Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Florida > Sarasota
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Sarasota 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 Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, about 30 miles away, and 5 installations sit within 100 miles (2 Air Force, 2 Coast Guard, 1 Other). None of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is St Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, FL, about 31 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is University of South Florida. Sarasota has a population of about 56,218 and a median household income of $70,065; 41.7 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Military-friendly online colleges near Sarasota
Schools based in Florida that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Sarasota 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.
How We Rank Schools
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:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Sarasota.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
35%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$40,318
Avg net price
$22,356/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
38%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$42,557
Avg net price
$1,471/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
34%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$40,782
Avg net price
$3,861/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
37%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$35,529
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 62%
- Programs offered: 3
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
40%
Graduation rate
63%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$59,436
Avg net price
$36,211/yr
TuitionIn‑state$34,408
Out‑of‑state$34,408
Key stats
- Retention rate: 83%
- Programs offered: 73
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
15%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$34,421
Avg net price
$20,434/yr
TuitionIn‑state$18,145
Out‑of‑state$18,145
Key stats
- Retention rate: 32%
- Programs offered: 14
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$36,909
Avg net price
$20,421/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 100%
- Programs offered: 6
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
25%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$40,092
Avg net price
$16,064/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 80%
- Programs offered: 19
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
43%
Graduation rate
76%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$57,743
Avg net price
$9,812/yr
TuitionIn‑state$6,410
Out‑of‑state$17,324
Key stats
- Retention rate: 91%
- Programs offered: 151
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
92%
Graduation rate
27%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$32,465
Avg net price
$20,297/yr
TuitionIn‑state$16,300
Out‑of‑state$16,300
Key stats
- Retention rate: 22%
- Programs offered: 9
Source:Accreditor: Association for Biblical Higher Education · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Nearest qualifying schools within 100 miles (any state)
| School |
Location |
Credit for military training |
Dedicated military contact |
DoD MOU member |
Student veteran org |
BOC Score |
Distance |
| University of South Florida |
Tampa, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
81.8 |
51 mi |
| St Petersburg College |
St. Petersburg, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
74.6 |
31 mi |
| Florida Gulf Coast University |
Fort Myers, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
68.7 |
77 mi |
| Florida SouthWestern State College |
Fort Myers, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
66.7 |
68 mi |
| Hillsborough Community College |
Tampa, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
61.2 |
42 mi |
| The University of Tampa |
Tampa, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
58.0 |
42 mi |
| Florida Southern College |
Lakeland, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
55.7 |
60 mi |
| Polk State College |
Winter Haven, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
54.3 |
70 mi |
| Ultimate Medical Academy |
Clearwater, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
51.4 |
46 mi |
| Herzing University-Tampa |
Tampa, FL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
50.8 |
46 mi |
Florida has 76 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the Florida page lists them all.
Military installations near Sarasota
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) |
Branch (from the name) |
Distance from Sarasota |
| Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater |
Coast Guard |
30 mi |
| Macdill AFB |
Air Force |
35 mi |
| Coast Guard Station Fort Myers |
Coast Guard |
71 mi |
| Arbuckle Airfield |
Other |
77 mi |
| Avon Park Air Force Range |
Air Force |
80 mi |
Common post-service careers near Sarasota
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation |
Median annual wage |
Scope |
Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
| Logisticians |
$78,830 |
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro |
$76,982 |
| Emergency Management Directors |
$100,150 |
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro |
$97,803 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers |
$75,820 |
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro |
$74,043 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers |
$122,770 |
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro |
$119,893 |
| Project Management Specialists |
$96,510 |
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro |
$94,248 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
$84,350 |
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro |
$82,373 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers |
$90,980 |
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro |
$88,848 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
Campuses within 30 miles of Sarasota
None of the 10 schools in the table has a campus within 30 miles of Sarasota; the nearest is St Petersburg College at 31 miles.
Nearby cities
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.
