Florida·Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations·SOC 29-2043

Best Paramedic programs in Florida, ranked by enrollment

Administer basic or advanced emergency medical care and assess injuries and illnesses.

41 schools in Florida run programs that feed this job, graduating 4,680 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,140 in Florida across about 6,970 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledParamedicFirst ResponderFlight ParamedicResponderRescue WorkerMedical TechnicianHealthcare SpecialistCritical Care Paramedic
Graduates / yr
4,680
in Florida
Median pay · Florida
$60,140
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
6,970
people employed
Schools
41
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
50%
across those schools
Median net price
$20,584
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Florida that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

1 programs in Florida that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Florida (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Florida page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 51.0904In Florida
4,680
100.0%
41$53,520$20,250

Top 25 schools in Florida

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 28 of the 41 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Miami Dade College
Miami, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
415Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$64,69246%
2Hillsborough College
Tampa, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
392Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$45,31934%
3American Medical Academy
Miami, FL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
371Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$52,09253%
4Broward College
Fort Lauderdale, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
348Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$45,72039%
5Seminole State College of Florida
Sanford, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
283Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$57,04941%
6Valencia College
Orlando, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
247Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$56,94548%
7Florida SouthWestern State College
Fort Myers, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
205Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$61,62239%
8Eastern Florida State College
Melbourne, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
196Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$45,85752%
9Palm Beach State College
Lake Worth, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
194Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$49,35941%
10Daytona State College
Daytona Beach, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
179Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$44,20043%
11College of Central Florida
Ocala, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
152Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$53,43844%
12St Petersburg College
St. Petersburg, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
129Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$62,18738%
13Florida State College at Jacksonville
Jacksonville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
121Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$37,33537%
14Indian River State College
Fort Pierce, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
99Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$41,22945%
15Santa Fe College
Gainesville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
91Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$57,76353%
16Tallahassee State College
Tallahassee, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
91Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$40,40538%
17Aparicio - Levy Technical College
Tampa, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
90Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)81%
18Pasco - Hernando State College
New Port Richey, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
80Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$42,43441%
19Gulf Coast State College
Panama City, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
78Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$36,98143%
20Saint Johns River State College
Palatka, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
78Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$53,58749%
21Fort Myers Technical College
Fort Myers, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
71Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)81%
22Northwest Florida State College
Niceville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
67Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$52,93939%
23Polk State College
Winter Haven, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
67Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$58,08835%
24Manatee Technical College
Bradenton, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
62Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$49,92164%
25Pensacola State College
Pensacola, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
60Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$39,96236%

All 41 schools in Florida

Every school in Florida with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Florida that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Miami Dade CollegeMiamiPublic4151
Hillsborough CollegeTampaPublic3921
American Medical AcademyMiamiPrivate for-profit3711
Broward CollegeFort LauderdalePublic3481
Seminole State College of FloridaSanfordPublic2831
Valencia CollegeOrlandoPublic2471
Florida SouthWestern State CollegeFort MyersPublic2051
Eastern Florida State CollegeMelbournePublic1961
Palm Beach State CollegeLake WorthPublic1941
Daytona State CollegeDaytona BeachPublic1791
College of Central FloridaOcalaPublic1521
St Petersburg CollegeSt. PetersburgPublic1291
Florida State College at JacksonvilleJacksonvillePublic1211
Indian River State CollegeFort PiercePublic991
Santa Fe CollegeGainesvillePublic911

What paramedics earn in Florida

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Florida
$60,140
Mean annual
$63,300
Jobs in state
6,970
What the range looks like
10th pct$44,050Median$60,14090th pct$85,390
Versus the national median
-0.8%

U.S. median $60,600. Florida pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.09×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Florida

Port St. Lucie, FL
$78,570median
310 jobs
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
$68,160median
1,650 jobs
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
$60,140median
350 jobs
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
$58,560median
860 jobs
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
$59,870median
960 jobs
Jacksonville, FL
$60,800median
250 jobs
Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL
$58,610median
90 jobs
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL
$58,860median
630 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+5.0%
Faster than average
Openings per year
4,900
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
5,100
101,900 → 107,000
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Paramedics page.

How to become a Paramedic

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Work experience needed
Less than 5 years

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Florida

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 1 majors mapped to Paramedics1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 51.0904Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)

Common questions

Answers for people weighing paramedics programs in Florida.

What degree do you need to become a Paramedic?+

Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic), which awarded 4,680 degrees in Florida in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Paramedic?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Allied Health Diagnostic. Together they graduate about 4,680 people a year in Florida.

How much do paramedics earn in Florida?+

The median is $60,140 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.8% below the U.S. median of $60,600. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for paramedics growing?+

BLS projects a +5.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 4,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Florida?+

41 institutions in Florida reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do paramedics work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Paramedic, First Responder, Flight Paramedic among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-2043.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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