In 2020, there were 3,931 higher education institutions across the United States. This was a decrease from 2015, when there were 4,583 higher education institutions across the nation.

Higher education in the U.S.

Higher education in the United States refers to colleges and universities in the country. The U.S. has some notable distinctions in regards to higher education when compared to the rest of the world, including NCAA sports, Greek life, and high attendance costs. However, a large majority of the world’s best universities are located in the United States. Some of these universities include the eight Ivy League schools, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University.

Higher education costs

The cost of university in the United States has increased significantly over the last few decades. As a result of these high tuition costs, it has caused students to take out exorbitantly high student loans. Both federal and state governments have decreased the amount of funding towards public schools, but mandatory outlays for higher education are expected to increase over the next several years. In 2021, California had the highest amount of higher education expenditures by state and local governments. California also has the most higher education institutions in the country.

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.

The Colleges and Universities feature class/shapefile is composed of all Post Secondary Education facilities as defined by the Integrated Post Secondary Education System (IPEDS, http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, https://nces.ed.gov/), US Department of Education for the 2018-2019 school year. Included are Doctoral/Research Universities, Masters Colleges and Universities, Baccalaureate Colleges, Associates Colleges, Theological seminaries, Medical Schools and other health care professions, Schools of engineering and technology, business and management, art, music, design, Law schools, Teachers colleges, Tribal colleges, and other specialized institutions. Overall, this data layer covers all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and other assorted U.S. territories. This feature class contains all MEDS/MEDS+ as approved by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Homeland Security Infrastructure Program (HSIP) Team. Complete field and attribute information is available in the ”Entities and Attributes” metadata section. Geographical coverage is depicted in the thumbnail above and detailed in the "Place Keyword" section of the metadata. This feature class does not have a relationship class but is related to Supplemental Colleges. Colleges and Universities that are not included in the NCES IPEDS data are added to the Supplemental Colleges feature class when found. This release includes the addition of 175 new records, the removal of 468 no longer reported by NCES, and modifications to the spatial location and/or attribution of 6682 records.

In 2022, there were 826 public and 454 private 2-year higher education institutions across the United States. The number of both private and public 2-year institutions has decreased since 2012.

2-year higher education institutions includes universities, colleges, professional schools, and junior and teachers' colleges.

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.

U.S. Higher Education Market size was valued at USD 101165.92 USD Million in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 176174.98 USD Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 7.18% during the forecast period 2024-2031.

U.S. Higher Education Market Drivers

The market drivers for the U.S. Higher Education Market can be influenced by various factors. These may include:

Demographics: Shifts in the population's composition and size of the college-age population have an impact on the demand for higher education.

Economic Conditions: A person's desire to pursue higher education and their capacity to pay for it are influenced by a number of economic factors, such as income levels, unemployment rates, and the general health of the economy.

Technological Innovations: These include online learning environments, virtual classrooms, and adaptive learning technologies, which have an impact on how higher education is delivered.

Government Funding and Policies: The higher education industry is greatly impacted by changes to government funding and policy, including financial aid programs and rules pertaining to student loans and accreditation.

Globalization: As more students from outside pursue higher education in the United States and American universities broaden their global reach, there is a corresponding increase in the demand for higher education.

job Market Trends: Higher education institutions' program offerings and enrollment trends are influenced by the job market's need for particular skills and credentials.

Competitive Landscape: Innovation and advancements in higher education offerings are fueled by competition among schools and universities, which includes rivalry for students, faculty, research funds, and rankings.

Social and Cultural Factors: The higher education market is shaped by shifting societal attitudes regarding education, cultural views of the value of higher education, and changing preferences for various educational experiences.

Endowment returns for many universities skyrocketed early in the current period, largely fueled by booming private equity and hedge fund activity. In 2021, private nonprofit universities saw a staggering 684.0% jump in investment returns. In contrast, public universities, which typically hold smaller endowments invested more in US equities and fixed-income assets, experienced more modest gains. Meanwhile, inflation and rising interest rates in 2022 reversed the boom for private nonprofits, while public universities' endowments' focus on fixed-income assets stabilized their returns. Skyrocketing investment returns bolstered surpluses, but rising wage expenditures among expanding staff sizes have since brought down profit. Revenue has been sinking at a CAGR of 0.6% over the five years through 2025 to an estimated $610.9 billion despite an expected 1.7% rise in 2025 alone. Colleges and universities are contending with sluggish enrollment growth. Lackluster job placement rates and the highly publicized student debt crisis have made many potential students skeptical of a college degree's return on investment. With judicial reviews rendering the Biden administration's efforts to ease the burden of student debt unsuccessful, student loans remain a major deterrent for consumers. Many have instead opted for cheaper trade schools with reliable connections to employers. Community colleges' affordable prices are also making them a larger competitive threat to four-year universities. In response, universities are hiring capable staff and ramping up marketing campaigns to promote the value of their degree programs. Mounting automation will encourage many to enroll in a university to switch to a new field with more job security. Student loans will become more attractive as inflation stabilizes and the Federal Reserve continues to lower interest rates, encouraging traditional university enrollment. Still, the Trump administration's end to student debt forgiveness initiatives will lead to more price sensitivity among potential students, intensifying competition both between universities and with other cheaper options for postsecondary education. International students will remain a valuable revenue stream, especially as legislative changes in Canada promote higher education in the US with students from overseas. Revenue is set to swell at a CAGR of 0.6% to an estimated $636.0 billion through the end of 2030.

