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Key Takeaways
Best network administration degree programs: U of South Florida, U of Tampa, Saint Leo
Ranked by graduation rates, program outcomes, and institutional quality
Tuition ranges from $1,750 to $58,104/year
St Petersburg College offers the most affordable option at $1,943/yr
Network Administration degree programs available: 30 associate's, 11 master's, 2 doctoral in Florida
From community college pathways to advanced research degrees
19 online network administration degree programs in Florida
Flexible scheduling for working professionals
Florida community college transfer can save 40-60% on total degree costs
30 associate's programs provide transfer pathways to bachelor's degrees
Education Commission of the States
Major employers: Citrix, Magic Leap, Chewy, Tech Data
Tech hubs in Miami and Tampa
Hakia Research 2026
Network Administration degree programs near 114+ cities across Florida
Search by city to find programs within 200 miles of your location
Updated July 13, 2026
How we ranked Florida Network Administration programs
We rank 60 accredited network administration programs in Florida using IPEDS 2024 institutional data, BLS OEWS 2024 state salary data, and College Scorecard outcomes. A 4-factor weighted composite is normalized to a 0–100 score. Schools cannot pay for placement; rankings are produced algorithmically.
Are Network Administration Degree Programs in Florida Worth It?
Source: BLS OEWS May 2024
Network Administration Degree Rankings in Florida
Compare the top-ranked Network Administration programs in Florida by degree level. Tuition, graduation rate, and Hakia Score for every accredited program.
Best Associate's Network Administration Programs in Florida
Program Landscape
Florida offers 30 accredited associate's degree programs in network administration, providing an affordable entry point into the technology field. The top-ranked programs include St Petersburg College, Florida State College at ..., Valencia College, which combine rigorous technical curriculum with practical skills training.
Costs & Value
Community colleges in Florida offer these two-year programs at an average cost of $6,070/yr, significantly less than four-year university tuition. Students completing associate's degrees can pursue entry-level technical positions and transfer opportunities, with entry-level salaries averaging $53,801 in Florida.
Career Pathways
Many programs feature guaranteed transfer agreements with Florida's public universities, allowing students to complete their first two years at reduced cost before transferring to complete a bachelor's degree. The Miami, Tampa, Orlando areas offer particularly strong job markets for associate's degree holders, with employers like Citrix, Magic Leap, Chewy hiring for technical support, junior development, and IT specialist positions.
Curriculum & Specializations
Programs typically include coursework in programming fundamentals, database management, networking basics, and software development. Among network administration schools in Florida, these associate's programs offer the best value for students beginning their network administration degrees in Florida.
Show all 22 ranked programs
| Rank | School | Location | Type | Tuition | Grad Rate | Hakia Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | Seminole State College of Florida | Sanford, FL | Public | $2,393 | 41% | 84.5 |
| #7 | Palm Beach State College | Lake Worth, FL | Public | $3,030 | 41% | 83.8 |
| #8 | Saint Johns River State College | Palatka, FL | Public | $1,892 | 49% | 83.3 |
| #9 | Chipola College | Marianna, FL | Public | $2,365 | 53% | 82.6 |
| #10 | Daytona State College | Daytona Beach, FL | Public | $3,072 | 43% | 82.4 |
| #11 | St Petersburg College | St. Petersburg, FL | Public | $1,943 | 38% | 82.2 |
| #12 | Florida SouthWestern State College | Fort Myers, FL | Public | $2,436 | 39% | 81.9 |
| #13 | Florida State College at Jacksonville | Jacksonville, FL | Public | $2,095 | 37% | 81.7 |
| #14 | Tallahassee State College | Tallahassee, FL | Public | $2,002 | 38% | 81.3 |
| #15 | South Florida State College | Avon Park, FL | Public | $3,135 | 48% | 78.5 |
| #16 | State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota | Bradenton, FL | Public | $2,365 | 38% | 78.2 |
| #17 | Pasco-Hernando State College | New Port Richey, FL | Public | $2,297 | 41% | 78.0 |
| #18 | Gulf Coast State College | Panama City, FL | Public | $1,750 | 43% | 77.8 |
| #19 | Hillsborough Community College | Tampa, FL | Public | $1,926 | 34% | 77.8 |
| #20 | Polk State College | Winter Haven, FL | Public | $1,987 | 35% | 76.5 |
| #21 | Rasmussen University-Florida | Ocala, FL | Private for-profit | $14,024 | 42% | 74.7 |
| #22 | Florida National University-Main Campus | Hialeah, FL | Private for-profit | $16,800 | 31% | 60.9 |
Best Bachelor's Network Administration Programs in Florida
Program Landscape
Florida ranks among the nation's top destinations for network administration education, with 17 accredited bachelor's degree programs across 7 public and 7 private institutions. The highest-ranked programs are U of South Florida, U of Tampa, Saint Leo, recognized for academic excellence, research opportunities, and strong industry connections.
