baptist University of Florida	$10,372	$42,836	no payback
56	Santa Fe College	$11,098	$41,631	no payback
57	Broward College	$14,506	$41,939	no payback
58	Southeastern University	$31,942	$46,744	no payback
59	Hillsborough College	$3,861	$40,782	no payback
60	Seminole State College of Florida	$8,970	$41,733	no payback
61	SABER College	$11,009	$40,816	no payback
62	Webber International University	$29,529	$45,606	no payback
63	Polk State College	$9,427	$40,624	no payback
64	South Florida State College	$3,877	$39,990	no payback
65	Miami Dade College	$5,463	$40,654	no payback
66	Pasco-Hernando State College	$5,203	$39,903	no payback
67	Lake-Sumter State College	$5,855	$39,876	no payback
68	William T McFatter Technical College	$11,901	$41,656	no payback
69	Northwest Florida State College	$4,571	$39,664	no payback
70	Florida College	$23,931	$43,445	no payback
71	Southeastern College-Boynton Beach	$28,820	$41,200	no payback
72	Valencia College	$12,037	$40,594	no payback
73	State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota	$22,356	$40,318	no payback
74	Indian River State College	$3,815	$38,315	no payback
75	Gulf Coast State College	$4,709	$38,359	no payback
76	Manatee Technical College	$1,808	$38,129	no payback
77	Albizu University-Miami	$19,849	$41,544	no payback
78	Erwin Technical College	$2,796	$37,966	no payback
79	Osceola Technical College	$6,186	$38,484	no payback
80	Suncoast Technical College	$16,917	$40,621	no payback
81	Chipola College	$1,133	$37,378	no payback
82	Rasmussen University-Florida	$21,909	$39,080	no payback
83	Strayer University-Florida	$16,064	$40,092	no payback
84	Florida Gateway College	$5,364	$37,894	no payback
85	Tallahassee State College	$7,781	$37,561	no payback
86	Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale	$30,498	$39,696	no payback
87	Eastern Florida State College	$6,440	$37,195	no payback
88	Atlantic Technical College	$10,414	$38,560	no payback
89	Daytona State College	$7,177	$37,096	no payback
90	Pensacola State College	$3,957	$36,739	no payback
91	Bethune-Cookman University	$12,030	$38,518	no payback
92	Florida Institute of Technology	$35,639	$43,137	no payback
93	Immokalee Technical College	$9,065	$37,652	no payback
94	Radford M Locklin Technical College	$987	$35,997	no payback
95	Cape Coral Technical College	$1,463	$36,080	no payback
96	College of Central Florida	$12,088	$38,203	no payback
97	Lorenzo Walker Technical College	$7,283	$36,853	no payback
98	Charlotte Technical College	$5,874	$36,349	no payback
99	Robert Morgan Educational Center and Technical College	$12,776	$37,543	no payback
100	Herzing University-Orlando	$19,850	$36,909	no payback
101	Herzing University-Tampa	$20,421	$36,909	no payback
102	Tulsa Welding School-Jacksonville	$31,767	$41,067	no payback
103	Miami Lakes Educational Center and Technical College	$2,839	$35,014	no payback
104	Marion Technical College	$8,831	$36,095	no payback
105	Tulsa Welding School-Jacksonville	$34,714	$41,067	no payback
106	University of Fort Lauderdale	$19,965	$38,062	no payback
107	North Florida College	$804	$33,929	no payback
108	Trinity College of Jacksonville	$20,011	$37,275	no payback
109	Lindsey Hopkins Technical College	$6,243	$34,107	no payback
110	Fortis College-Cutler Bay	$22,393	$34,726	no payback
111	Withlacoochee Technical College	$10,348	$34,279	no payback
112	Edward Waters University	$13,649	$34,782	no payback
113	Florida Memorial University	$23,238	$36,624	no payback
114	Southern Technical College	$21,171	$36,155	no payback
115	First Coast Technical College	$9,577	$33,784	no payback
116	Sheridan Technical College	$6,677	$33,166	no payback
117	Ringling College of Art and Design	$57,742	$43,325	no payback
118	Florida National University-Main Campus	$23,043	$33,928	no payback
119	Orange Technical College-South Campus	$9,215	$33,350	no payback
120	Pinellas Technical College-St. Petersburg	$23,620	$36,188	no payback
121	Full Sail University	$38,875	$38,219	no payback
