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Digest of Education Statistics
2022 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 or nonresident status of student: Selected years, 1976 through 2021
Level and control of institution and race/ethnicity or nonresident status of student Fall enrollment (in thousands) Percentage distribution of U.S. resident students (excludes nonresidents)
1976 1980 1990 2000 2010 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 1976 1980 1990 2000 2010 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
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 21,019.4 19,846.9 19,778.2 19,651.4 19,630.2 19,027.4 18,659.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 9,076.1 9,833.0 10,722.5 10,462.1 12,720.8 10,716.6 10,517.4 10,305.2 10,139.8 9,817.2 9,496.3 84.3 83.5 79.9 70.8 62.6 56.9 56.0 55.2 54.4 54.0 53.4
Total, selected races/
     ethnicities
1,690.8 1,948.8 2,704.7 4,321.5 7,591.0 8,132.2 8,260.8 8,356.3 8,515.8 8,361.7 8,274.5 15.7 16.5 20.1 29.2 37.4 43.1 44.0 44.8 45.6 46.0 46.6
Black 1,033.0 1,106.8 1,247.0 1,730.3 3,039.0 2,589.4 2,549.5 2,496.1 2,467.3 2,389.4 2,329.7 9.6 9.4 9.3 11.7 15.0 13.7 13.6 13.4 13.2 13.1 13.1
Hispanic 383.8 471.7 782.4 1,461.8 2,748.8 3,428.0 3,546.0 3,642.5 3,785.9 3,696.8 3,664.5 3.6 4.0 5.8 9.9 13.5 18.2 18.9 19.5 20.3 20.3 20.6
Asian/Pacific Islander 197.9 286.4 572.4 978.2 1,281.6 1,306.7 1,327.8 1,355.2 1,378.0 1,391.2 1,400.6 1.8 2.4 4.3 6.6 6.3 6.9 7.1 7.3 7.4 7.7 7.9
Asian --- --- --- --- 1,217.6 1,253.5 1,275.7 1,304.8 1,327.1 1,342.6 1,353.5 --- --- --- --- 6.0 6.7 6.8 7.0 7.1 7.4 7.6
Pacific Islander --- --- --- --- 64.0 53.2 52.0 50.4 50.9 48.6 47.1 --- --- --- --- 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
76.1 83.9 102.8 151.2 196.2 142.3 137.5 133.1 129.7 120.8 121.1 0.7 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
Two or more races --- --- --- --- 325.4 665.8 700.1 729.3 754.9 763.4 758.5 --- --- --- --- 1.6 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.0 4.2 4.3
Nonresident1  218.7 305.0 391.5 528.7 707.7 998.1 1,000.0 989.9 974.6 848.5 889.0
                                             
Public 8,641.0 9,456.4 10,844.7 11,752.8 15,142.2 14,585.8 14,571.7 14,539.3 14,503.6 13,884.5 13,543.5 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 7,094.5 7,656.1 8,385.4 7,963.4 9,182.1 7,787.3 7,646.3 7,508.1 7,368.8 7,059.8 6,807.5 83.5 82.7 79.2 69.8 62.5 55.8 54.8 53.9 53.0 52.8 52.3
Total, selected races/
     ethnicities
1,401.2 1,596.2 2,199.2 3,446.3 5,507.1 6,165.0 6,301.9 6,420.9 6,538.5 6,313.4 6,210.1 16.5 17.3 20.8 30.2 37.5 44.2 45.2 46.1 47.0 47.2 47.7
Black 831.2 876.1 976.4 1,319.2 1,988.8 1,739.6 1,725.3 1,715.3 1,695.7 1,604.7 1,573.7 9.8 9.5 9.2 11.6 13.5 12.5 12.4 12.3 12.2 12.0 12.1
Hispanic 336.8 406.2 671.4 1,229.3 2,163.8 2,819.5 2,929.7 3,018.6 3,126.6 3,000.6 2,945.4 4.0 4.4 6.3 10.8 14.7 20.2 21.0 21.7 22.5 22.4 22.6
Asian/Pacific Islander 165.7 239.7 461.0 770.5 968.7 990.5 1,007.4 1,030.4 1,043.1 1,043.7 1,035.5 2.0 2.6 4.4 6.8 6.6 7.1 7.2 7.4 7.5 7.8 8.0
Asian --- --- --- --- 924.8 955.9 973.7 997.1 1,009.7 1,012.9 1,006.3 --- --- --- --- 6.3 6.9 7.0 7.2 7.3 7.6 7.7
Pacific Islander --- --- --- --- 43.9 34.6 33.6 33.2 33.4 30.8 29.2 --- --- --- --- 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
American Indian/Alaska
   Native
67.5 74.2 90.4 127.3 150.8 110.7 107.7 104.5 102.4 93.2 93.1 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7
Two or more races --- --- --- --- 235.0 504.8 531.8 552.2 570.7 571.2 562.4 --- --- --- --- 1.6 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.3
Nonresident1  145.3 204.2 260.0 343.1 453.0 633.5 623.6 610.2 596.3 511.2 525.9
                                             