Career Outcomes
Graduates from Florida network administration programs earn a median salary of $83,147, 15% below the national average. The state's robust technology sector, anchored by the Miami, Tampa, Orlando metropolitan areas, provides abundant internship and employment opportunities with companies including Citrix, Magic Leap, Chewy.
Costs & Value
Tuition ranges from $1,871 to $58,104 annually, with an average of $17,512/yr. Top programs maintain graduation rates above 85%, with the highest reaching 94%. Many programs hold ABET accreditation, the gold standard for computing education, ensuring curriculum meets rigorous industry standards.
Curriculum & Specializations
Students can choose from specializations including software engineering, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data science, and systems architecture. Strong industry partnerships provide access to co-op programs, capstone projects with real companies, and direct recruiting pipelines to Florida's leading technology employers. For students seeking network administration degrees in Florida, these top-ranked network administration schools offer the strongest combination of academic rigor and career preparation.
Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology
Rasmussen University-Florida
Herzing University-Orlando
Network Administration Degree Costs & Tuition in Florida
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Average in-state tuition | $11,922/year |
| Average out-of-state tuition | $29,805/year |
| Community college tuition | $2,981/year |
| 4-year savings for residents | $71,532 |
| 2+2 transfer pathway savings | $17,882 |
Source: IPEDS 2024
Financial Aid & Scholarships for Network Administration Students in Florida
State Aid Programs
Florida Bright Futures Scholarship provides substantial support for network administration students.
The Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) award covers 100% of tuition and fees at all public institutions, paying approximately $213.55 per credit hour at FSU (Florida Bright Futures). FAS requires a 3.0 weighted GPA, 75 volunteer service hours, and minimum ACT/SAT scores by August 31st of graduation year. Students can receive funding for up to five years toward 120 semester hours, covering complete bachelor's degree completion with time for internships and co-ops.
Key Programs & Amounts
Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) provides accessible merit aid with lower requirements.
FMS covers 100% of tuition for associate degree programs or 75% for bachelor's programs, approximately $159.21 per credit hour at UCF. FMS requirements include 30 volunteer service hours (increasing to 75 hours for students entering 9th grade in 2024-2025) and qualifying Career and Technical Education credits. Students completing bachelor's degrees in seven semesters or fewer may receive funding for one graduate semester (up to 15 credits), benefiting accelerated learners pursuing FSU's CNSA master's program.
Institutional Scholarships
Federal and institutional aid supplements state scholarships significantly.
Pell Grants provide up to $7,395/year for students with financial need, covering substantial portions of community college costs. Many Florida institutions offer merit scholarships of $2,000-$15,000/year for strong applicants in computing fields. Graduate assistantships at programs like FSU's CNSA often cover tuition plus provide $15,000-$20,000 annual stipends for research or teaching assistance. Federal student loans (up to $5,500-$7,500/year for undergraduates) provide additional support when needed.
Employer tuition assistance expands options for working professionals.
