Florida·Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations·SOC 29-1127

Best Speech-Language Pathologist programs in Florida, ranked by enrollment

Assess and treat persons with speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders. May select alternative communication systems and teach their use.

11 schools in Florida run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,075 people a year. The job pays a median of $99,990 in Florida across about 10,080 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledSpeech PathologistSpeech and Language SpecialistSpeech-Language Pathologist (SLP)Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist (Bilingual SLP)Oral TherapistSpeech ClinicianSpeech TherapistVoice Pathologist
Graduates / yr
1,075
in Florida
Median pay · Florida
$99,990
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
10,080
people employed
Schools
11
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
68%
across those schools
Median net price
$31,672
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.

3 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 51.0204In Florida
816
75.9%
7$24,665$22,500
2
CIP 51.0203In Florida
247
23.0%
3$24,665$22,500
3
CIP 51.0201In Florida
12
1.1%
2$24,665$22,500

Top 11 schools in Florida

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 11 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
296Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist$26,28678%40%
2Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
184Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist$13,37186%24%
3University of South Florida
Tampa, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
162Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist$28,42577%43%
4Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
155Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist63%$31,67273%
5University of Florida
Gainesville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
66Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist$26,53991%24%
6Jacksonville University
Jacksonville, FL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
60Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist51%$25,81357%
7Florida International University
Miami, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
51Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist74%55%
8Albizu University - Miami
Miami, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
36Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist40%$36,30276%
9University of Florida - Online
Gainesville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
33Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist$26,53985%61%
10Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
24Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist63%66%
11Southeastern University
Lakeland, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Communication Sciences and Disorders, General43%$29,91553%

All 11 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
University of Central FloridaOrlandoPublic2961
Florida State UniversityTallahasseePublic1841
University of South FloridaTampaPublic1621
Nova Southeastern UniversityFort LauderdalePrivate not-for-profit1551
University of FloridaGainesvillePublic661
Jacksonville UniversityJacksonvillePrivate not-for-profit602
Florida International UniversityMiamiPublic511
Albizu University - MiamiMiamiPrivate not-for-profit361
University of Florida - OnlineGainesvillePublic331
Florida Atlantic UniversityBoca RatonPublic241
Southeastern UniversityLakelandPrivate not-for-profit81

What speech-language pathologists earn in Florida

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

Median annual in Florida
$99,990
Mean annual
$96,710
Jobs in state
10,080
What the range looks like
10th pct$69,970Median$99,99090th pct$122,050
Versus the national median
+2.2%

U.S. median $97,870. Florida pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.86×

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

Metro areas in Florida

Naples-Marco Island, FL
$106,960median
170 jobs
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
$99,940median
250 jobs
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
$101,590median
2,930 jobs
Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL
$104,460median
70 jobs
Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL
$103,560median
110 jobs
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
$98,810median
170 jobs
Ocala, FL
$99,200median
180 jobs
Homosassa Springs, FL
$99,170median
110 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+15.0%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
13,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
28,200
187,400 → 215,500
Typical entry education
Master's degree
Plus internship/residency

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 Speech-Language Pathologists page.

How to become a Speech-Language Pathologist

Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above
Typical entry education
Master's degree
On-the-job training
Internship/residency

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingActive ListeningSpeakingLearning StrategiesWriting

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 4 majors mapped to Speech-Language Pathologists4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 51.0201Communication Sciences and Disorders, General
  • 51.0203Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist
  • 51.0204Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist
  • 51.0299Communication Disorders Sciences and Services, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing speech-language pathologists programs in Florida.

What degree do you need to become a Speech-Language Pathologist?+

Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist, which awarded 816 degrees in Florida in 2024-25, 75.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. Together they graduate about 1,075 people a year in Florida.

How much do speech-language pathologists earn in Florida?+

The median is $99,990 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.2% above the U.S. median of $97,870. 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 speech-language pathologists growing?+

BLS projects a +15.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 13,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

11 institutions in Florida reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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 speech-language pathologists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Speech Pathologist, Speech and Language Specialist, Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist (Bilingual SLP) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-1127.

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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