Private 2,344.6 2,630.4 2,973.9 3,559.5 5,877.3 5,261.1 5,206.4 5,112.2 5,126.5 5,143.0 5,116.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 1,981.6 2,176.9 2,337.0 2,498.7 3,538.7 2,929.3 2,871.1 2,797.1 2,771.0 2,757.4 2,688.8 87.3 86.1 82.2 74.1 62.9 59.8 59.4 59.1 58.4 57.4 56.6
Total, selected races/
     ethnicities
289.6 352.7 505.5 875.2 2,083.9 1,967.2 1,958.9 1,935.4 1,977.3 2,048.2 2,064.4 12.7 13.9 17.8 25.9 37.1 40.2 40.6 40.9 41.6 42.6 43.4
Black 201.8 230.7 270.6 411.1 1,050.2 849.8 824.2 780.9 771.7 784.7 756.0 8.9 9.1 9.5 12.2 18.7 17.4 17.1 16.5 16.3 16.3 15.9
Hispanic 47.0 65.6 111.0 232.5 585.0 608.5 616.3 624.0 659.2 696.2 719.2 2.1 2.6 3.9 6.9 10.4 12.4 12.8 13.2 13.9 14.5 15.1
Asian/Pacific Islander 32.2 46.7 111.5 207.7 312.8 316.2 320.4 324.8 334.9 347.6 365.1 1.4 1.8 3.9 6.2 5.6 6.5 6.6 6.9 7.1 7.2 7.7
Asian --- --- --- --- 292.7 297.6 302.0 307.7 317.5 329.7 347.2 --- --- --- --- 5.2 6.1 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.9 7.3
Pacific Islander --- --- --- --- 20.1 18.6 18.4 17.1 17.4 17.9 18.0 --- --- --- --- 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
8.6 9.7 12.4 23.9 45.5 31.7 29.7 28.5 27.2 27.6 28.0 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
Two or more races --- --- --- --- 90.4 161.0 168.3 177.2 184.2 192.2 196.1 --- --- --- --- 1.6 3.3 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.0 4.1
Nonresident1  73.4 100.8 131.4 185.6 254.7 364.6 376.4 379.7 378.3 337.3 363.1
                                             
4-year, total 7,106.5 7,565.4 8,578.6 9,363.9 13,335.8 13,754.5 13,825.4 13,898.5 14,039.5 14,095.7 13,977.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 5,999.0 6,274.5 6,768.1 6,658.0 8,399.5 7,715.0 7,637.9 7,577.0 7,556.6 7,488.9 7,297.8 86.6 85.7 82.0 74.6 66.0 60.0 59.1 58.3 57.5 56.3 55.5
Total, selected races/
     ethnicities
931.0 1,049.9 1,486.1 2,266.1 4,328.0 5,135.5 5,275.6 5,417.8 5,587.4 5,819.1 5,842.8 13.4 14.3 18.0 25.4 34.0 40.0 40.9 41.7 42.5 43.7 44.5
Black 603.7 634.3 722.8 995.4 1,840.0 1,724.0 1,704.7 1,690.1 1,690.5 1,719.0 1,676.4 8.7 8.7 8.8 11.2 14.5 13.4 13.2 13.0 12.9 12.9 12.8
Hispanic 173.6 216.6 358.2 617.9 1,355.9 1,932.5 2,035.7 2,140.2 2,252.1 2,394.4 2,425.3 2.5 3.0 4.3 6.9 10.7 15.0 15.8 16.5 17.1 18.0 18.5
Asian/Pacific Islander 118.7 162.1 357.2 576.3 818.5 929.6 958.8 986.8 1,019.3 1,062.1 1,096.3 1.7 2.2 4.3 6.5 6.4 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.8 8.0 8.3
Asian --- --- --- --- 782.5 893.9 923.5 952.4 984.7 1,028.4 1,062.9 --- --- --- --- 6.1 7.0 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.7 8.1
Pacific Islander --- --- --- --- 36.0 35.7 35.3 34.4 34.6 33.8 33.4 --- --- --- --- 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
35.0 36.9 47.9 76.5 109.0 83.6 81.7 80.6 80.3 78.7 79.0 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
Two or more races --- --- --- --- 204.6 465.7 494.7 520.1 545.2 564.9 565.8 --- --- --- --- 1.6 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3
Nonresident1  176.5 240.9 324.3 439.7 608.3 904.0 911.8 903.6 895.5 787.7 836.6
                                             
Public 4,892.9 5,127.6 5,848.2 6,055.4 7,924.1 8,742.9 8,854.3 8,983.2 9,102.8 9,163.5 9,065.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 4,120.2 4,243.0 4,605.6 4,311.2 5,069.6 4,879.3 4,850.4 4,849.9 4,851.4 4,802.8 4,675.5 86.1 85.1 81.5 74.4 67.0 59.5 58.3 57.3 56.5 55.1 54.4
Total, selected races/
     ethnicities
666.7 740.8 1,046.2 1,486.4 2,496.8 3,321.1 3,465.8 3,606.8 3,732.1 3,908.5 3,915.5 13.9 14.9 18.5 25.6 33.0 40.5 41.7 42.7 43.5 44.9 45.6
Black 421.8 438.2 495.1 627.8 912.6 950.9 956.5 969.6 972.8 996.8 981.0 8.8 8.8 8.8 10.8 12.1 11.6 11.5 11.5 11.3 11.4 11.4
Hispanic 129.3 156.4 262.5 420.0 869.5 1,379.5 1,472.8 1,561.0 1,642.3 1,753.3 1,762.2 2.7 3.1 4.6 7.2 11.5 16.8 17.7 18.5 19.1 20.1 20.5
Asian/Pacific Islander 87.5 117.2 250.6 381.3 522.8 623.7 648.2 670.9 693.3 723.8 740.3 1.8 2.4 4.4 6.6 6.9 7.6 7.8 7.9 8.1 8.3 8.6
Asian --- --- --- --- 504.7 605.2 629.9 652.5 674.9 706.5 723.6 --- --- --- --- 6.7 7.4 7.6 7.7 7.9 8.1 8.4
Pacific Islander --- --- --- --- 18.1 18.5 18.2 18.4 18.4 17.3 16.7 --- --- --- --- 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
28.2 29.0 38.0 57.2 69.5 55.3 55.0 54.9 55.8 54.0 54.0 0.6 0.6 0.7 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
Two or more races --- --- --- --- 122.4 311.6 333.4 350.5 368.0 380.6 378.0 --- --- --- --- 1.6 3.8 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.4 4.4
Nonresident1  106.0 143.8 196.4 257.8 357.8 542.6 538.1 526.5 519.3 452.2 474.8
                                             