The Institutional Data Archive on American Higher Education (IDA) contains academic data on 384 four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The IDA is one of two databases produced by the Colleges and Universities 2000 project based at the University of California, Riverside. This release, the third compilation of the IDA, is updated through academic year 2010-2011, and includes longitudinal and cross-sectional data from multiple sources. The collection is organized into nine datasets based on the unit of analysis and whether identifiers linking the data to particular institutions are present; seven of the datasets can be linked by a common identifier variable (PROJ_ID), and two cannot be linked due to confidentiality agreements. The seven identifiable datasets contain information on institutions, university systems, programs and academic departments, earned degrees, graduate schools, medical schools, and institutional academic rankings over time. Data regarding student enrollments, average SAT and ACT scores, and tuition and fees has been recorded, as well as institutional information concerning libraries, research activity, revenue and expenditures, faculty salaries, and quality rankings for program faculty. The identifiable datasets also include census information for neighborhoods surrounding IDA colleges and universities. The two non-identifiable datasets contain confidential survey responses from IDA institution presidents, chancellors, provosts, and academic vice presidents; survey questions pertained to governance structures, institutional goals and achievements, and solicited opinions on current and future issues facing the respondent's institution and higher education in general.

The Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) series was designed to provide comprehensive information on various aspects of postsecondary education in the United States and its territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Marshall Islands) and Department of Defense schools outside the United States. Data are available for both public and private two-year and four-year institutions. This data collection contains information about the residence and migration of college students elicited as part of the VII package. The package was distributed to approximately 30,408 colleges and universities and their branches located in the United States and its outlying territories. The data provide information on full-time and part-time students based on their in-state, out-of-state, and foreign status. Only students enrolled at an institution for the first time at each of the following class levels were reported: (1) undergraduate, (2) graduate, (3) first-professional, and (4) unclassified. Variables provide information on enrollment, institution name, state of residence, and part-time and full-time status. Information regarding institution name, enrollment number, accreditation type, sex, and race of students is included in this study as well.

The Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) series was designed to provide comprehensive information on various aspects of postsecondary education in the United States and its territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Marshall Islands) and Department of Defense schools outside the United States. Data are available for both public and private two-year and four-year institutions. The HEGIS Fall Enrollment component for 1968 sought enrollment data from institutions of higher education. Key data elements, presented for up to five record types for each institution, include total enrollments of full-time and part-time students by class level, sex, race, and first-time enrollment status, as well as information on the institutions' type of accreditation, type of calendar system, and total number of students.

The Colleges and Universities feature class/shapefile is composed of all Post Secondary Education facilities as defined by the Integrated Post Secondary Education System (IPEDS, http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, https://nces.ed.gov/), US Department of Education for the 2020-2021 school year. Included are Doctoral/Research Universities, Masters Colleges and Universities, Baccalaureate Colleges, Associates Colleges, Theological seminaries, Medical Schools and other health care professions, Schools of engineering and technology, business and management, art, music, design, Law schools, Teachers colleges, Tribal colleges, and other specialized institutions. Overall, this data layer covers all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and other assorted U.S. territories. This feature class contains all MEDS/MEDS+ as approved by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Homeland Security Infrastructure Program (HSIP) Team. Complete field and attribute information is available in the ”Entities and Attributes” metadata section. Geographical coverage is depicted in the thumbnail above and detailed in the "Place Keyword" section of the metadata. This feature class does not have a relationship class but is related to Supplemental Colleges. Colleges and Universities that are not included in the NCES IPEDS data are added to the Supplemental Colleges feature class when found. This release includes the addition of 128 new records, the removal of 247 no longer reported by NCES, and modifications to the spatial location and/or attribution of 6312 records.

This statistic shows the number of 4-year higher education institutions in the United States from 1980 to 2017. In 2017, there were 2,078 public and 750 private 4-year institutions across the United States.

