U.S. College Enrollment Decline: Facts and Figures
College enrollment has fallen since the start of the pandemic, but it's actually been trending downward for the past decade or more. For some colleges, enrollment declines hurt their revenue and, therefore, what offerings they can provide students.
Different factors impact college enrollment, like falling birth rates, rising college tuition, and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report covers long-term enrollment patterns, the recent decline, and some of the causes behind this dip.
After increasing for decades, undergraduate college enrollment peaked in 2010 at around 18.1 million students, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).Note Reference [1] From there, it declined steadily. In fall 2021, about 15.4 million students were enrolled in college.
When you look at enrollment by school type — two-year and four-year, public and private — you'll find that only certain types of schools were driving the overall college enrollment decline before the pandemic.Note Reference [1]
