There were approximately 18.58 million college students in the U.S. in 2022, with around 13.49 million enrolled in public colleges and a further 5.09 million students enrolled in private colleges. The figures are projected to remain relatively constant over the next few years.

What is the most expensive college in the U.S.? The overall number of higher education institutions in the U.S. totals around 4,000, and California is the state with the most. One important factor that students – and their parents – must consider before choosing a college is cost. With annual expenses totaling almost 78,000 U.S. dollars, Harvey Mudd College in California was the most expensive college for the 2021-2022 academic year. There are three major costs of college: tuition, room, and board. The difference in on-campus and off-campus accommodation costs is often negligible, but they can change greatly depending on the college town.

The differences between public and private colleges Public colleges, also called state colleges, are mostly funded by state governments. Private colleges, on the other hand, are not funded by the government but by private donors and endowments. Typically, private institutions are  much more expensive. Public colleges tend to offer different tuition fees for students based on whether they live in-state or out-of-state, while private colleges have the same tuition cost for every student.

Number of Students: Higher Education: ytd: Malaysia: Queensland data was reported at 1,174.000 Person in Dec 2024. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1,174.000 Person for Nov 2024. Number of Students: Higher Education: ytd: Malaysia: Queensland data is updated monthly, averaging 1,615.500 Person from Jan 2002 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 276 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,204.000 Person in Dec 2010 and a record low of 675.000 Person in Jan 2022. Number of Students: Higher Education: ytd: Malaysia: Queensland data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Education. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G120: Education Statistics: Number of Enrolments.

This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. For the first time it draws upon data from the revised student data collection (delivered by the Data Futures programme). A comprehensive quality assessment has been undertaken on the dataset and this is detailed in our accompanying 2022/23 student data quality report. A detailed list of findings is available in the data quality and insights resource, which is also accompanied by provider specific data notes. The coverage of data is detailed in the notes section of this release. In summary, we cover data about higher education students and qualifiers from the following types of providers within the UK: Higher education (HE) providers in England registered with the Office for Students (OfS) in the Approved (fee cap) or Approved categories; Publicly funded HE providers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; and Further education (FE) colleges in Wales. This bulletin also includes information from the HESA Aggregate Offshore record which can be seen in Figure 12. This separate record counts students studying wholly outside the UK who are either registered with the reporting HE provider or who are studying for an award of the reporting HE provider.

The Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey is the primary source of information on R&D expenditures at U.S. colleges and universities. The survey collects information on R&D expenditures by field of research and source of funds and also gathers information on types of research, expenses, and R&D personnel. The survey is an annual census of institutions that expended at least $150,000 in separately accounted for R&D in the fiscal year. This dataset includes HERD assets for 2022.

In 2023, there were *** institutions of higher education in the state of California. Of these *** institutions, *** were four-year institutions and *** were two-year institutions. California had the most higher education institutions of any state in that year.

In 2022, about 37.7 percent of the U.S. population who were aged 25 and above had graduated from college or another higher education institution, a slight decline from 37.9 the previous year. However, this is a significant increase from 1960, when only 7.7 percent of the U.S. population had graduated from college. Demographics Educational attainment varies by gender, location, race, and age throughout the United States. Asian-American and Pacific Islanders had the highest level of education, on average, while Massachusetts and the District of Colombia are areas home to the highest rates of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. However, education levels are correlated with wealth. While public education is free up until the 12th grade, the cost of university is out of reach for many Americans, making social mobility increasingly difficult. Earnings White Americans with a professional degree earned the most money on average, compared to other educational levels and races. However, regardless of educational attainment, males typically earned far more on average compared to females. Despite the decreasing wage gap over the years in the country, it remains an issue to this day. Not only is there a large wage gap between males and females, but there is also a large income gap linked to race as well.

This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. For the first time it draws upon data from the revised student data collection (delivered by the Data Futures programme). A comprehensive quality assessment has been undertaken on the dataset and this is detailed in our accompanying 2022/23 student data quality report. A detailed list of findings is available in the data quality and insights resource, which is also accompanied by provider specific data notes.

The coverage of data is detailed in the notes section of this release. In summary, we cover data about higher education students and qualifiers from the following types of providers within the UK:

Higher education (HE) providers in England registered with the Office for Students (OfS) in the Approved (fee cap) or Approved categories; Publicly funded HE providers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; and Further education (FE) colleges in Wales.

This bulletin also includes information from the HESA Aggregate Offshore record which can be seen in Figure 12. This separate record counts students studying wholly outside the UK who are either registered with the reporting HE provider or who are studying for an award of the reporting HE provider.

As of the academic year 2021/2022, the total number of enrolled students in higher education in Egypt corresponded to around *** million, which was a *** percent increase from the previous year. Throughout the previous decade, the number of students in higher education in Egypt decreased only on three occasions in 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2017/2018. In the academic year 2010/2011, the number of students decreased by over *** thousand.

