Cheap Colleges in Florida for Out-of-State Students
Out-of-state students pay between $8,062 and $29,944 a year in tuition and fees at the 33 public colleges and universities we rank in Florida, a gap of $21,882 between the cheapest and the most expensive. This list ranks the non-resident price, not the in-state price.
The median public college charges nonresidents $11,994, $792 (6%) below the national median of $12,786 for public colleges. Residents pay a median of $3,155, so the typical out-of-state premium is $8,839, with nonresidents charged 3.8 times the in-state price.
Tallahassee State College ranks first at $8,062, ahead of Gulf Coast State College ($8,635) and Broward College ($8,952).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- All public colleges and universities, 4-year and 2-year (community colleges and state colleges included)
- Ranked by out-of-state tuition & fees, 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)
- A reported out-of-state tuition & fees value (schools without one are not ranked)
- Schools that report no tuition or a $0 price are not ranked
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Florida has 33
- Data period
- Out-of-state tuition and fees: academic year 2024-25. Shown for public colleges only, because private colleges charge everyone the same price.
- In-state tuition and fees: full-time undergraduate sticker price, academic year 2024-25. Some community colleges report the in-district rate.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- 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.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 33 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Tallahassee State College Tallahassee, FL Public · 4-year | $8,062 | $2,026 | $7,781 | 37% | 11,053 |
| 2 | Gulf Coast State College Panama City, FL Public · 4-year | $8,635 | $2,370 | $4,709 | 44% | 3,934 |
| 3 | Broward College Fort Lauderdale, FL Public · 4-year | $8,952 | $2,830 | $14,506 | 38% | 24,922 |
| 4 | Santa Fe College Gainesville, FL Public · 4-year | $9,189 | $2,563 | $11,098 | 53% | 11,122 |
| 5 | St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL Public · 4-year | $9,286 | $2,682 | $1,471 | 38% | 18,950 |
| 6 | Saint Johns River State College Palatka, FL Public · 4-year | $9,335 | $2,591 | $6,135 | 47% | 4,403 |
| 7 | Pensacola State College Pensacola, FL Public · 4-year | $9,460 | $2,361 | $3,957 | 39% | 7,538 |
| 8 | Eastern Florida State College Melbourne, FL Public · 4-year | $9,739 | $2,496 | $6,440 | 52% | 10,490 |
| 9 | Polk State College Winter Haven, FL Public · 4-year | $9,817 | $2,694 | $9,427 | 35% | 7,180 |
| 10 | Florida State College at Jacksonville Jacksonville, FL Public · 4-year | $9,992 | $2,878 | $4,128 | 35% | 19,648 |
| 11 | Indian River State College Fort Pierce, FL Public · 4-year | $10,201 | $2,764 | $3,815 | 44% | 11,822 |
| 12 | Northwest Florida State College Niceville, FL Public · 4-year | $10,612 | $2,583 | $4,571 | 41% | 3,010 |
| 13 | Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, FL Public · 4-year | $10,910 | $3,050 | $9,182 | 41% | 21,956 |
| 14 | North Florida College Madison, FL Public · 4-year | $11,400 | $3,054 | $804 | 61% | 793 |
| 15 | State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota Bradenton, FL Public · 4-year | $11,595 | $3,074 | $22,356 | 37% | 7,379 |
| 16 | South Florida State College Avon Park, FL Public · 4-year | $11,859 | $3,165 | $3,877 | 49% | 2,045 |
| 17 | Daytona State College Daytona Beach, FL Public · 4-year | $11,994 | $3,106 | $7,177 | 42% | 10,176 |
| 18 | Pasco-Hernando State College New Port Richey, FL Public · 4-year | $12,032 | $3,155 | $5,203 | 42% | 6,900 |
| 19 | Florida SouthWestern State College Fort Myers, FL Public · 4-year | $12,979 | $3,401 | $7,247 | 39% | 11,052 |
| 20 | The College of the Florida Keys Key West, FL Public · 4-year | $13,162 | $3,276 | $13,636 | 37% | 1,012 |
| 21 | Lake-Sumter State College Leesburg, FL Public · 4-year | $13,276 | $3,292 | $5,855 | 46% | 4,177 |
| 22 | University of South Florida Tampa, FL Public · 4-year | $17,324 | $6,410 | $9,812 | 76% | 37,207 |
| 23 | Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL Public · 4-year | $17,324 | $4,879 | $8,752 | 63% | 23,757 |
| 24 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Tallahassee, FL Public · 4-year | $17,725 | $5,785 | $13,739 | 53% | 7,582 |
| 25 | Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Public · 4-year | $18,786 | $5,656 | $11,297 | 84% | 32,212 |
| 26 | Florida International University Miami, FL Public · 4-year | $18,964 | $6,565 | $9,288 | 74% | 39,508 |
| 27 | University of West Florida Pensacola, FL Public · 4-year | $19,241 | $6,360 | $9,364 | 60% | 9,330 |
| 28 | University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL Public · 4-year | $20,793 | $6,389 | $10,154 | 69% | 13,359 |
| 29 | Florida Polytechnic University Lakeland, FL Public · 4-year | $21,005 | $4,940 | $11,853 | 54% | 1,689 |
| 30 | University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Public · 4-year | $22,467 | $6,368 | $10,411 | 77% | 59,146 |
| 31 | Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL Public · 4-year | $25,162 | $6,118 | $12,568 | 57% | 13,874 |
| 32 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · 4-year | $28,659 | $6,381 | $6,541 | 91% | 35,629 |
| 33 | New College of Florida Sarasota, FL Public · 4-year | $29,944 | $6,916 | $7,195 | 64% | 843 |
How to compare these colleges
The ranked column is the out-of-state price. The in-state price is shown for comparison, and net price is the average for students who receive aid, measured mostly for in-state students at public colleges, so it is not a good guide to what a nonresident will pay. Many states cut the non-resident rate through regional exchange programs, reciprocity agreements or merit awards, and residency can change after a year of living in the state, so check each college's non-resident aid page before ruling a school out.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Florida
Cheapest colleges in Florida
42 schools
Community colleges in Florida
21 schools
Best value colleges in Florida
45 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Florida
65 schools
Most affordable private colleges in Florida
30 schools
Same list in nearby states
Cheap colleges in Georgia for out-of-state students
27 schools
Cheap colleges in Alabama for out-of-state students
18 schools
Cheap colleges in California for out-of-state students
121 schools
All 110 colleges in Florida See the national version of this ranking