Many Florida technology employers including JPMorgan Chase, FIS Global, and Citrix offer tuition reimbursement programs covering $5,250-$10,000 annually in education expenses. Network professionals can earn certifications or complete degree programs while working, with employers funding career advancement. Military veterans receive GI Bill benefits applicable to Florida's public and private institutions. Workforce development grants through CareerSource Florida may cover training costs for qualifying unemployed or underemployed residents. See our most affordable programs.
Network Administration Degree ROI Calculator, Florida
Use our interactive ROI calculator to estimate your return on investment for a network administration degree in Florida. Enter your expected tuition costs, financial aid, and career goals to see projected payback periods and lifetime earnings. The calculator uses current salary data from BLS and tuition data from IPEDS to provide accurate estimates.
Network Administration Degree ROI Calculator
Estimate your return on investment for a network administration degree
Leave blank to use average cost for selected program type
+645%
Net gain divided by total investment. ROI above 200% is considered excellent for education investments.
$1,192,850
Your additional lifetime earnings with this degree vs. working without one, minus the total investment.
6 years
Years until your cumulative earnings exceed total investment. Shorter programs often break even faster due to lower opportunity cost.
$95,833
Your starting salary adjusted for local cost of living. This shows real purchasing power compared to a $100K national baseline.
Why does break-even change with program type? Your "total investment" includes both tuition AND opportunity cost (foregone earnings while in school). A 4-year full-time public university (in-state) means 4 years of not earning a salary ($140,000 in opportunity cost). Shorter full-time programs may have higher tuition but lower total investment because you return to the workforce sooner.
Detailed Breakdown
How we calculate your degree ROI using real salary data
Tuition plus opportunity cost (earnings you miss while in school)
Direct cost of the degree program
4 years × $35K/year foregone salary while studying full-time
Projected career earnings starting after graduation, with salary growth
What you'd earn working at $35K/year with 2% annual growth
Median salary for this role in your selected location (BLS 2024)
Your investment's compound annual growth rate (similar to stock market returns)
Data sources: BLS OEWS May 2024, IPEDS 2024. Calculations use median salaries, 3% discount rate, and assume salary growth declines from 6% to 2% over career. Individual results will vary. | Powered by Hakia.com
Network Administration Salaries by Metro Area
Median annual salary in Florida metro areas
View data table
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Miami | $108K |
| Tampa | $103K |
| Orlando | $98K |
| Jacksonville | $93K |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2024
Hakia.com
Top Employers Hiring Network Administration Graduates in Florida
Find network administration jobs in Florida. These major employers across Florida metro areas are actively hiring network administration degree holders. Click employer names to view current job openings.
Network Administration Jobs in Miami
FLMiami has emerged as a major fintech and crypto hub, with many companies relocating from Silicon Valley.
Nearby cities: Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Coral Gables
Network Administration Jobs in Tampa Bay
FLTampa Bay has a growing cybersecurity cluster with headquarters for several security companies.
Nearby cities: St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Lakeland
Network Administration Jobs in Orlando
FLOrlando combines simulation, gaming, and defense tech with major theme park technology operations.
Nearby cities: Kissimmee, Sanford, Winter Park, Lake Mary
Florida Tech Industry & Infrastructure
Florida's tech market has grown materially over the last decade, driven by no-state-income-tax policy, defense and space industry presence, and rapid in-migration of tech workers from higher-cost coastal states. While the state's tech-employer concentration trails CA/TX/NY, the trajectory is steep and the cost-of-living-adjusted compensation is competitive.
Miami / South Florida
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
Fastest-growing US tech metro by population in-migration. Anchored by a financial-services and fintech cluster (Citadel relocated HQ here), plus a substantial Latin America tech-services market.
Orlando
Orlando metro
Defense/simulation tech (Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Northrop Grumman), tourism-tech (Disney, Universal), and modeling/simulation industry. UCF is the largest US CS-graduate producer.
Tampa Bay
Tampa metro
Financial-services tech, healthcare-IT, cybersecurity (cybersecurity employer cluster), and growing startup scene. USF is the principal CS/IS feeder.
No state income tax. Florida Job Growth Grant Fund and Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund are the principal state-level tech-employer incentives.
Florida Regulation Affecting Network Administration Graduates
Florida moved to enact a consumer privacy law in 2024 and has been active on AI and child-safety legislation. The regulatory environment generally favors employers but is no longer a privacy backwater for engineering teams serving Florida users.
Florida Digital Bill of Rights (FDBR)
Effective July 2024. Grants Florida consumers rights to access, correct, delete, and opt out of sale of personal data. Notably narrower applicability than CCPA — applies only to large businesses making most revenue from data sales.
Larger consumer-tech companies with Florida users must implement opt-out and access flows; the law's narrower scope reduces compliance overhead vs CA/TX equivalents.
Read moreFlorida HB 3 (Online Protections for Minors)
Effective 2025. Restricts social-media access for users under 16 and requires age verification for certain platforms.
Engineers building consumer products with Florida users under 16 must implement age-verification flows and platform-access restrictions.
Read moreFlorida Cybersecurity Act (state agencies)
Sets cybersecurity standards for state agencies and contractors. Includes minimum encryption, breach-notification, and incident-response requirements.
Engineers working with Florida state/local government IT operate under these standards.
Read moreProfessional Engineer Licensure in Florida
Florida does not currently administer a separate Software Engineering PE license. ABET-EAC accredited engineering degrees are recognized for general PE licensure tracks (mechanical, electrical, computer engineering), but software engineering specifically is not a recognized PE discipline in Florida.
Florida licensing boardFlorida Financial Aid Programs
Florida Bright Futures Scholarship
Merit scholarshipUp to 100% tuition coverage at FL public schools (Florida Academic Scholars tier)
FL high-school graduates with qualifying GPA/test scores attending FL institutions
Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG)
State grantUp to $2,610/yr
FL residents with financial need at FL institutions
Up to $3,500/yr
FL residents at independent (private) FL colleges
Florida Prepaid College Plan
Prepaid tuitionLocks in tuition rate; reduces future tuition risk
FL families purchasing tuition at current rates for future college attendance
Transfer Pathways for Network Administration Degrees in Florida
State Transfer System
Florida's Statewide 2+2 Articulation Agreement guarantees transfer pathways for students earning Associate in Arts (AA) degrees at any of the 28 Florida College System institutions (Florida 2+2 Articulation). Since 1972, Florida law has guaranteed admission to one of the 12 State University System institutions for AA graduates, protecting at least 60 credit hours toward bachelor's degree completion. No additional general education courses are required after transfer, allowing students to focus entirely on upper-division networking and technical coursework.
How Transfers Work
Direct articulation agreements strengthen transfer pathways for technical programs.
In 2019, Florida Statute 1007.23 mandated that every Florida College System institution develop direct 2+2 articulation agreements with at least one State University System school. Students completing designated associate degrees receive full credit transfer with no additional general education requirements at the receiving institution. This pathway can reduce total bachelor's degree costs by $20,000-$40,000 compared to four-year enrollment, making network administration education accessible to students from all economic backgrounds.
Transfer Planning Tips
Network-specific articulations ensure technical course alignment across institutions.
Programs like Florida State College at Jacksonville's BAS in Computer Systems Networking explicitly accept community college networking credits, allowing students to transfer Cisco Academy courses, hands-on lab work, and technical coursework alongside general education. Students completing AS degrees in Network Systems Technology at colleges like Florida SouthWestern State can transfer technical coursework without losing credits. Transfer advisors help students map prerequisite courses to ensure seamless progression into upper-division networking coursework.
Community college to university transfer works well for networking students seeking both certifications and degrees.
Students can earn Cisco CCNA certification at community college while completing general education requirements, then transfer to a university for a bachelor's degree that complements their hands-on credentials. Valencia College, Miami Dade College, and Broward College maintain strong transfer relationships with UCF, FIU, and FAU respectively. Early engagement with transfer advisors at both institutions ensures course selections align with degree requirements and prevents wasted credits.
