In 2022, about **** million male students were enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions as undergraduates. This is compared to **** million female undergraduate students who were enrolled in that same year. By 2031, these figures are projected to increase to **** million and *** million respectively.

In an impressive increase from years past, 39 percent of women in the United States had completed four years or more of college in 2022. This figure is up from 3.8 percent of women in 1940. A significant increase can also be seen in males, with 36.2 percent of the U.S. male population having completed four years or more of college in 2022, up from 5.5 percent in 1940.

4- and 2-year colleges

In the United States, college students are able to choose between attending a 2-year postsecondary program and a 4-year postsecondary program. Generally, attending a 2-year program results in an Associate’s Degree, and 4-year programs result in a Bachelor’s Degree.

Many 2-year programs are designed so that attendees can transfer to a college or university offering a 4-year program upon completing their Associate’s. Completion of a 4-year program is the generally accepted standard for entry-level positions when looking for a job.

Earnings after college

Factors such as gender, degree achieved, and the level of postsecondary education can have an impact on employment and earnings later in life. Some Bachelor’s degrees continue to attract more male students than female, particularly in STEM fields, while liberal arts degrees such as education, languages and literatures, and communication tend to see higher female attendance.

All of these factors have an impact on earnings after college, and despite nearly the same rate of attendance within the American population between males and females, men with a Bachelor’s Degree continue to have higher weekly earnings on average than their female counterparts.

United States US: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Secondary School Enrollment: Gross data was reported at 1.010 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.010 Ratio for 2014. United States US: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Secondary School Enrollment: Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 1.011 Ratio from Dec 1972 (Median) to 2015, with 32 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.056 Ratio in 1981 and a record low of 0.562 Ratio in 1972. United States US: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Secondary School Enrollment: Gross data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Education Statistics. Gender parity index for gross enrollment ratio in secondary education is the ratio of girls to boys enrolled at secondary level in public and private schools.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

In 2021, there were around 1.99 million female Hispanic undergraduate students enrolled in U.S. universities, as compared to 1.32 million Hispanic male undergraduate students. This is a decrease from the previous year, when 2.03 million female students and 1.33 million male students were enrolled as undergraduates in U.S. universities. This decrease is likely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proportion of male and female postsecondary graduates, by Classification of Instructional Programs, Primary groupings (CIP_PG), International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) and age group.

In Autumn 2024, among the students enrolled in the highest ranked university in the world, Oxford in the United Kingdom, 51 percent were female. See here for an overview of the highest-ranked universities in the world.