Florida Grads Out-Earn High School Peers by Wide Margins

HEA Group's analysis compares post-graduation earnings from Florida colleges with median incomes of high school diploma holders in the state.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Financial Aid

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of a rolled diploma beside a rising stack of sage blocks on a cream field, suggesting the earnings gap between graduates and high school diploma holders. — Florida graduates from the University of Florida and Santa Fe College out-earn the state's roughly $32,000 high school median, according to new HEA Group data. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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HEA Group released earnings data comparing college graduates with high school diploma holders in Florida. All analyzed degrees at the University of Florida and Santa Fe College exceed the state's high school median income of about $32,000 a year.

Why it matters

The data offers Florida students and families a concrete earnings benchmark when weighing the cost of college against entering the workforce directly. It shows that degree earnings premiums vary considerably between institutions and programs.

HEA Group's analysis examined 72 degrees at the University of Florida, with a median income of about $66,000, and 12 degrees at Santa Fe College, with a median of about $54,000, both compared against Florida's high school diploma median of about $32,000.

The players

HEA Group

HEA Group is an organization that publishes higher education earnings data comparing graduate outcomes with high school diploma holders.

University of Florida

The University of Florida is a public research university in Gainesville and one of the largest universities in the United States.

Santa Fe College

Santa Fe College is a public college in Gainesville, Florida, offering associate and bachelor's degree programs.

The details

HEA Group's data set tracks earnings of graduates alongside earnings of people with high school diplomas alone, examining post-graduation earnings for colleges and universities nationwide. Nationally, about 4,400 programs had majority graduates earning $50,000 or more than high school peers, and almost 4 in 10 programs had graduates earning $25,000 more within a few years after college.

Earlier in 2026, HEA Group examined post-graduation earnings for colleges nationwide.

Financial Aid Outlook

The HEA Group dataset, which compares graduate earnings to high school diploma holders across the country, provides a national baseline against which Florida's institutional results can be measured. The Florida figures show how earnings premiums differ between a large public research university and a smaller community-oriented college within the same state.

Students comparing Florida colleges can use the earnings gap between degree holders and high school diploma holders as one input when evaluating tuition costs. Programs with a clear earnings premium may justify higher upfront expenses more readily than those with smaller gains.

The takeaway

The earnings gap between college graduates and high school diploma holders varies widely between institutions and programs. Comparing specific program outcomes before enrolling can help students weigh costs against likely returns.