Florida Take-Home Pay Advantage
Source: Florida Department of Revenue
Network Administration Job Market & Salary Data in Florida
Employment Outlook
Florida's network administration job market demonstrates strong regional variation and specialization.
Miami's tech hub, dubbed 'Silicon Beach,' achieved 18% tech job growth compared to 13% nationally, with network engineers earning $80,000-$160,000 depending on experience and specialization (CBRE Scoring Tech Talent 2024). Major Miami employers include Cisco's Latin America operations, Oracle's regional offices, and Amazon's expanding cloud infrastructure team requiring network expertise to support AWS data centers and services.
Salaries by Metro
Regional salary benchmarks reflect local industry concentrations and cost of living differences.
Jacksonville's fintech sector offers network roles at FIS Global, Availity, and Newfold Digital with average salaries around $105,000 and the lowest cost of living among major Florida metros. Tampa accounts for 25% of Florida's tech jobs, with Forbes naming it the #1 emerging tech city in the U.S. Network professionals at Tampa employers like JPMorgan Chase, Raymond James, and cybersecurity firms KnowBe4 and ReliaQuest earn $85,000-$115,000 while enjoying favorable housing costs compared to South Florida.
High-Growth Sectors
Orlando's 74,000-strong tech workforce at defense contractors and simulation companies creates specialized demand for cleared network administrators. The Central Florida Research Park adjacent to UCF employs over 10,000 people at 100+ organizations including Lockheed Martin and L3Harris Technologies. Network professionals supporting classified systems earn premium salaries and benefit from job security tied to long-term government contracts. The gaming and simulation industries also require strong network infrastructure for real-time multiplayer environments and training systems.
Network automation and cloud skills command premium compensation.
Employers increasingly seek professionals with Cisco ACI, AWS networking, and Azure infrastructure expertise. While the BLS projects overall network administrator employment declining 3% nationally through 2034, Florida's growth sectors in healthcare IT, defense, and financial services continue hiring. Approximately 16,400 network administrator openings are projected nationally each year due to retirements and turnover, with Florida capturing a proportional share. Explore related paths in cybersecurity, information technology, or cloud computing.
Entry-Level (0-2 yrs)
New graduates and career changers
Senior (8+ yrs)
Technical leads and architects
Online vs On-Campus Network Administration Programs in Florida
Online Programs
19 available in Florida
On-Campus Programs
Traditional classroom experience
Compare Network Administration Programs in Other States
- Total Programs
- 40
- Median Tuition
- $2,800
- Total Programs
- 11
- Median Tuition
- $10,700
- Total Programs
- 72
- Median Tuition
- $1,300
- Total Programs
- 37
- Median Tuition
- $4,500
- Total Programs
- 53
- Median Tuition
- $6,000
- Total Programs
- 55
- Median Tuition
- $14,400
- Total Programs
- 19
- Median Tuition
- $48,600
- Total Programs
- 22
- Median Tuition
- $14,700
Network Administration Degree Programs in Florida: FAQ
What are the best network administration degree programs in Florida?
How much do network administration degree programs cost in Florida?
What salary can network administration degree graduates earn in Florida?
Are there online network administration degree programs in Florida?
What companies hire network administration degree graduates in Florida?
Is a network administration degree program worth it in Florida?
How long do network administration degree programs take in Florida?
What financial aid is available for network administration degree students in Florida?
Data Sources
Institutional characteristics, completions, graduation rates
Florida salary and employment data
Program details and admissions information
Last Updated: June 26, 2026. Rankings based on IPEDS 2024 data. Salary data from BLS OEWS May 2024.
Taylor Rupe
Co-founder & Editor (B.S. Computer Science, Oregon State • B.A. Psychology, University of Washington)
Taylor combines technical expertise in computer science with a deep understanding of human behavior and learning. His dual background drives Hakia's mission: leveraging technology to build authoritative educational resources that help people make better decisions about their academic and career paths.