Private 2,213.6 2,437.8 2,730.3 3,308.5 5,411.7 5,011.6 4,971.1 4,915.3 4,936.7 4,932.2 4,911.5 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 1,878.8 2,031.5 2,162.5 2,346.9 3,330.0 2,835.7 2,787.6 2,727.1 2,705.2 2,686.1 2,622.3 87.7 86.8 83.1 75.1 64.5 61.0 60.6 60.1 59.3 58.4 57.6
Total, selected races/
     ethnicities
264.3 309.2 439.8 779.7 1,831.2 1,814.4 1,809.8 1,811.0 1,855.2 1,910.6 1,927.4 12.3 13.2 16.9 24.9 35.5 39.0 39.4 39.9 40.7 41.6 42.4
Black 182.0 196.1 227.7 367.6 927.4 773.1 748.2 720.5 717.7 722.2 695.4 8.5 8.4 8.7 11.8 18.0 16.6 16.3 15.9 15.7 15.7 15.3
Hispanic 44.3 60.2 95.7 197.9 486.3 553.0 563.0 579.3 609.8 641.1 663.1 2.1 2.6 3.7 6.3 9.4 11.9 12.2 12.8 13.4 13.9 14.6
Asian/Pacific Islander 31.2 44.9 106.6 195.0 295.7 305.9 310.6 315.9 326.0 338.4 356.0 1.5 1.9 4.1 6.2 5.7 6.6 6.8 7.0 7.1 7.4 7.8
Asian --- --- --- --- 277.8 288.7 293.6 299.9 309.8 321.9 339.3 --- --- --- --- 5.4 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.0 7.5
Pacific Islander --- --- --- --- 17.9 17.2 17.0 16.0 16.2 16.5 16.7 --- --- --- --- 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
6.8 7.9 9.9 19.3 39.6 28.3 26.7 25.8 24.6 24.7 25.0 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5
Two or more races --- --- --- --- 82.2 154.1 161.3 169.6 177.3 184.2 187.8 --- --- --- --- 1.6 3.3 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.0 4.1
  Nonresident1  70.5 97.1 127.9 181.9 250.6 361.5 373.8 377.1 376.2 335.5 361.8
                                             
2-year, total 3,879.1 4,521.4 5,240.1 5,948.4 7,683.6 6,092.4 5,952.8 5,753.0 5,590.7 4,931.7 4,682.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 3,077.1 3,558.5 3,954.3 3,804.1 4,321.3 3,001.6 2,879.5 2,728.2 2,583.2 2,328.3 2,198.5 80.2 79.8 76.4 64.9 57.0 50.0 49.1 48.1 46.9 47.8 47.5
Total, selected races/
     ethnicities
759.8 898.9 1,218.6 2,055.4 3,263.0 2,996.7 2,985.2 2,938.4 2,928.4 2,542.6 2,431.7 19.8 20.2 23.6 35.1 43.0 50.0 50.9 51.9 53.1 52.2 52.5
Black 429.3 472.5 524.3 734.9 1,198.9 865.5 844.8 806.1 776.8 670.4 653.4 11.2 10.6 10.1 12.5 15.8 14.4 14.4 14.2 14.1 13.8 14.1
Hispanic 210.2 255.1 424.2 843.9 1,393.0 1,495.4 1,510.2 1,502.3 1,533.8 1,302.4 1,239.2 5.5 5.7 8.2 14.4 18.4 24.9 25.8 26.5 27.8 26.7 26.8
Asian/Pacific Islander 79.2 124.3 215.2 401.9 463.1 377.1 369.0 368.4 358.7 329.1 304.3 2.1 2.8 4.2 6.9 6.1 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.6
Asian --- --- --- --- 435.1 359.6 352.2 352.4 342.4 314.2 290.6 --- --- --- --- 5.7 6.0 6.0 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.3
Pacific Islander --- --- --- --- 28.0 17.5 16.7 16.0 16.3 14.9 13.7 --- --- --- --- 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
41.2 47.0 54.9 74.7 87.2 58.7 55.7 52.4 49.3 42.1 42.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
Two or more races --- --- --- --- 120.8 200.0 205.4 209.2 209.7 198.6 192.7 --- --- --- --- 1.6 3.3 3.5 3.7 3.8 4.1 4.2
Nonresident1  42.2 64.1 67.1 89.0 99.3 94.1 88.1 86.3 79.1 60.8 52.4
                                             
