Endowments

Question:
How large are the endowments of colleges and universities in the United States?

Response:

At the end of fiscal year 2021, the market value of the endowment funds of colleges and universities was $927 billion, which was 34 percent higher than the beginning of the fiscal year, when the total was $691 billion.

The five institutions with the largest endowments at the end of fiscal year 2021 were Harvard University ($53 billion), Yale University ($42 billion), The University of Texas System Office ($40 billion), Stanford University ($38 billion), and Princeton University ($37 billion).

Endowment funds of the 20 degree-granting postsecondary institutions with the largest endowments, by rank order: Fiscal year (FY) 2021
Institution	Rank order, end of FY1	Market value of endowment (in thousands)
		Beginning of FY	End of FY
United States (all institutions)	†	$691,144,829	$927,174,812
Harvard University	1	41,894,380	53,165,753
Yale University	2	31,201,686	42,282,852
The University of Texas System Office	3	30,522,120	40,414,914
Stanford University	4	28,948,111	37,788,187
Princeton University	5	25,944,283	37,026,442
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	6	18,381,518	27,394,039
University of Pennsylvania	7	14,877,363	20,523,546
University of Notre Dame	8	12,319,422	18,385,354
Texas A & M University–College Station	9	12,734,068	16,895,504
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor	10	12,144,714	16,795,776
University of California–System Administration Central Office	11	12,267,010	16,463,910
Columbia University in the City of New York	12	11,257,021	14,349,970
Washington University in St Louis	13	8,489,294	13,668,081
Duke University	14	8,474,071	12,692,472
Emory University	15	9,169,028	12,218,693
Northwestern University	16	8,484,706	11,361,182
Vanderbilt University	17	6,917,371	10,928,512
University of Virginia–Main Campus	18	7,146,476	10,366,578
University of Chicago	19	7,199,521	9,594,956
Cornell University	20	6,882,708	9,474,388

† Not applicable.
¹ Institutions ranked by size of endowment at end of 2021 fiscal year.

NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. In addition to individual degree-granting institution campuses, this table includes two state university systems (The University of Texas System Office and University of California–System Administration Central Office).

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Table 333.90. Endowment funds of the 120 degree-granting postsecondary institutions with the largest endowments, by rank order: Fiscal year 2021 [Data table]. In Digest of education statistics. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_333.90.asp.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2023, IPEDS Data Explorer, Amount and % distribution of revenues and expenses of all Title IV institutions and administrative offices, by level and control of institution or administrative office, accounting standards utilized, and source of funds and type of expense: United States, fiscal year 2021
  

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2023, The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): IPEDS is a system of surveys designed to collect data from all primary providers of postsecondary education.