BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Florida > Ocala
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Ocala 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); 7 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Pinecastle Ew Range, about 27 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (3 Navy, 1 Marine Corps, 1 Coast Guard, 3 Other). None of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is Lake-Sumter State College in Leesburg, FL, about 32 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is University of Florida. Ocala has a population of about 64,903 and a median household income of $53,520; 28.7 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 Ocala 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 Ocala. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard
| School | Location | Credit for military training | Dedicated military contact | DoD MOU member | Student veteran org | BOC Score | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Florida | Gainesville, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 93.6 | 34 mi |
| University of Florida-Online | Gainesville, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 83.1 | 34 mi |
| University of South Florida | Tampa, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 81.8 | 79 mi |
| University of Central Florida | Orlando, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 80.8 | 70 mi |
| University of North Florida | Jacksonville, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 72.9 | 85 mi |
| Florida State College at Jacksonville | Jacksonville, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 72.4 | 85 mi |
| Saint Johns River State College | Palatka, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 67.6 | 43 mi |
| Florida Gateway College | Lake City, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 63.5 | 73 mi |
| Santa Fe College | Gainesville, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 63.4 | 39 mi |
| Lake-Sumter State College | Leesburg, FL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 62.1 | 32 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 Ocala |
|---|---|---|
| Pinecastle Ew Range | Other | 27 mi |
| Naval Support Activity Orlando | Navy | 71 mi |
| Coast Guard Station Ponce de Leon | Coast Guard | 75 mi |
| Naval Air Station Jacksonville | Navy | 77 mi |
| Naval Air Station Jacksonville (Outlying Field Whitehouse) | Navy | 82 mi |
| Flc Fuel Depot Heckscher | Other | 90 mi |
| 4th Mardiv Jacksonville Maint | Other | 90 mi |
| Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island | Marine Corps | 92 mi |
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Ocala, FL metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Scope | Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logisticians | $73,740 | Ocala, FL metro | $77,458 |
| Emergency Management Directors | $99,020 | FL statewide | $104,013 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | $73,570 | Ocala, FL metro | $77,279 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $101,020 | Ocala, FL metro | $106,113 |
| Project Management Specialists | $82,580 | Ocala, FL metro | $86,744 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $78,430 | Ocala, FL metro | $82,384 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $78,260 | Ocala, FL metro | $82,206 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
None of the 10 schools in the table has a campus within 30 miles of Ocala; the nearest is Lake-Sumter State College at 32 miles.
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.