Public 3,748.1 4,328.8 4,996.5 5,697.4 7,218.1 5,842.9 5,717.5 5,556.1 5,400.9 4,720.9 4,477.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 2,974.3 3,413.1 3,779.8 3,652.2 4,112.5 2,908.0 2,795.9 2,658.3 2,517.4 2,257.0 2,132.1 80.2 80.0 76.6 65.1 57.7 50.6 49.6 48.6 47.3 48.4 48.2
Total, selected races/
     ethnicities
734.5 855.4 1,153.0 1,959.9 3,010.3 2,844.0 2,836.0 2,814.1 2,806.4 2,404.9 2,294.6 19.8 20.0 23.4 34.9 42.3 49.4 50.4 51.4 52.7 51.6 51.8
Black 409.5 437.9 481.4 691.4 1,076.1 788.7 768.8 745.7 722.8 608.0 592.8 11.0 10.3 9.8 12.3 15.1 13.7 13.7 13.6 13.6 13.0 13.4
Hispanic 207.5 249.8 408.9 809.2 1,294.3 1,439.9 1,456.9 1,457.6 1,484.3 1,247.2 1,183.2 5.6 5.9 8.3 14.4 18.2 25.0 25.9 26.6 27.9 26.8 26.7
Asian/Pacific Islander 78.2 122.5 210.3 389.2 445.9 366.8 359.2 359.5 349.8 319.9 295.2 2.1 2.9 4.3 6.9 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.6 6.6 6.9 6.7
Asian --- --- --- --- 420.2 350.7 343.8 344.6 334.8 306.4 282.7 --- --- --- --- 5.9 6.1 6.1 6.3 6.3 6.6 6.4
Pacific Islander --- --- --- --- 25.7 16.1 15.4 14.9 15.1 13.5 12.5 --- --- --- --- 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
39.3 45.2 52.4 70.1 81.3 55.3 52.7 49.7 46.6 39.3 39.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9
Two or more races --- --- --- --- 112.7 193.2 198.4 201.7 202.7 190.6 184.4 --- --- --- --- 1.6 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.8 4.1 4.2
  Nonresident1  39.2 60.3 63.6 85.2 95.2 91.0 85.5 83.7 77.1 59.0 51.1
                                             
Private 131.0 192.6 243.6 251.0 465.5 249.5 235.3 196.9 189.8 210.8 204.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
White 102.8 145.4 174.5 151.8 208.8 93.6 83.6 69.9 65.8 71.2 66.5 80.3 77.0 72.7 61.4 45.2 38.0 35.9 36.0 35.0 34.1 32.7
Total, selected races/
     ethnicities
25.3 43.5 65.6 95.5 252.7 152.7 149.2 124.4 122.0 137.7 137.1 19.7 23.0 27.3 38.6 54.8 62.0 64.1 64.0 65.0 65.9 67.3
Black 19.8 34.6 42.9 43.5 122.8 76.8 76.0 60.4 54.0 62.5 60.6 15.5 18.3 17.9 17.6 26.6 31.2 32.7 31.1 28.7 29.9 29.8
Hispanic 2.6 5.3 15.3 34.7 98.7 55.5 53.3 44.7 49.5 55.1 56.0 2.1 2.8 6.4 14.0 21.4 22.5 22.9 23.0 26.4 26.4 27.5
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.9 1.8 4.9 12.7 17.2 10.3 9.8 8.9 8.9 9.2 9.1 0.7 1.0 2.0 5.1 3.7 4.2 4.2 4.6 4.7 4.4 4.5
Asian --- --- --- --- 14.9 8.9 8.4 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.9 --- --- --- --- 3.2 3.6 3.6 4.0 4.1 3.7 3.9
Pacific Islander --- --- --- --- 2.2 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.2 --- --- --- --- 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
1.8 1.8 2.5 4.5 5.9 3.4 3.0 2.8 2.7 2.9 3.0 1.4 1.0 1.1 1.8 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5
Two or more races --- --- --- --- 8.1 6.8 7.0 7.5 7.0 8.0 8.3 --- --- --- --- 1.8 2.8 3.0 3.9 3.7 3.8 4.1
Nonresident1  3.0 3.7 3.5 3.8 4.1 3.1 2.6 2.6 2.0 1.9 1.3
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
1 Race/ethnicity not collected.
NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Prior to 2010, institutions were not required to report separate data on Asians, Pacific Islanders, and students of Two or more races. For years prior to 1990, 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. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. 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 2022, Fall Enrollment component. (This table was prepared December 2022.)

2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest