by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Top Florida Colleges ranking is part of that endeavor.
We analyzed 70 colleges and universities across Florida to determine which 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.
See what other factors we include in our ranking methodology.
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!
Learn more about these excellent schools below: Our 2025 rankings named University of Florida the best school in Florida in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, 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 UF is $71,588 during the early years of their career. Out of the 70 schools in Florida that were part of this year’s ranking, Florida State University landed the #2 spot on the list. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Florida State make an average of $61,675 per year during the early years of their career. The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Florida. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale make an average of $39,696 per year during the early years of their career. A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in Florida list means Valencia College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,594 during the early years of their career.. The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Rasmussen University - Florida helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Florida. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Rasmussen University - Florida make an average of $39,080 per year during the early years of their career.1
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University of Miami landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $75,328 during the early years of their career..
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida ranking, coming in at #7. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach make an average of $84,131 per year during the early years of their career. Full Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach Report With a ranking of #8, University of South Florida - Main Campus did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida list. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from USF Tampa make an average of $57,743 a year. Florida Institute of Technology came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Florida ranking. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, 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 $43,137 during the early years of their career.. University of Central Florida did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida ranking, coming in at #10. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from UCF make an average of $58,308 a year.7
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Hillsborough Community College landed the #11 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from HCC is $40,782 during the early years of their career.
Palm Beach State College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Florida ranking. During the early years of their career, graduates from Palm Beach State College make an average of $41,923 a year. With a ranking of #13, Florida International University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida list. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $60,249 during the early years of their career.. Nova Southeastern University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Florida list. During the early years of their career, graduates from NUS Florida make an average of $59,209 a year. With a ranking of #15, Broward College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida list. During the early years of their career, graduates from BC make an average of $41,939 a year.1213
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Seminole State College of Florida landed the #16 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Seminole State go into careers with an average salary of $41,733 during the early years of their career.
Tallahassee Community College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in Florida list. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Tallahassee Community College go into careers with an average salary of $37,561 during the early years of their career. With a ranking of #18, Miami Dade College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida list. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,654 during the early years of their career.. Florida State College at Jacksonville landed the #19 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida ranking. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $42,244 during the early years of their career.. With a ranking of #20, Florida SouthWestern State College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida list. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from FSW is $43,421 during the early years of their career.17181920
With a ranking of #21, Santa Fe College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $41,631 during the early years of their career..
Florida Atlantic University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida ranking, coming in at #22. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from FAU go into careers with an average salary of $56,746 during the early years of their career. St Petersburg College landed the #23 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida ranking. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from SPC go into careers with an average salary of $42,557 during the early years of their career. Eastern Florida State College landed the #24 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida ranking. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, 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 EFSC is $37,195 during the early years of their career. With a ranking of #25, Indian River State College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Florida list. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Indian River State College make an average of $38,315 per year during the early years of their career.22232425
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.