Northeast students are heading to Florida for college
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Warm weather, affordability and politics have prompted a teenage migration from the Northeast to the South, including at the University of Florida.
Why it matters: Large Southern state schools, many in already expanding metro areas, are attracting a geographically diverse student body as Americans are increasingly disillusioned with the value of higher education.
- "They're seen not only as more fun, but also more accessible," Jeff Selingo, author of college admissions books, told Axios.
The big picture: Many public Southern schools have lower tuition rates than their private counterparts, and they prioritize merit scholarships, Selingo said.
- The more exciting draws? School spirit and football culture.
By the numbers: In two decades, 84% more students from the North attended public schools in the South, per a Wall Street Journal analysis last year. It jumped 30% from 2018 to 2022.
- UF saw a 106.3% increase in attendance from students in the Northeast from 2014 to 2023, according to an Axios analysis of National Center for Education Statistics data.
- At Florida State University, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are regularly among the top states contributing to enrollment, per the Office of Institutional Research. The number of students from those states increased from just over 800 in 2014 to more than 1,200 in 2023.
Between the lines: Politics are also a rising factor in some students' decisions.
- Colleges in Republican-led states returned to in-person classes sooner than colleges in Democratic-led states after the onset of COVID. High school students who sat through virtual classes during the pandemic may have been inclined to flock south for a more authentic college experience.
- "Students who were looking at colleges saw more freedom and fun in the South than they saw up North," Selingo said.
What's next: Alumni of these schools are likely to stay in the South for work after graduating, as the populations in cities such as Tampa, Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta and Austin have been growing faster than the country overall.
- About half of graduates work in the same metro area as their college, and two-thirds work in the same state, per 2024 research from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
- "Suddenly you're living there and raising the next generation of kids," Selingo said.