Youth Indicators, 2005: Trends in the Well-Being of American Youth

Indicator 22: College Enrollment

Figure 22. Enrollment of 18- to 24-year-olds in degree-granting institutions as a percentage of all 18- to 24-year-olds, by race/ethnicity: Various years, 1970 to 2003

Enrollment of 18- to 24-year-olds in degree-granting institutions as a percentage of all 18- to 24-year-olds, by race/ethnicity: Various years, 1970 to 2003

NOTE: Data in 1970 for White and Black enrollment include persons of Hispanic origin. Data are based upon sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutional population. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Surveys (CPS), October, various years, unpublished data.

Total college enrollment rates of 18- to 24-year-olds have risen over the past 3 decades. This increase in enrollment is partly because of the increase in the enrollment rates of 18- to 24- year-olds during the 1980s (from 26 percent in 1980 to 32 percent in 1990), as well as the enrollment rate increase during the 1990s through 2003 (38 percent). The enrollment rate for females increased from 20 percent in 1970 to 41 percent in 2003. The enrollment rates for males decreased between 1970 and 1980 (32 percent and 26 percent) and then increased to 34 percent in 2003. In 2003, 42 percent of White, 32 percent of Black, and 23 percent of Hispanic 18-to 24-year-olds were enrolled in college.

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