Public · Community college

South Florida State College

Avon Park, Florida · Small suburb

17%
Transfer rate
$3,877
Avg net price
48%
Grad / completion
$39,990
Median earnings

South Florida State College is a public associate-granting institution in Avon Park, Florida (small suburb setting), enrolling 2,045 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 2,045 undergradsSmall suburbNJCAA Division I

About Avon Park, Florida

Avon Park is a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States. The first permanent white settler in Avon Park was Oliver Martin Crosby, a Connecticut native who moved to the area in 1884 to study the wildlife of the Everglades. By 1886, enough people had followed that the "Town of Lake Forest" was founded. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small suburb
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
64 miles to Tampa, FL
To the ocean
49 miles
Nearest airport
43 miles to Lakeland Linder (LAL)

How South Florida State College compares

Graduation rate48%

Higher than 34% · #168 of 211 in Florida

Earnings, 10 years after entry$39,990

Higher than 69% · #38 of 171 in Florida

Average net price$3,877

Cheaper than 94% · #16 cheapest of 207 in Florida

Median debt at graduation$7,368

Lower than 81%

Student–faculty ratio16 : 1

Lower than 49%

Undergraduate enrollment2,045

Larger than 82%

Percentiles compare South Florida State College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Florida.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

2,045undergrads
  • Women1,32965%
  • Men71635%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White34%
  • Black13%
  • Hispanic45%
  • Asian1.7%
  • Other or multiracial6.7%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
2,045
Student–faculty ratio
16 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
43%
First-generation students
55%
Students over 25
24%
Median family income
$20,658
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$56,466
Endowment
$17,896,680

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 594 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Florida100%

Most first-years stay in state — South Florida State College draws overwhelmingly from Florida.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition
$3,165
Out-of-state tuition
$11,859
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,200
Total cost of attendance
$10,169
Average net price
$3,877

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
48%
First-year retention
Transferred to another college
17%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$32,974
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$39,990
Median debt at graduation
$7,368
Students with federal loans
5%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
44%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
48%
Low-income (Pell)
31%
First-generation
31%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
$15
Athletics
NJCAA Division I
Varsity athletes
61 (24 men · 37 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (4)

Baseball24
Softball16
Volleyball11
Cross Country10

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
2

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 7 campuses (2,880 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

0.7reported offenses a year
0 violent a year0.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
0.3
Motor vehicle theft
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$3,480
$30–48k
$3,597
$48–75k
$4,758
$75–110k
$6,564
$110k+
$3,698

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

20%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,409
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 20% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,409. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 302 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$39,990
Typical debt at graduation
$7,368
Debt vs. one year's pay
18%
Out-earn a HS grad
39%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$35,672
Men
$43,576

Men out-earn women by $7,904 (22%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
92°F
Winter low
49°F
Annual rain
52.7″

Average temperature

HighLow
40°70°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.04.69.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Avon Park 2 W, FL US station (2 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to South Florida State College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare South Florida State College side by side →

Colleges near South Florida State College

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.