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Preprimary, Elementary, and Secondary Education

Enrollment Rates of Young Children

Last Updated: May 2023
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In October 2021, about 50 percent of 3- to 4-year-olds and 86 percent of 5-year-olds were enrolled in school. For both age groups, enrollment rates were lower than they had been in October 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

Formal schooling, such as kindergarten and preschool programs, is an important component of early childhood education. This indicator looks at the school enrollment rates of 3- to 5-year-olds using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), October Supplement. This indicator also compares enrollment rates by various child and family characteristics within the 3- to 4-year-old and 5-year-old age groups.

Select a subgroup characteristic from the drop-down menu below to view relevant text and figures.

Age group
+
All available findings Employment/unemployment Parental education Parental living arrangement/structure Race/ethnicity Sex Socioeconomic status (SES) Time series
Figure 1. Percentage of 3- to 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds enrolled in school: October 2010 through October 2021
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A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
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NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October, 2010 through 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 202.20.

In October 2021, about 63 percent of 3- to 5-year-olds were enrolled in school overall. The enrollment rate was higher for 5-year-olds than for 3- to 4-year-olds (86 vs. 50 percent).1 For both age groups, enrollment rates were lower than they had been in October 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic. A closer examination of the changes in enrollment rates over time shows the following:
  • For both age groups, enrollment rates in October 2019 were not measurably different from those in October 2010.2
  • Between October 2019 and October 2020, enrollment rates decreased for both age groups: the rate for 5-year-olds fell 6 percentage points (from 91 to 84 percent), while the rate for 3- to 4-year-olds fell 13 percentage points (from 54 to 40 percent).
  • Between October 2020 and October 2021, the enrollment rate increased for 3- to 4-year-olds only, by 10 percentage points (from 40 to 50 percent).3
  • For both age groups, enrollment rates in October 2021 remained lower than in October 2019, despite the 10-percentage-point recovery from October 2020 to October 2021 for 3- to 4-year-olds.
[Time series ]
Enrollment Rates by Child and Family Characteristics
Figure 2. Percentage of 3- to 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds enrolled in school, by race/ethnicity: October 2021
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A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
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† Not applicable.

‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October, 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 202.20.

In October 2021, for both 3- to 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds, enrollment rates were lower for Hispanic children than for their peers of some other racial/ethnic groups.4 Specifically, enrollment rates in October 2021 were
  • lower for Hispanic 3- to 4-year-olds (42 percent) than for those who were White (55 percent) or Asian (59 percent); and
  • lower for Hispanic 5-year-olds (82 percent) than for those who were Black (90 percent), Asian (92 percent), or of Two or more races (97 percent).
The enrollment rate was also lower for White 5-year-olds (86 percent) than for those of Two or more races. There were no other measurable differences by race/ethnicity in the school enrollment rates of 3- to 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds. [Race/ethnicity ]
In October 2021, enrollment rates did not measurably differ by sex for either 3- to 4-year-olds or 5-year-olds. [Sex]
Figure 3. Percentage of 3- to 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds enrolled in school, by parents’ highest level of educational attainment: October 2021
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Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
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A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
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Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
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1 Includes parents who completed high school through equivalency programs, such as a GED program.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). This figure includes only children who resided with at least one of their parents (including an adoptive or stepparent; excluding a foster parent). Parents’ educational attainment refers to the highest education level of any parent residing with the child. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October, 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 202.20.

There were some measurable differences by parental educational attainment5 in the enrollment rates of young children in October 2021. For 3- to 4-year-olds, the enrollment rate was higher for those whose parents had a bachelor’s or higher degree (57 percent) than for those whose parents had any level of attainment below an associate’s degree (ranging from 37 to 48 percent). Although enrollment rates had been higher for 3- to 4-year-olds whose parents had a bachelor’s or higher degree than for those whose parents had an associate’s degree in every year from October 2010 to October 2019, there was no measurable difference between these groups in October 2020 or October 2021. For 5-year-olds, in October 2021 the enrollment rate was higher for those whose parents had a bachelor’s or higher degree than for those whose parents had less than a high school credential (90 vs. 77 percent). [Time series ] [Parental education]
Figure 4. Percentage of 3- to 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds enrolled in school, by mother’s employment status: October 2021
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Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
X
Embed this figure

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). Mother includes a biological, adoptive, or stepmother and excludes a foster mother. Children living with foster mothers are included in the “Not applicable (no mother in household)” category. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October, 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 202.20.

In October 2021, the enrollment rate was higher for 3- to 4-year-olds whose mothers were employed than for their peers whose mothers were not employed (55 vs. 43 percent). There was no measurable difference by mother’s employment status in the school enrollment rates of 5-year-olds. For either age group, there were no measurable differences in enrollment rates by number of parents living with the child. [Employment/unemployment] [Parental living arrangement/structure]
Figure 5. Percentage of 3- to 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds enrolled in school, by family income: October 2021
Hover, click, and tap to see more for all figures on this page.
Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
X
Embed this figure

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 202.20.

In October 2021, among 3- to 4-year-olds, the enrollment rate was higher for children in households with an annual family income exceeding $100,000 (59 percent) than for those in households of most other income groups, including households that earned
  • less than $10,000 (36 percent);
  • $20,000 to $29,999 (41 percent);
  • $30,000 to $39,999 (44 percent);
  • $50,000 to $74,999 (47 percent); and
  • $75,000 to $99,999 (49 percent);
In addition, 3- to 4-year-olds in households with an annual family income of $10,000 to $19,999 had a higher school enrollment rate (57 percent) than children in households with other family incomes below $40,000. Among 5-year-olds, there were no measurable differences in enrollment rates by family income. [Socioeconomic status (SES) ]

1 As of 2020, there were 47 states—plus the District of Columbia—that required that free education be offered by age 5; however, schooling was only compulsory for 5-year-olds in 11 states and the District of Columbia (see 50-State Comparison: Free and Compulsory School Age Requirements).

2 For historical data on enrollment rates for 3- to 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds (i.e., data prior to 2010), see Digest of Education Statistics 2019, table 202.10.

3 Enrollment drops during the coronavirus pandemic were also observed in data collected by NCES (see indicators Public School Enrollment and Racial/Ethnic Enrollment in Public Schools).

4 For both 3- to 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds, the October 2021 enrollment rates for American Indian/Alaska Native and Pacific Islander children did not meet reporting standards and were thus excluded from the analyses.

5 Refers to the highest level of education attained by any parent residing with the child.

Supplemental Information

Early Childcare and Education Arrangements [Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups]
Early Childhood Care Arrangements: Choices and Costs [The Condition of Education 2018 Spotlight]
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Table 202.20 (Digest 2022): Percentage of 3- to 5-year-old children enrolled in school, by age and selected child and family characteristics: 2010 through 2021
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Associate’s degree Bachelor’s degree College Educational attainment (Current Population Survey) Enrollment High school completer Household Preschool Racial/ethnic group
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Preprimary Enrollment – May 2015
Preprimary Enrollment – February 2014
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Suggested Citation

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Enrollment Rates of Young Children. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved [date], from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cfa.
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