Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2014 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 306.20. Total fall enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by level and control of institution and race/ethnicity of student: Selected years, 1976 through 2013
Level and control of institution and race/ethnicity of student Fall enrollment (in thousands) Percentage distribution of U.S. residents
1976 1980 1990 2000 2005 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 1976 1980 1990 2000 2005 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
All students, total 10,985.6 12,086.8 13,818.6 15,312.3 17,487.5 19,102.8 20,313.6 21,019.4 21,010.6 20,642.8 20,375.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 9,076.1 9,833.0 10,722.5 10,462.1 11,495.4 12,088.8 12,668.9 12,720.8 12,401.9 11,981.1 11,590.7 84.3 83.5 79.9 70.8 68.0 65.5 64.5 62.6 61.2 60.3 59.3
Total, selected races/ethnicities 1,690.8 1,948.8 2,704.7 4,321.5 5,407.2 6,353.5 6,962.5 7,591.0 7,868.2 7,878.8 7,944.8 15.7 16.5 20.1 29.2 32.0 34.5 35.5 37.4 38.8 39.7 40.7
Black 1,033.0 1,106.8 1,247.0 1,730.3 2,214.6 2,584.5 2,883.9 3,039.0 3,079.2 2,962.1 2,872.1 9.6 9.4 9.3 11.7 13.1 14.0 14.7 15.0 15.2 14.9 14.7
Hispanic 383.8 471.7 782.4 1,461.8 1,882.0 2,272.9 2,537.4 2,748.8 2,893.0 2,979.4 3,091.1 3.6 4.0 5.8 9.9 11.1 12.3 12.9 13.5 14.3 15.0 15.8
Asian/Pacific Islander 197.9 286.4 572.4 978.2 1,134.4 1,302.8 1,335.3 1,281.6 1,277.0 1,259.2 1,259.6 1.8 2.4 4.3 6.6 6.7 7.1 6.8 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.4
Asian 1,217.6 1,211.0 1,195.6 1,198.5 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.1
Pacific Islander 64.0 66.0 63.6 61.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
American Indian/Alaska Native 76.1 83.9 102.8 151.2 176.3 193.3 205.9 196.2 186.2 172.9 162.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8
Two or more races 325.4 432.7 505.1 559.4 1.6 2.1 2.5 2.9
Nonresident alien 218.7 305.0 391.5 528.7 584.8 660.6 682.2 707.7 740.5 782.9 840.3
                                             
Public 8,641.0 9,456.4 10,844.7 11,752.8 13,021.8 13,972.2 14,810.8 15,142.2 15,116.3 14,880.3 14,745.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 7,094.5 7,656.1 8,385.4 7,963.4 8,518.2 8,817.7 9,232.4 9,182.1 8,938.2 8,634.3 8,364.1 83.5 82.7 79.2 69.8 67.3 65.1 64.2 62.5 61.0 60.0 58.9
Total, selected races/ethnicities 1,401.2 1,596.2 2,199.2 3,446.3 4,130.8 4,727.5 5,137.5 5,507.1 5,706.0 5,747.5 5,847.0 16.5 17.3 20.8 30.2 32.7 34.9 35.8 37.5 39.0 40.0 41.1
Black 831.2 876.1 976.4 1,319.2 1,580.4 1,759.2 1,936.7 1,988.8 2,014.0 1,937.0 1,886.8 9.8 9.5 9.2 11.6 12.5 13.0 13.5 13.5 13.8 13.5 13.3
Hispanic 336.8 406.2 671.4 1,229.3 1,525.6 1,832.4 2,020.4 2,163.8 2,277.6 2,365.9 2,477.5 4.0 4.4 6.3 10.8 12.1 13.5 14.1 14.7 15.6 16.5 17.4
Asian/Pacific Islander 165.7 239.7 461.0 770.5 881.9 982.9 1,018.7 968.7 958.5 942.5 944.8 2.0 2.6 4.4 6.8 7.0 7.3 7.1 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.6
Asian 924.8 915.5 901.1 905.6 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.4
Pacific Islander 43.9 43.0 41.4 39.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
American Indian/Alaska Native 67.5 74.2 90.4 127.3 143.0 153.0 161.7 150.8 142.5 131.7 124.6 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9
Two or more races 235.0 313.4 370.4 413.4 1.6 2.1 2.6 2.9
Nonresident alien 145.3 204.2 260.0 343.1 372.8 427.0 440.9 453.0 472.0 498.6 534.4
                                             
Private 2,344.6 2,630.4 2,973.9 3,559.5 4,465.6 5,130.7 5,502.8 5,877.3 5,894.3 5,762.5 5,630.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 1,981.6 2,176.9 2,337.0 2,498.7 2,977.3 3,271.1 3,436.5 3,538.7 3,463.6 3,346.9 3,226.6 87.3 86.1 82.2 74.1 70.0 66.8 65.3 62.9 61.6 61.1 60.6
Total, selected races/ethnicities 289.6 352.7 505.5 875.2 1,276.4 1,625.9 1,825.0 2,083.9 2,162.2 2,131.3 2,097.8 12.7 13.9 17.8 25.9 30.0 33.2 34.7 37.1 38.4 38.9 39.4
Black 201.8 230.7 270.6 411.1 634.2 825.3 947.2 1,050.2 1,065.2 1,025.1 985.3 8.9 9.1 9.5 12.2 14.9 16.9 18.0 18.7 18.9 18.7 18.5
Hispanic 47.0 65.6 111.0 232.5 356.4 440.5 517.1 585.0 615.4 613.6 613.6 2.1 2.6 3.9 6.9 8.4 9.0 9.8 10.4 10.9 11.2 11.5
Asian/Pacific Islander 32.2 46.7 111.5 207.7 252.4 319.9 316.5 312.8 318.6 316.7 314.8 1.4 1.8 3.9 6.2 5.9 6.5 6.0 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9
Asian 292.7 295.5 294.5 293.0 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5
Pacific Islander 20.1 23.0 22.2 21.9 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
American Indian/Alaska Native 8.6 9.7 12.4 23.9 33.3 40.3 44.3 45.5 43.7 41.2 37.9 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7
Two or more races 90.4 119.3 134.7 146.0 1.6 2.1 2.5 2.7
Nonresident alien 73.4 100.8 131.4 185.6 212.0 233.6 241.3 254.7 268.5 284.3 305.9
                                             
4-year, total 7,106.5 7,565.4 8,578.6 9,363.9 10,999.4 12,131.4 12,791.0 13,335.8 13,499.4 13,478.8 13,407.1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 5,999.0 6,274.5 6,768.1 6,658.0 7,496.9 7,987.1 8,296.8 8,399.5 8,309.6 8,144.2 7,954.6 86.6 85.7 82.0 74.6 71.4 69.0 68.0 66.0 64.6 63.7 62.8
Total, selected races/ethnicities 931.0 1,049.9 1,486.1 2,266.1 3,009.5 3,588.4 3,912.2 4,328.0 4,545.2 4,645.4 4,704.2 13.4 14.3 18.0 25.4 28.6 31.0 32.0 34.0 35.4 36.3 37.2
Black 603.7 634.3 722.8 995.4 1,313.4 1,565.0 1,730.9 1,840.0 1,879.7 1,845.7 1,799.1 8.7 8.7 8.8 11.2 12.5 13.5 14.2 14.5 14.6 14.4 14.2
Hispanic 173.6 216.6 358.2 617.9 900.5 1,092.2 1,226.3 1,355.9 1,453.5 1,533.3 1,599.9 2.5 3.0 4.3 6.9 8.6 9.4 10.0 10.7 11.3 12.0 12.6
Asian/Pacific Islander 118.7 162.1 357.2 576.3 700.0 823.4 839.3 818.5 831.9 835.4 843.9 1.7 2.2 4.3 6.5 6.7 7.1 6.9 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.7
Asian 782.5 793.2 796.7 806.2 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.4
Pacific Islander 36.0 38.7 38.8 37.7 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
American Indian/Alaska Native 35.0 36.9 47.9 76.5 95.6 107.8 115.7 109.0 105.1 98.0 91.6 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7
Two or more races 204.6 275.0 333.0 369.8 1.6 2.1 2.6 2.9
Nonresident alien 176.5 240.9 324.3 439.7 493.1 555.9 582.1 608.3 644.6 689.2 748.3
                                             
Public 4,892.9 5,127.6 5,848.2 6,055.4 6,837.6 7,331.8 7,709.2 7,924.1 8,048.1 8,092.7 8,120.4 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 4,120.2 4,243.0 4,605.6 4,311.2 4,678.1 4,879.2 5,057.0 5,069.6 5,028.3 4,952.2 4,866.8 86.1 85.1 81.5 74.4 71.4 69.6 68.7 67.0 65.6 64.4 63.4
Total, selected races/ethnicities 666.7 740.8 1,046.2 1,486.4 1,876.9 2,128.2 2,308.3 2,496.8 2,640.2 2,733.1 2,808.8 13.9 14.9 18.5 25.6 28.6 30.4 31.3 33.0 34.4 35.6 36.6
Black 421.8 438.2 495.1 627.8 754.0 827.3 896.7 912.6 931.8 922.6 908.9 8.8 8.8 8.8 10.8 11.5 11.8 12.2 12.1 12.2 12.0 11.8
Hispanic 129.3 156.4 262.5 420.0 595.6 709.9 794.9 869.5 945.5 1,007.8 1,063.6 2.7 3.1 4.6 7.2 9.1 10.1 10.8 11.5 12.3 13.1 13.9
Asian/Pacific Islander 87.5 117.2 250.6 381.3 460.1 518.3 540.1 522.8 531.4 535.1 544.7 1.8 2.4 4.4 6.6 7.0 7.4 7.3 6.9 6.9 7.0 7.1
Asian 504.7 512.3 516.1 526.2 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.9
Pacific Islander 18.1 19.0 19.0 18.6 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
American Indian/Alaska Native 28.2 29.0 38.0 57.2 67.2 72.6 76.6 69.5 66.2 61.3 58.1 0.6 0.6 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8
Two or more races 122.4 165.4 206.3 233.4 1.6 2.2 2.7 3.0
Nonresident alien 106.0 143.8 196.4 257.8 282.6 324.4 343.9 357.8 379.6 407.3 444.9
                                             
Private 2,213.6 2,437.8 2,730.3 3,308.5 4,161.8 4,799.6 5,081.8 5,411.7 5,451.3 5,386.2 5,286.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 1,878.8 2,031.5 2,162.5 2,346.9 2,818.8 3,107.9 3,239.8 3,330.0 3,281.2 3,191.9 3,087.8 87.7 86.8 83.1 75.1 71.3 68.0 66.9 64.5 63.3 62.5 62.0
Total, selected races/ethnicities 264.3 309.2 439.8 779.7 1,132.5 1,460.2 1,603.9 1,831.2 1,905.0 1,912.3 1,895.4 12.3 13.2 16.9 24.9 28.7 32.0 33.1 35.5 36.7 37.5 38.0
Black 182.0 196.1 227.7 367.6 559.4 737.6 834.2 927.4 947.9 923.1 890.1 8.5 8.4 8.7 11.8 14.2 16.1 17.2 18.0 18.3 18.1 17.9
Hispanic 44.3 60.2 95.7 197.9 304.9 382.3 431.3 486.3 508.0 525.5 536.3 2.1 2.6 3.7 6.3 7.7 8.4 8.9 9.4 9.8 10.3 10.8
Asian/Pacific Islander 31.2 44.9 106.6 195.0 239.8 305.1 299.3 295.7 300.6 300.3 299.1 1.5 1.9 4.1 6.2 6.1 6.7 6.2 5.7 5.8 5.9 6.0
Asian 277.8 280.8 280.6 280.0 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.6
Pacific Islander 17.9 19.7 19.8 19.1 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4
American Indian/Alaska Native 6.8 7.9 9.9 19.3 28.4 35.2 39.1 39.6 38.9 36.7 33.5 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7
Two or more races 82.2 109.6 126.7 136.4 1.6 2.1 2.5 2.7
Nonresident alien 70.5 97.1 127.9 181.9 210.4 231.5 238.1 250.6 265.1 281.9 303.4
                                             
2-year, total 3,879.1 4,521.4 5,240.1 5,948.4 6,488.1 6,971.4 7,522.6 7,683.6 7,511.2 7,164.0 6,968.7 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 3,077.1 3,558.5 3,954.3 3,804.1 3,998.6 4,101.6 4,372.1 4,321.3 4,092.3 3,837.0 3,636.1 80.2 79.8 76.4 64.9 62.5 59.7 58.9 57.0 55.2 54.3 52.9
Total, selected races/ethnicities 759.8 898.9 1,218.6 2,055.4 2,397.7 2,765.0 3,050.3 3,263.0 3,323.0 3,233.3 3,240.6 19.8 20.2 23.6 35.1 37.5 40.3 41.1 43.0 44.8 45.7 47.1
Black 429.3 472.5 524.3 734.9 901.1 1,019.5 1,153.0 1,198.9 1,199.5 1,116.4 1,073.1 11.2 10.6 10.1 12.5 14.1 14.8 15.5 15.8 16.2 15.8 15.6
Hispanic 210.2 255.1 424.2 843.9 981.5 1,180.7 1,311.1 1,393.0 1,439.5 1,446.1 1,491.2 5.5 5.7 8.2 14.4 15.3 17.2 17.7 18.4 19.4 20.5 21.7
Asian/Pacific Islander 79.2 124.3 215.2 401.9 434.4 479.4 496.0 463.1 445.1 423.7 415.7 2.1 2.8 4.2 6.9 6.8 7.0 6.7 6.1 6.0 6.0 6.0
Asian 435.1 417.8 398.9 392.3 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.7
Pacific Islander 28.0 27.3 24.8 23.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3
American Indian/Alaska Native 41.2 47.0 54.9 74.7 80.7 85.5 90.2 87.2 81.1 74.9 71.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0
Two or more races 120.8 157.7 172.1 189.6 1.6 2.1 2.4 2.8
Nonresident alien 42.2 64.1 67.1 89.0 91.8 104.7 100.1 99.3 95.9 93.6 92.0
                                             
