Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 105.50. Number of educational institutions, by level and control of institution: Selected years, 1980-81 through 2017-18
Level and control of institution 1980-81 1990-91 1999-
2000
2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
All institutions --- --- 131,414 139,207 --- 138,925 --- 136,423 --- 139,126 --- 139,874 --- 137,432
Elementary and secondary
    schools
106,746 109,228 125,007 132,656 --- 132,183 --- 129,189 --- 131,890 --- 132,853 --- 130,930
Elementary 72,659 74,716 86,433 88,982 --- 88,565 --- 86,386 --- 89,543 --- 88,665 --- 87,498
Secondary 24,856 23,602 24,903 27,575 --- 27,427 --- 27,034 --- 26,767 --- 26,986 --- 26,727
Combined 5,202 8,847 12,197 14,837 --- 14,895 --- 14,799 --- 14,599 --- 16,511 --- 15,804
Other1 4,029 2,063 1,474 1,262 --- 1,296 --- 971 --- 981 --- 691 --- 901

Public schools
85,982 84,538 92,012 98,916 98,706 98,817 98,817 98,328 98,454 98,271 98,176 98,277 98,158 98,469
Elementary 59,326 59,015 64,131 67,112 67,148 67,140 67,086 66,689 66,708 67,034 67,073 66,758 66,837 67,408
Secondary 22,619 21,135 22,365 24,643 24,348 24,651 24,544 24,357 24,294 24,067 24,181 24,040 23,814 23,882
Combined 1,743 2,325 4,042 5,899 5,623 5,730 6,137 6,311 6,329 6,189 6,347 6,788 6,783 6,278
Other1 2,294 2,063 1,474 1,262 1,587 1,296 1,050 971 1,123 981 575 691 724 901

Private schools2
20,764 24,690 32,995 33,740 --- 33,366 --- 30,861 --- 33,619 --- 34,576 --- 32,461
Elementary 13,333 15,701 22,302 21,870 --- 21,425 --- 19,697 --- 22,509 --- 21,907 --- 20,090
Schools with highest
    grade of kindergarten
5,952 5,522 --- 5,275 --- 4,658 --- 5,255 --- 5,147 --- 4,320
Secondary 2,237 2,467 2,538 2,932 --- 2,776 --- 2,677 --- 2,700 --- 2,946 --- 2,845
Combined 3,459 6,522 8,155 8,938 --- 9,165 --- 8,488 --- 8,410 --- 9,723 --- 9,526
Other1 1,735 (3 ) (3 ) (3 ) --- (3 ) --- (3 ) --- (3 ) --- (3 ) --- (3 )
Postsecondary Title IV
    institutions
--- --- 6,407 6,551 6,632 6,742 7,021 7,234 7,253 7,236 7,151 7,021 6,606 6,502
Public --- --- 2,078 2,004 1,997 1,989 2,015 2,011 1,981 1,980 1,964 1,965 1,958 1,955
Private --- --- 4,329 4,547 4,635 4,753 5,006 5,223 5,272 5,256 5,187 5,056 4,648 4,547
Nonprofit --- --- 1,936 1,815 1,809 1,809 1,812 1,830 1,820 1,834 1,827 1,859 1,823 1,826
For-profit --- --- 2,393 2,732 2,826 2,944 3,194 3,393 3,452 3,422 3,360 3,197 2,825 2,721

Title IV non-degree-
                           
granting institutions --- --- 2,323 2,199 2,223 2,247 2,422 2,528 2,527 2,512 2,524 2,438 2,246 2,189
Public --- --- 396 319 321 317 359 362 358 355 343 345 335 329
Private --- --- 1,927 1,880 1,902 1,930 2,063 2,166 2,169 2,157 2,181 2,093 1,911 1,860
Nonprofit --- --- 255 191 180 185 182 177 168 159 155 158 141 137
For-profit --- --- 1,672 1,689 1,722 1,745 1,881 1,989 2,001 1,998 2,026 1,935 1,770 1,723

Title IV degree-granting
                           
institutions 3,231 3,559 4,084 4,352 4,409 4,495 4,599 4,706 4,726 4,724 4,627 4,583 4,360 4,313
2-year colleges 1,274 1,418 1,721 1,677 1,690 1,721 1,729 1,738 1,700 1,685 1,616 1,579 1,528 1,485
Public 945 972 1,068 1,032 1,024 1,000 978 967 934 934 920 910 886 876
Private 329 446 653 645 666 721 751 771 766 751 696 669 642 609
Nonprofit 182 167 150 92 92 85 87 100 97 88 88 107 101 99
For-profit 147 279 503 553 574 636 664 671 669 663 608 562 541 510

4-year colleges
1,957 2,141 2,363 2,675 2,719 2,774 2,870 2,968 3,026 3,039 3,011 3,004 2,832 2,828
Public 552 595 614 653 652 672 678 682 689 691 701 710 737 750
Private 1,405 1,546 1,749 2,022 2,067 2,102 2,192 2,286 2,337 2,348 2,310 2,294 2,095 2,078
Nonprofit 1,387 1,482 1,531 1,532 1,537 1,539 1,543 1,553 1,555 1,587 1,584 1,594 1,581 1,590
For-profit 18 64 218 490 530 563 649 733 782 761 726 700 514 488
---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 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.
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 2017-18; 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 2017-18; Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Institutional Characteristics of Colleges and Universities" survey, 1980-81; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Institutional Characteristics Survey" (IPEDS-IC:90-99); and IPEDS Fall 2001 through Fall 2017, Institutional Characteristics component. (This table was prepared January 2020.)

2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest