Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2010 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 5. Number of educational institutions, by level and control of institution: Selected years, 1980-81 through 2008-09
Level and control of institution 1980-81 1990-91 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
All institutions 129,997 131,414 136,465 136,819 138,899 139,207
                             
Elementary and                            
secondary schools 106,746 109,228 123,403 125,007 130,007 130,407 132,436 132,656
Elementary 72,659 74,716 85,855 86,433 89,277 89,252 88,896 88,982
Secondary 24,856 23,602 24,169 24,903 24,884 25,476 26,925 27,575
Combined 5,202 8,847 11,412 12,197 14,430 13,931 14,964 14,837
Other1 4,029 2,063 1,967 1,474 1,416 1,749 1,651 1,262
                             
Public schools 85,982 84,538 89,508 90,874 92,012 93,273 94,112 95,615 95,726 96,513 97,382 98,793 98,916 98,706
Elementary 59,326 59,015 62,739 63,462 64,131 64,601 65,228 65,718 65,758 65,984 66,026 66,458 67,112 67,148
Secondary 22,619 21,135 21,682 22,076 22,365 21,994 22,180 22,599 22,782 23,445 23,998 23,920 24,643 24,348
Combined 1,743 2,325 3,120 3,721 4,042 5,096 5,288 5,552 5,437 5,572 5,707 5,984 5,899 5,623
Other1 2,294 2,063 1,967 1,615 1,474 1,582 1,416 1,746 1,749 1,512 1,651 2,431 1,262 1,587
                             
Private schools2  20,764 24,690 33,895 32,995 35,895 34,681 35,054 33,740
Elementary 13,333 15,701 23,116 22,302 24,049 23,494 22,870 21,870
Schools with highest grade
 of kindergarten
6,493 5,952 6,622 6,297 6,059 5,522
Secondary 2,237 2,467 2,487 2,538 2,704 2,694 2,927 2,932
Combined 3,459 6,522 8,292 8,155 9,142 8,494 9,257 8,938
Other1 1,735 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
                             
Postsecondary Title IV                            
institutions 6,594 6,431 6,407 6,479 6,458 6,354 6,412 6,383 6,463 6,536 6,551 6,632
Public 2,163 2,090 2,078 2,084 2,099 2,051 2,047 2,027 2,013 2,009 2,004 1,997
Private 4,431 4,341 4,329 4,395 4,359 4,303 4,365 4,356 4,450 4,527 4,547 4,635
Not-for-profit 2,007 1,986 1,936 1,950 1,941 1,921 1,913 1,875 1,866 1,848 1,815 1,809
For-profit 2,424 2,355 2,393 2,445 2,418 2,382 2,452 2,481 2,584 2,679 2,732 2,826
                             
Title IV non-degree-                            
granting institutions 2,530 2,383 2,323 2,297 2,261 2,186 2,176 2,167 2,187 2,222 2,199 2,223
Public 456 409 396 386 386 339 327 327 320 321 319 321
Private 2,074 1,974 1,927 1,911 1,875 1,847 1,849 1,840 1,867 1,901 1,880 1,902
Not-for-profit 300 291 255 255 265 256 249 238 219 208 191 180
For-profit 1,774 1,683 1,672 1,656 1,610 1,591 1,600 1,602 1,648 1,693 1,689 1,722
                             
Title IV degree-granting                            
institutions 3,231 3,559 4,064 4,048 4,084 4,182 4,197 4,168 4,236 4,216 4,276 4,314 4,352 4,409
2-year colleges 1,274 1,418 1,755 1,713 1,721 1,732 1,710 1,702 1,706 1,683 1,694 1,685 1,677 1,690
Public 945 972 1,092 1,069 1,068 1,076 1,085 1,081 1,086 1,061 1,053 1,045 1,032 1,024
Private 329 446 663 644 653 656 625 621 620 622 641 640 645 666
Not-for-profit 182 167 179 164 150 144 135 127 118 112 113 107 92 92
For-profit 147 279 484 480 503 512 490 494 502 510 528 533 553 574
                             
4-year colleges 1,957 2,141 2,309 2,335 2,363 2,450 2,487 2,466 2,530 2,533 2,582 2,629 2,675 2,719
Public 552 595 615 612 614 622 628 631 634 639 640 643 653 652
Private 1,405 1,546 1,694 1,723 1,749 1,828 1,859 1,835 1,896 1,894 1,942 1,986 2,022 2,067
Not-for-profit 1,387 1,482 1,528 1,531 1,531 1,551 1,541 1,538 1,546 1,525 1,534 1,533 1,532 1,537
For-profit 18 64 166 192 218 277 318 297 350 369 408 453 490 530
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
1 Includes special education, alternative, and other schools not classified by grade span. Because of changes in survey definitions, figures for "other" schools are not comparable from year to year.
2 Data for 1980-81 and 1990-91 include schools with first or higher grades. Data for 1997-98 and later years include schools with kindergarten or higher grades.
3 Included in the elementary, secondary, and combined categories.
NOTE: Postsecondary data for 1980-81 and 1990-91 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for Title IV degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. The degree-granting classification is very similar to the earlier higher education classification, but it includes more 2-year colleges and excludes a few higher education institutions that did not grant degrees. (See Appendix A: Guide to Sources for details.) Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 1989-90 through 2008-09; Private Schools in American Education; Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary Day Schools, 1980-81; Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Private School Data File," 1990-91; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1995-96 through 2007-08; Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Institutional Characteristics of Colleges and Universities" survey, 1980-81; and 1990-91 through 2008-09 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Institutional Characteristics Survey" (IPEDS-IC:90-99), and Fall 2001 through Fall 2008. (This table was prepared November 2010.)

2010 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest