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.

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.

India has the most universities worldwide. According to data from July 2023, there were an estimated ***** universities in India. Indonesia had the second most universities, counting *****, followed by the United States with ***** universities.

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 Businesses statistics on the Colleges & Universities industry in the US

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.

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 1.3% over the five years through 2025 to an estimated $591.0 billion despite an expected 0.7% 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. The new budget reconciliation bill will also impose both benefits and challenges for universities, including higher taxes on endowments, lower graduate program borrowing limits and tightened gainful employment rules. 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 0.7% to an estimated $610.8 billion through the end of 2030.

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.

As of January 2023, there were *** public community colleges registered with the AACC in the United States. This is compared to ** independent community colleges registered in the United States in that same year.

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.

Employment statistics on the Colleges & Universities industry in the US

Colleges and Universities; January 1, 2016

© Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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.

Comprehensive dataset of 21,178 Colleges in United States as of July, 2025. Includes verified contact information (email, phone), geocoded addresses, customer ratings, reviews, business categories, and operational details. Perfect for market research, lead generation, competitive analysis, and business intelligence. Download a complimentary sample to evaluate data quality and completeness.

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 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.

Over the past five years, for-profit universities have faced mounting headwinds amid regulatory tightening, inflation and negative public perception. While data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that overall postsecondary enrollment grew by just 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, enrollment at for-profit institutions shrank by 4.1%. Ballooning student debt and rising tuition, made worse by inflation in 2022 and 2023, have driven many recent graduates and adult learners to second-guess the value of higher education, especially degrees from for-profit schools with poor graduate earnings. Government regulations added further strain as the Biden administration's 2024 reinstatement of gainful employment rules once again linked access to federal funding to graduate debt-to-income ratios. At the same time, for-profit schools battled declining revenue as affordable nonprofit and vocational programs drew away budget-conscious students. Industry revenue has dropped at a CAGR of 0.5% to an estimated $13.6 billion over the five years through 2025. A faltering reputation has played a major role in the industry's decline. According to Federal Student Aid data, for-profit universities are repeatedly criticized for low graduation rates, weak graduate earnings and high student loan default rates—the highest across any demographic. Allegations of predatory practices remain in the headlines, exemplified by Walden University's $28.5 million lawsuit settlement in 2024. Although these institutions offer flexible scheduling and lower tuition rates that appeal to low-income and nontraditional students, the public remains wary. Studies indicate that most programs with no positive return on investment are at for-profit colleges. Meanwhile, stricter government scrutiny and the widespread availability of earnings and debt data have made poor outcomes highly visible, solidifying the negative perception. Many for-profit universities have shuttered, though some have managed to retain profit by closing physical locations. For-profit universities will continue facing a decline over the next five years. IBISWorld expects for-profit university enrollment to drop at an annualized 1.1% through 2030, outpaced by modest growth at nonprofit and vocational schools, where graduates see better employment outcomes. Uncertainty in regulations, including the possible repeal of the 90/10 rule, adds more volatility, while the lack of broad student loan forgiveness will likely suppress affordability and demand. As students and job seekers prioritize educational outcomes and cost, one in seven for-profit universities is expected to close by 2030. For-profit universities' revenue is set to sink at a CAGR of 0.3% to an estimated $13.4 billion through the next five years.

Number of Businesses statistics on the For-Profit Universities industry in the US

The dataset presents the total number of international students hosted by each US state over the years. An international student is defined in the report as anyone studying at an institution of higher education in the United States on a temporary visa that allows for academic coursework. These include primarily holders of F (student) visas and J (exchange visitor) visas. For the purposes of Open Doors, students at institutions other than accredited colleges and universities are not counted, such as secondary schools or vocational schools. Individuals who have permanent residency are not counted.

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.