Best Value Colleges in Florida
We estimate how many years the earnings premium over a typical Florida high school graduate would take to repay four years of net price. Across the 45 public and private nonprofit colleges that qualify, the estimate runs from 0.3 years at the fastest to 15.4 years at the slowest.
The median college needs 2.5 years to repay its net price, 0.7 years faster than the national median of 3.2 years. Public colleges (24) have a median payback of 1.4 years against 4.5 years for the 21 private nonprofit colleges, so public options tend to repay faster here.
North Florida College ranks first at 0.3 years, ahead of University of Florida (0.6 years) and Florida Polytechnic University (0.9 years). Payback is an estimate, not a forecast: it assumes four years of net price and the earnings of past graduates, and it says nothing about your own major or career.
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- Public and private nonprofit 4-year colleges
- Ranked by payback, lowest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in Florida
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- Graduation rate of 40% or higher
- A reported payback value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Florida has 45
- Data period
- Payback: years for the earnings premium over a high school graduate in the same state to repay four years of net price (shown only when the premium is at least $2,000).
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Graduate debt: median federal loan debt of completers, pooled 2020 and 2021 cohorts.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 45 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | North Florida College Madison, FL Public · 4-year | 0.3 years | $804 | $45,061 | — | 61% |
| 2 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · 4-year | 0.6 years | $6,541 | $77,321 | $15,000 | 91% |
| 3 | Florida Polytechnic University Lakeland, FL Public · 4-year | 0.9 years | $11,853 | $86,952 | $14,250 | 54% |
| 4 | Northwest Florida State College Niceville, FL Public · 4-year | 1.0 years | $4,571 | $52,556 | $7,932 | 41% |
| 5 | University of West Florida Pensacola, FL Public · 4-year | 1.1 years | $9,364 | $67,723 | $16,624 | 60% |
| 6 | Gulf Coast State College Panama City, FL Public · 4-year | 1.1 years | $4,709 | $52,051 | $7,147 | 44% |
| 7 | South Florida State College Avon Park, FL Public · 4-year | 1.1 years | $3,877 | $48,619 | $7,368 | 49% |
| 8 | Indian River State College Fort Pierce, FL Public · 4-year | 1.2 years | $3,815 | $47,615 | $8,023 | 44% |
| 9 | Pasco-Hernando State College New Port Richey, FL Public · 4-year | 1.2 years | $5,203 | $51,981 | $9,535 | 42% |
| 10 | Florida International University Miami, FL Public · 4-year | 1.3 years | $9,288 | $62,192 | $16,500 | 74% |
| 11 | University of South Florida Tampa, FL Public · 4-year | 1.4 years | $9,812 | $62,079 | $17,988 | 76% |
| 12 | Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Public · 4-year | 1.4 years | $11,297 | $66,924 | $18,000 | 84% |
| 13 | Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL Public · 4-year | 1.4 years | $8,752 | $59,690 | $17,236 | 63% |
| 14 | University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Public · 4-year | 1.5 years | $10,411 | $61,355 | $18,190 | 77% |
| 15 | Saint Johns River State College Palatka, FL Public · 4-year | 1.5 years | $6,135 | $51,036 | $12,000 | 47% |
| 16 | University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL Public · 4-year | 1.6 years | $10,154 | $59,418 | $15,531 | 69% |
| 17 | Eastern Florida State College Melbourne, FL Public · 4-year | 1.8 years | $6,440 | $49,053 | $12,250 | 52% |
| 18 | Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL Public · 4-year | 2.0 years | $12,568 | $59,369 | $17,622 | 57% |
| 19 | Daytona State College Daytona Beach, FL Public · 4-year | 2.0 years | $7,177 | $49,001 | $8,250 | 42% |
| 20 | Lake-Sumter State College Leesburg, FL Public · 4-year | 2.0 years | $5,855 | $46,194 | $6,750 | 46% |
| 21 | Santa Fe College Gainesville, FL Public · 4-year | 2.4 years | $11,098 | $53,155 | $11,310 | 53% |
| 22 | Jacksonville University Jacksonville, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.4 years | $25,180 | $77,058 | $22,000 | 54% |
| 23 | Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.5 years | $35,639 | $90,403 | $27,000 | 64% |
| 24 | Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, FL Public · 4-year | 2.6 years | $9,182 | $48,635 | $7,081 | 41% |
| 25 | Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.6 years | $30,371 | $81,582 | $24,250 | 64% |
| 26 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.8 years | $41,272 | $93,582 | $23,666 | 67% |
| 27 | University of Miami Coral Gables, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.9 years | $37,244 | $85,019 | $17,500 | 84% |
| 28 | St. Thomas University Miami Gardens, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.9 years | $26,312 | $70,806 | $19,125 | 46% |
| 29 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Tallahassee, FL Public · 4-year | 3.0 years | $13,739 | $52,657 | $23,548 | 53% |
| 30 | New College of Florida Sarasota, FL Public · 4-year | 3.0 years | $7,195 | $43,848 | $17,375 | 64% |
| 31 | Stetson University DeLand, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.3 years | $19,372 | $57,773 | $23,250 | 63% |
| 32 | Saint Leo University Saint Leo, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.5 years | $21,293 | $58,644 | $25,278 | 47% |
| 33 | Ave Maria University Ave Maria, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.0 years | $24,860 | $59,489 | $20,776 | 55% |
| 34 | Everglades University Boca Raton, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.4 years | $27,371 | $59,470 | $38,996 | 59% |
| 35 | Rollins College Winter Park, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.5 years | $34,732 | $65,488 | $25,500 | 76% |
| 36 | Florida Southern College Lakeland, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.7 years | $28,551 | $58,753 | $25,000 | 70% |
| 37 | The University of Tampa Tampa, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.1 years | $36,211 | $62,720 | $24,211 | 63% |
| 38 | Palm Beach Atlantic University West Palm Beach, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.5 years | $28,354 | $54,983 | $22,500 | 57% |
| 39 | Flagler College Saint Augustine, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 6.9 years | $30,525 | $52,031 | $24,250 | 56% |
| 40 | Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 7.3 years | $30,498 | $51,106 | $26,125 | 58% |
| 41 | Southeastern University Lakeland, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 7.9 years | $31,942 | $50,572 | $21,500 | 43% |
| 42 | Florida College Temple Terrace, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 8.2 years | $23,931 | $46,022 | $12,000 | 53% |
| 43 | Lynn University Boca Raton, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 9.2 years | $44,089 | $53,587 | $17,940 | 52% |
| 44 | Eckerd College Saint Petersburg, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 10.6 years | $38,071 | $48,651 | $27,000 | 67% |
| 45 | Ringling College of Art and Design Sarasota, FL Private nonprofit · 4-year | 15.4 years | $57,742 | $49,311 | $27,000 | 71% |
How to compare these colleges
Treat the payback column as a way to compare schools, not as a promise about your own future. It uses the average net price, so your own cost may be higher or lower, and it uses median earnings of former students, which depend heavily on major. Check earnings for your intended program on each college profile, and favor schools where the graduation rate is high.
Guides worth reading first
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Same list in nearby states
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All 110 colleges in Florida See the national version of this ranking