Abstract (en): The American College Catalog Study Database (CCS) contains academic data on 286 four-year colleges and universities in the United States. CCS is one of two databases produced by the Colleges and Universities 2000 project based at the University of California-Riverside. The CCS database comprises a sampled subset of institutions from the related Institutional Data Archive (IDA) on American Higher Education (ICPSR 34874). Coding for CCS was based on college catalogs obtained from College Source, Inc. The data are organized in a panel design, with measurements taken at five-year intervals: academic years 1975-76, 1980-81, 1985-86, 1990-91, 1995-96, 2000-01, 2005-06, and 2010-11. The database is based on information reported in each institution's college catalog, and includes data regarding changes in major academic units (schools and colleges), departments, interdisciplinary programs, and general education requirements. For schools and departments, changes in structure were coded, including new units, name changes, splits in units, units moved to new schools, reconstituted units, consolidated units, departments reduced to program status, and eliminated units. The American College Catalog Study Database (CCS) is intended to allow researchers to examine changes in the structure of institutionalized knowledge in four-year colleges and universities within the United States. For information on the study design, including detailed coding conventions, please see the Original P.I. Documentation section of the ICPSR Codebook. The data are not weighted. Dataset 1, Characteristics Variables, contains three weight variables (IDAWT, CCSWT, and CASEWEIGHT) which users may wish to apply during analysis. For additional information on weights, please see the Original P.I. Documentation section of the ICPSR Codebook. ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.. Response Rates: Approximately 75 percent of IDA institutions are included in CCS. For additional information on response rates, please see the Original P.I. Documentation section of the ICPSR Codebook. Four-year not-for-profit colleges and universities in the United States. Smallest Geographic Unit: state CCS includes 286 institutions drawn from the IDA sample of 384 United States four-year colleges and universities. CCS contains every IDA institution for which a full set of catalogs could be located at the initiation of the project in 2000. CCS contains seven datasets that can be linked through an institutional identification number variable (PROJ_ID). Since the data are organized in a panel format, it is also necessary to use a second variable (YEAR) to link datasets. For a brief description of each CCS dataset, please see Appendix B within the Original P.I. Documentation section of the ICPSR Codebook.There are date discrepancies between the data and the Original P.I. Documentation. Study Time Periods and Collection Dates reflect dates that are present in the data. No additional information was provided.Please note that the related data collection featuring the Institutional Data Archive on American Higher Education, 1970-2011, will be available as ICPSR 34874. Additional information on the American College Catalog Study Database (CCS) and the Institutional Data Archive (IDA) database can be found on the Colleges and Universities 2000 Web site.

The Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) series was designed to provide comprehensive information on various aspects of postsecondary education in the United States and its territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Marshall Islands) and Department of Defense schools outside the United States. This survey collects data on all public and nonpublic 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education and their branches. The data contain such characteristics as type and control of institution, level of offering, type of program, status and accreditation, calendar system, names of principal officers, organizational relationships, location, telephone number, congressional district, tuition and fees, etc.

This statistic shows enrollment numbers in degree-granting institutions in the United States from 2007 to 2019 (estimated), by age group. In 2019, it is estimated that 4.1 million people aged 35 and over will enroll in universities and other higher education institutions in the United States.

The Educational Services sector comprises 13 subsectors of the US economy, ranging from public schools to testing and educational support services. Primary, secondary and postsecondary schools alone generate 92.0% of the sector's revenue. Most of these institutions rely entirely on government funding, and nearly three-quarters of the educational services revenue comes from public schools and public universities. Accordingly, strong federal, state and local support for all levels of education has driven revenue upward over the past five years. Expanding discretionary budgets made private schools and higher education more affordable for students and parents, but the Trump administration's changing policies have brought new complications. Still, substantial funding and skyrocketing investment returns for private nonprofit universities have elevated revenue. Revenue has climbed at a CAGR of 4.6% to an estimated $2.7 trillion through the end of 2025, when revenue will rise by 1.1%. Solid state and local government funding for education has helped support the sector's success despite fluctuating enrollment. Faltering birth rates are leading to lower headcounts in K-12 schools, and ballooning student debt has made many would-be college students skeptical of the return on investment of an expensive degree. While student loan forgiveness efforts slowed a decline in the number of college students, the new presidential administration's end to these efforts has begun to exacerbate price-based and quality-based competition among higher education institutions. President Trump's scrutiny of course curricula has made public funds harder to acquire for schools, and the administration's efforts to close the Department of Education have begun to deter would-be students from attending college. Trends in the domestic economy are set to move in the Educational Services sector's favor over the next five years as prospective students become better able to pay for rising tuition rates and premium education options. Government funding for primary, secondary and postsecondary institutions will continue to escalate through the next period, though lackluster enrollment will temper revenue growth. Public schools, which account for over half the sector's revenue, will continue to post losses and drag down the average profit for educational services. New school choice initiatives, including Texas's new, largest-ever voucher program, will make private schools more affordable for parents. However, heightened oversight and continued efforts to close the Department of Education will remain a significant pain point for many educational services. Overall, revenue is set to climb at a CAGR of 0.8% to $2.8 trillion through the end of 2030.

