2022 Best Colleges in Florida
There are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its Top Florida Schools ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 87 schools in Florida to determine which ones were the best in terms of overall quality. Instead of depending on subjective information, we focus on over 20 objective factors to determine this ranking. These factors include such things as student-to-faculty ratio, average graduate earnings, and graduation rate.
Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering!
Top Colleges in Florida
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found University of Florida to be the best school for overall quality in Florida in this year’s ranking. Located in Gainesville, Florida, the large public school awarded 15,815 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2019-2020.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UF go into careers with an average salary of $56,000 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hillsborough Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Colleges in Florida list. HCC is a fairly large public school situated in Tampa, Florida. It awarded 4,060 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $33,300 during the early years of their career..
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Florida list means Broward College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the large public school handed out 7,106 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from BC make an average of $34,900 per year during the early years of their career.
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in Florida list means Palm Beach State College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Lake Worth, Florida, the large public school awarded 5,147 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2019-2020.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Palm Beach State College make an average of $33,300 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Valencia College. The school came in at #5 in Florida on this year’s overall quality ranking. Located in Orlando, Florida, the large public school handed out 8,919 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Valencia College is $32,600 during the early years of their career.
Florida State University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida ranking. This large public school is located in Tallahassee, Florida, and it awarded 13,051 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Florida State go into careers with an average salary of $46,400 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #7, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach did quite well on the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida list. Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach is located in Daytona Beach, Florida and has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1,425 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach make an average of $66,200 per year during the early years of their career.
Read full report on Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach
University of Miami ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges in Florida list. U Miami is a private not-for-profit institution located in Coral Gables, Florida. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5,823 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from U Miami is $60,100 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #9, Florida SouthWestern State College did quite well on the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida list. FSW is a public institution located in Fort Myers, Florida. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2,990 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $34,700 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #10, Tallahassee Community College did quite well on the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida list.Tallahassee, Florida is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 2,866 students in 2019-2020.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Tallahassee Community College is $30,700 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, University of Central Florida did quite well on the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida list. UCF is a large public school situated in Orlando, Florida. It awarded 17,813 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,400 during the early years of their career..
Seminole State College of Florida landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida ranking. Located in Sanford, Florida, the fairly large public school awarded 3,250 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2019-2020.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Seminole State go into careers with an average salary of $31,800 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #13, Santa Fe College did quite well on the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida list. This fairly large public school is located in Gainesville, Florida, and it awarded 2,922 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Santa Fe College is $34,600 during the early years of their career.
Miami Dade College did quite well in the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida ranking, coming in at #14. This large public school is located in Miami, Florida, and it awarded 11,900 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from MDC go into careers with an average salary of $31,100 during the early years of their career.
University of South Florida - Main Campus ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Florida list. University of South Florida - Main Campus is a large public school located in Tampa, Florida that handed out 14,845 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. During the early years of their career, graduates from USF Tampa make an average of $43,500 a year.
Read full report on University of South Florida - Main Campus
Johnson & Wales University - North Miami came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Florida ranking. Located in North Miami, Florida, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 348 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2019-2020.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from JWU North Miami make an average of $38,800 per year during the early years of their career.
Florida International University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in Florida list. Located in Miami, Florida, the large public school awarded 17,230 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2019-2020.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from FIU make an average of $46,300 a year.
Polk State College did quite well in the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida ranking, coming in at #18. Polk State is a medium-sized public school situated in Winter Haven, Florida. It awarded 2,112 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Polk State is $31,800 during the early years of their career.
Indian River State College landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida ranking. Indian River State College is a public institution located in Fort Pierce, Florida. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3,390 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Indian River State College make an average of $30,400 per year during the early years of their career.
Florida State College at Jacksonville ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges in Florida list. FSCJ is a large public school situated in Jacksonville, Florida. It awarded 2,772 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $31,900 during the early years of their career..
Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Florida ranking. Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It awarded 5,246 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale make an average of $31,100 a year.
St Petersburg College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Florida ranking. SPC is a public institution located in Clearwater, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5,178 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from SPC go into careers with an average salary of $32,900 during the early years of their career.
Eastern Florida State College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges in Florida list. EFSC is located in Cocoa, Florida and has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3,308 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $29,300 during the early years of their career..
Rasmussen University - Florida ranked #24 on this year’s Best Colleges in Florida list. Rasmussen University - Florida is located in Ocala, Florida and has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2,802 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from Rasmussen University - Florida make an average of $32,600 a year.
State College of Florida - Manatee - Sarasota did quite well in the 2022 Best Colleges in Florida ranking, coming in at #25. State College of Florida - Manatee - Sarasota is a medium-sized public school situated in Bradenton, Florida. It awarded 1,764 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
During the early years of their career, graduates from State College of Florida - Manatee - Sarasota make an average of $30,900 a year.
Best Colleges in the Southeast Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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