122	South University-West Palm Beach	$20,271	$34,421	no payback
123	South University-Tampa	$20,434	$34,421	no payback
124	Pinellas Technical College-Clearwater	$21,932	$34,627	no payback
125	Riveroak Technical College	$10,143	$31,778	no payback
126	Lake Technical College	$16,252	$32,793	no payback
127	Fred K Marchman Technical College	$4,881	$30,259	no payback
128	Concorde Career Institute-Jacksonville	$24,917	$34,098	no payback
129	ATA Career Education	$28,250	$34,577	no payback
130	Ridge Technical College	$23,170	$33,484	no payback
131	Okaloosa Technical College	$18,819	$32,577	no payback
132	Lively Technical College	$10,307	$30,413	no payback
133	Fortis Institute-Port Saint Lucie	$24,615	$32,886	no payback
134	Arizona College of Nursing-Tampa	$36,680	$34,657	no payback
135	College of Business and Technology	$11,208	$29,534	no payback
136	Ultimate Medical Academy	$20,457	$29,194	no payback
137	Miami Regional University	$22,113	$29,081	no payback
138	Gwinnett Institute	$34,939	$33,735	no payback
139	Tom P. Haney Technical College	$9,099	$28,254	no payback
140	College of Business and Technology	$17,416	$29,534	no payback
141	College of Business and Technology	$17,842	$29,534	no payback
142	Southern Technical College	$20,623	$29,893	no payback
143	Aveda Institute-Tampa Bay	$22,630	$29,449	no payback
144	Aveda Institute-South Florida	$24,529	$29,426	no payback
145	H W Brewster Technical College	$15,711	$27,053	no payback
146	Fortis College-Orange Park	$24,205	$28,506	no payback
147	Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology	$22,870	$28,190	no payback
148	Orange Technical College-West Campus	$13,700	$25,145	no payback
149	South Florida Institute of Technology	$31,695	$28,570	no payback
150	Jones Technical Institute	$25,462	$24,576	no payback
151	Robert Fiance Beauty Schools	$27,448	$27,359	no payback
152	Fortis Institute-Pensacola	$27,867	$26,652	no payback
153	New Professions Technical Institute	$50,756	$25,962	no payback
154	Praxis Institute	$8,785	$22,300	no payback
155	Aveda Institute-Fort Myers	$25,998	$24,057	no payback
156	Beacon College	$53,517	$29,420	no payback
157	Hollywood Institute	$18,466	$22,285	no payback
158	Artistic Nails and Beauty Academy-Tampa	$14,277	$20,948	no payback
159	Hollywood Institute of Beauty Careers-Casselberry	$17,751	$21,386	no payback
160	Hollywood Institute of Beauty Careers	$19,775	$21,386	no payback
161	Medical Institute of Palm Beach	$41,985	$25,811	no payback
162	Florida Education Institute	$36,273	$24,588	no payback
163	Bene's Career Academy	$24,275	$19,359	no payback
164	Hollywood Institute of Beauty Careers-West Palm Beach	$37,240	$21,386	no payback
165	Celebrity School of Beauty	$28,762	$15,626	no payback
166	Beauty Academy of South Florida	$52,816	$16,826	no payback

College Scorecard (2026), institution-level · ranking and payback are our math. Payback uses institution-wide earnings; a specific major can rank very differently.

Colleges in Florida: frequently asked questions

Which college has the best ROI in Florida?

University of Florida-Online. It charges $4,815/yr after aid and its graduates earn a median $71,588 ten years out, clearing the cost in about 0.8 years — the fastest payback of the 166 Florida colleges we track.

How much does college cost in Florida?

The median net price across Florida colleges is $19,812/yr after grants and scholarships — above the $16,902 national median. That is the actual price the typical aided student pays, not the published sticker.

What do Florida college graduates earn?

A median $38,539 ten years after entry (Scorecard), below the $43,549 national median. Earnings vary widely by school and major — see each college's profile for its own figure.

How many Florida colleges pay for themselves?

40 of the 166 Florida colleges we track clear their cost on institution-wide earnings above the high-school baseline. The rest need a high-ROI major to pay off — the school average alone does not.