The National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE) program develops annually updated point locations (latitude and longitude) for postsecondary institutions included in the NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The IPEDS program annually collects information about enrollments, program completions, graduation rates, faculty and staff, finances, institutional prices, and student financial aid from colleges, universities, and technical and vocational institutions that participate in federal student financial aid programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended). The NCES EDGE program uses address information reported in the annually updated IPEDS directory file to develop point locations for all institutions reported in IPEDS. The point locations in this data layer were developed from the 2022-2023 IPEDS collection. For more information about NCES school point data, see: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/Geographic/SchoolLocations.All information contained in this file is in the public domain. Data users are advised to review NCES program documentation and feature class metadata to understand the limitations and appropriate use of these data.

BR: Tertiary Education: Teachers: % Female data was reported at 46.708 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 46.493 % for 2021. BR: Tertiary Education: Teachers: % Female data is updated yearly, averaging 43.734 % from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2022, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 52.768 % in 2002 and a record low of 20.708 % in 1970. BR: Tertiary Education: Teachers: % Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Brazil – Table BR.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) is the share of female academic staff in tertiary education.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;Weighted average;

This release includes more detail on higher education students than was published in the student statistics bulletin in January 2022.

Number of Students: Higher Education: Year to Date: Hong Kong: Australian Capital Territory data was reported at 7.000 Person in Dec 2024. This stayed constant from the previous number of 7.000 Person for Nov 2024. Number of Students: Higher Education: Year to Date: Hong Kong: Australian Capital Territory data is updated monthly, averaging 23.000 Person from Jan 2002 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 276 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 274.000 Person in Dec 2004 and a record low of 2.000 Person in Jan 2022. Number of Students: Higher Education: Year to Date: Hong Kong: Australian Capital Territory data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Education. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G120: Education Statistics: Number of Enrolments.

1. Reference Year: 2022/20232. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the CSO Census data are the sources of the data3. Mature students are those who were 23 years of age on the 1st of January in the year they entered a higher education institution4. The percentage of FT undergraduate higher education entrants reporting a disability is derived from new entrants’ responses to the HEA's Equal Access Survey (EAS), a voluntary survey completed by first year undergraduate students in HEA-funded higher education institutions at the start of the academic year5. All values for Higher Education Students are rounded to the nearest 5 students with the individual figures rounded independently, so the sum of the component items may therefore not necessarily add to the totals shown6. Irish Traveller data includes re-enrolments and transfers7. All %'s are a ratio between 0 – 1

This release is the annual first release of Graduate Outcomes survey data and covers UK higher education providers (HEPs) and further education colleges (FECs) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Data is collected approximately 15 months after HE course completion. This bulletin has been produced by Jisc in collaboration with statisticians from the Department for Education, the Office for Students, the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland. It has been released according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

1. Reference Year: 2022/20232. Enrolments in Further Education and Training are extracted from the SOLAS Programme Learner Support Service (PLSS)3. Enrolments in Higher Education are provided by the Higher Education Authority (HEA)4. Data covers full-time students only5. Enrolments are in state-funded institutions only and exclude enrolments in private colleges6. All values for Higher Education Students are rounded to the nearest 5 students with the individual figures rounded independently, so the sum of the component items may therefore not necessarily add to the totals shown7. Data on enrolments in further education for the academic year 2022/2023 will be included once it becomes available. This affects indicators across several areas

Bangladesh BD: School Enrollment: Tertiary: Female: % Gross data was reported at 21.955 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 20.844 % for 2022. Bangladesh BD: School Enrollment: Tertiary: Female: % Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 3.770 % from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2023, with 42 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21.955 % in 2023 and a record low of 0.407 % in 1970. Bangladesh BD: School Enrollment: Tertiary: Female: % Gross data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Bangladesh – Table BD.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education shown. Tertiary education, whether or not to an advanced research qualification, normally requires, as a minimum condition of admission, the successful completion of education at the secondary level.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;Weighted average;

In 2022, Canada had the greatest number of international students compared to their entire higher education population, with nearly ** percent of students being international. Australia followed with a share of ** percent of the students being international, while the United Kingdom ranked third.

This release includes more detail on the higher education workforce than was published in the staff statistics bulletin on 17th January 2023.

Number of Students: Higher Education: Year to Date: Hong Kong: Western Australia data was reported at 23.000 Person in Dec 2024. This stayed constant from the previous number of 23.000 Person for Nov 2024. Number of Students: Higher Education: Year to Date: Hong Kong: Western Australia data is updated monthly, averaging 86.000 Person from Jan 2002 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 276 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,294.000 Person in Dec 2004 and a record low of 16.000 Person in Jan 2022. Number of Students: Higher Education: Year to Date: Hong Kong: Western Australia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Education. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G120: Education Statistics: Number of Enrolments.