In 2023, U.S. News released its Best States ranking, which lists Florida as the top state in the country for education.
While the Sunshine State placed at No. 10 overall, the report lists Florida as a state with a “sizable system” of universities and community colleges.
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The education portion of the study ranked states on factors like college graduation rates, number of people with an advanced degree, amount of debt held for graduates and tuition levels.
The average level of debt at graduation was $24,454 — a good deal lower than the national average of $29,300, according to the report. The population of Florida also contained an estimated 43.2% of college-educated residents.
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According to U.S. News, Florida ranked highly for higher education, with the top-ranking universities in Florida including the following:
| State Rank | U.S. Rank | University | Out-of-State Tuition | In-State Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | University of Florida | $28,658 | $6,380 |
| 2 (tie) | 55 (tie) | Florida State University | $21,683 | $6,517 |
| 2 (tie) | 55 (tie) | University of Miami | $57,194 | N/A |
| 4 | 97 | University of South Florida | $17,324 | $6,410 |
| 5 | 137 | University of Central Florida | $22,467 | $6,368 |
Other factors in the education study involved Pre-K-12 education — something for which Florida also placed fairly high.
The report looked at variables like preschool enrollment, high school graduation rates, college readiness and test scores.
According to the study, Florida held a 90.2% graduation rate for high school students, as opposed to a national graduation rate of 86.5%.
Meanwhile, NAEP math test scores in Florida were 271, which is just shy of the national average of 274.
Aside from education, Florida also scored relatively high in areas like the economy (No. 7), fiscal stability (No. 13) and infrastructure (No. 14).
However, the state has fallen behind other states in terms of factors like affordability (No. 38) and healthcare (No. 27).
For the methodology on how states were ranked in this study, visit U.S. News’ website by clicking here.
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