TAMPA, Fla. — College has become increasingly expensive over time. But recent data from the State of the Region found that the University of South Florida ranked amongst the most affordable colleges, compared to 20 other metropolitan areas.

The research was collected by the University of South Florida Muma College of Business and the Tampa Bay Partnership.

With more students seeking graduate degrees, Hannah Haynes says affordability is important when choosing what school to go to.

“I grew up in a family where they were super supportive of me going to get my bachelors, but that’s all that they planned for,” she said.

Haynes graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2022, but when it came to pursuing her master’s degree, she ran into financial issues and wondered if she could even afford it.

She said with the help of graduate programs at USF, she’ll be graduating this May.

“I can do school and finish my degree and continue to work without having any debt,” said Haynes.

USF’s College of Business alone has more than 2,000 graduate students.

Most are leaving without much debt compared to places like Miami and Denver.

Interim Dean for the Muma College of Business, GJ de Vreede, said that over the past decade the price to obtain a graduate degree has significantly lowered.

“We come in at $13,689, which is much cheaper than the ones that are at the other end of the spectrum like Seattle, Portland, Nashville,” he said.