College Completion Dataset

Graduation Rates, Race, Efficiency Measures and More

By Jonathan Ortiz [source]

About this dataset

This College Completion dataset provides an invaluable insight into the success and progress of college students in the United States. It contains graduation rates, race and other data to offer a comprehensive view of college completion in America. The data is sourced from two primary sources – the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)’ Integrated Postsecondary Education System (IPEDS) and Voluntary System of Accountability’s Student Success and Progress rate.

At four-year institutions, the graduation figures come from IPEDS for first-time, full-time degree seeking students at the undergraduate level, who entered college six years earlier at four-year institutions or three years earlier at two-year institutions. Furthermore, colleges report how many students completed their program within 100 percent and 150 percent of normal time which corresponds with graduation within four years or six year respectively. Students reported as being of two or more races are included in totals but not shown separately

When analyzing race and ethnicity data NCES have classified student demographics since 2009 into seven categories; White non-Hispanic; Black non Hispanic; American Indian/ Alaskan native ; Asian/ Pacific Islander ; Unknown race or ethnicity ; Non resident with two new categorize Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander combined with Asian plus students belonging to several races. Also worth noting is that different classifications for graduate data stemming from 2008 could be due to variations in time frame examined & groupings used by particular colleges – those who can’t be identified from National Student Clearinghouse records won’t be subjected to penalty by these locations .

When it comes down to efficiency measures parameters like “Awards per 100 Full Time Undergraduate Students which includes all undergraduate completions reported by a particular institution including associate degrees & certificates less than 4 year programme will assist us here while we also take into consideration measures like expenditure categories , Pell grant percentage , endowment values , average student aid amounts & full time faculty members contributing outstandingly towards instructional research / public service initiatives .

When trying to quantify outcomes back up Median Estimated SAT score metric helps us when it is derived either on 25th percentile basis / 75th percentile basis with all these factors further qualified by identifying required criteria meeting 90% threshold when incoming students are considered for relevance . Last but not least , Average Student Aid equalizes amount granted by institution dividing same over total sum received against what was allotted that particular year .

All this analysis gives an opportunity get a holistic overview about performance , potential deficits &

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How to use the dataset

This dataset contains data on student success, graduation rates, race and gender demographics, an efficiency measure to compare colleges across states and more. It is a great source of information to help you better understand college completion and student success in the United States.

In this guide we’ll explain how to use the data so that you can find out the best colleges for students with certain characteristics or focus on your target completion rate. We’ll also provide some useful tips for getting the most out of this dataset when seeking guidance on which institutions offer the highest graduation rates or have a good reputation for success in terms of completing programs within normal timeframes.

Before getting into specifics about interpreting this dataset, it is important that you understand that each row represents information about a particular institution – such as its state affiliation, level (two-year vs four-year), control (public vs private), name and website. Each column contains various demographic information such as rate of awarding degrees compared to other institutions in its sector; race/ethnicity Makeup; full-time faculty percentage; median SAT score among first-time students; awards/grants comparison versus national average/state average - all applicable depending on institution location — and more!

When using this dataset, our suggestion is that you begin by forming a hypothesis or research question concerning student completion at a given school based upon observable characteristics like financ...

Geospatial data about United States Colleges and Universities. Export to CAD, GIS, PDF, CSV and access via API.

United States Construction VIP: Public: SL: ED: Higher Education (HE) data was reported at 1.995 USD bn in May 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.837 USD bn for Apr 2018. United States Construction VIP: Public: SL: ED: Higher Education (HE) data is updated monthly, averaging 1.480 USD bn from Jan 1993 (Median) to May 2018, with 305 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.587 USD bn in Jun 2015 and a record low of 0.433 USD bn in Jan 1993. United States Construction VIP: Public: SL: ED: Higher Education (HE) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by US Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.EA001: Value of Construction Put in Place (VIP): Current Price.

Contains data files (.csv format) related to compensation, salaries, diversity, and student academic performance at American colleges and universities. Data is from 2008-2023, with data primarily from 2018-2021. Each file has a related data dictionary in a .txt file.