Public 3,748.1 4,328.8 4,996.5 5,697.4 6,184.2 6,640.3 7,101.6 7,218.1 7,068.2 6,787.7 6,625.1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 2,974.3 3,413.1 3,779.8 3,652.2 3,840.1 3,938.5 4,175.4 4,112.5 3,909.9 3,682.0 3,497.4 80.2 80.0 76.6 65.1 63.0 60.2 59.6 57.7 56.1 55.0 53.5
Total, selected races/ethnicities 734.5 855.4 1,153.0 1,959.9 2,253.9 2,599.3 2,829.2 3,010.3 3,065.8 3,014.4 3,038.2 19.8 20.0 23.4 34.9 37.0 39.8 40.4 42.3 43.9 45.0 46.5
Black 409.5 437.9 481.4 691.4 826.3 931.9 1,040.0 1,076.1 1,082.2 1,014.4 977.9 11.0 10.3 9.8 12.3 13.6 14.3 14.8 15.1 15.5 15.1 15.0
Hispanic 207.5 249.8 408.9 809.2 930.0 1,122.5 1,225.4 1,294.3 1,332.1 1,358.1 1,413.9 5.6 5.9 8.3 14.4 15.3 17.2 17.5 18.2 19.1 20.3 21.6
Asian/Pacific Islander 78.2 122.5 210.3 389.2 421.8 464.5 478.7 445.9 427.1 407.4 400.0 2.1 2.9 4.3 6.9 6.9 7.1 6.8 6.3 6.1 6.1 6.1
Asian 420.2 403.1 385.0 379.4 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.8
Pacific Islander 25.7 24.0 22.4 20.6 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3
American Indian/Alaska Native 39.3 45.2 52.4 70.1 75.7 80.4 85.1 81.3 76.3 70.4 66.5 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0
Two or more races 112.7 148.0 164.1 180.0 1.6 2.1 2.5 2.8
Nonresident alien 39.2 60.3 63.6 85.2 90.2 102.6 96.9 95.2 92.5 91.2 89.6
                                             
Private 131.0 192.6 243.6 251.0 303.8 331.0 421.0 465.5 443.0 376.3 343.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 102.8 145.4 174.5 151.8 158.4 163.2 196.7 208.8 182.4 154.9 138.7 80.3 77.0 72.7 61.4 52.4 49.6 47.1 45.2 41.5 41.4 40.7
Total, selected races/ethnicities 25.3 43.5 65.6 95.5 143.8 165.7 221.2 252.7 257.2 219.0 202.4 19.7 23.0 27.3 38.6 47.6 50.4 52.9 54.8 58.5 58.6 59.3
Black 19.8 34.6 42.9 43.5 74.8 87.7 113.0 122.8 117.3 102.1 95.2 15.5 18.3 17.9 17.6 24.7 26.7 27.0 26.6 26.7 27.3 27.9
Hispanic 2.6 5.3 15.3 34.7 51.4 58.2 85.7 98.7 107.4 88.0 77.3 2.1 2.8 6.4 14.0 17.0 17.7 20.5 21.4 24.4 23.5 22.7
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.9 1.8 4.9 12.7 12.6 14.8 17.3 17.2 18.0 16.3 15.7 0.7 1.0 2.0 5.1 4.2 4.5 4.1 3.7 4.1 4.4 4.6
Asian 14.9 14.7 13.9 12.9 3.2 3.3 3.7 3.8
Pacific Islander 2.2 3.3 2.4 2.8 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.8
American Indian/Alaska Native 1.8 1.8 2.5 4.5 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.9 4.8 4.5 4.5 1.4 1.0 1.1 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.3
Two or more races 8.1 9.7 8.0 9.7 1.8 2.2 2.1 2.8
Nonresident alien 3.0 3.7 3.5 3.8 1.6 2.1 3.2 4.1 3.4 2.4 2.5
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Because of underreporting and nonreporting of racial/ethnic data, some figures are slightly lower than corresponding data in other tables. Data through 1990 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for 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. 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, Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Fall Enrollment in Colleges and Universities" surveys, 1976 and 1980; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Fall Enrollment Survey" (IPEDS-EF:90); and IPEDS Spring 2001 through Spring 2014, Enrollment component. (This table was prepared November 2014.)

2014 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest