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Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Florida > Fort Walton Beach
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Fort Walton Beach offer fully online programs and report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024); 6 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Hurlburt Fld, about 6 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (5 Navy, 1 Air Force, 2 Other). 1 of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, FL, about 12 miles from city center. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is Northwest Florida State College. Fort Walton Beach has a population of about 20,956 and a median household income of $66,556; 27.8 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Schools based in Florida that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Fort Walton Beach city center, with BOC Score on each card. The tags on each card are the school’s own IPEDS answers for the four military services. The distance table further down covers the nearest qualifying schools regardless of state line.
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Fort Walton Beach. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
| School | Location | Credit for military training | Dedicated military contact | DoD MOU member | Student veteran org | BOC Score | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Florida State College | Niceville, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 67.0 | 12 mi |
| University of West Florida | Pensacola, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 66.7 | 37 mi |
| Gulf Coast State College | Panama City, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 64.4 | 56 mi |
| Chipola College | Marianna, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 64.2 | 86 mi |
| Pensacola State College | Pensacola, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 61.5 | 35 mi |
| Lurleen B Wallace Community College | Andalusia, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 59.2 | 63 mi |
| Columbia Southern University | Orange Beach, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 55.6 | 62 mi |
| George C Wallace Community College-Dothan | Dothan, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 48.5 | 92 mi |
| University of South Alabama | Mobile, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 48.3 | 95 mi |
| Spring Hill College | Mobile, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 46.3 | 92 mi |
Florida has 76 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the Florida page lists them all.
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) | Branch (from the name) | Distance from Fort Walton Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Hurlburt Fld | Other | 6 mi |
| Eglin AFB | Air Force | 12 mi |
| Naval Outlying Landing Field Holley | Navy | 16 mi |
| Naval Outlying Landing Field Choctaw | Navy | 21 mi |
| Naval Outlying Landing Field Santa Rosa | Navy | 23 mi |
| Whiting Pines Off Base Military Hsng | Other | 30 mi |
| Nas Whiting Field Milton | Navy | 31 mi |
| Naval Outlying Landing Field Spencer | Navy | 34 mi |
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Scope | Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Security Analysts | $108,420 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL metro | $111,773 |
| Logisticians | $100,420 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL metro | $103,526 |
| Emergency Management Directors | $99,020 | FL statewide | $102,082 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | $59,130 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL metro | $60,959 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $106,970 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL metro | $110,278 |
| Project Management Specialists | $100,180 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL metro | $103,278 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $101,220 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL metro | $104,351 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $93,930 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL metro | $96,835 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.
