In 2021, there were about 2.73 million students enrolled in private nonprofit institutions in the United States, as compared to 777,430 in private for-profit institutions. The number of students enrolled in private nonprofit institutions decreased slightly from the previous year, when about 2.74 million students were enrolled.

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.

In the United States, there are far more public school students than private school students. In 2021, about 11.2 million students were enrolled in private schools in the United States. For public school students, this figure stood at close to 63 million students.

In the United States, more students tend to be enrolled in public schools than in private schools. In 2022, about 15.8 million students were enrolled in public high schools, compared to 1.36 million who were enrolled in private high schools.

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.

This layer shows public vs. private school enrollment by sex by grade group. This is shown by tract, county, and state boundaries. This service is updated annually to contain the most currently released American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data, and contains estimates and margins of error. There are also additional calculated attributes related to this topic, which can be mapped or used within analysis. Any schools that receives public funding are considered public, including continuation schools and some charter & online schools. This layer is symbolized to show the percentage of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are enrolled in a private school. To see the full list of attributes available in this service, go to the "Data" tab, and choose "Fields" at the top right. Current Vintage: 2019-2023ACS Table(s): B14002 Data downloaded from: Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey Date of API call: December 12, 2024National Figures: data.census.govThe United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS):About the SurveyGeography & ACSTechnical DocumentationNews & UpdatesThis ready-to-use layer can be used within ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, its configurable apps, dashboards, Story Maps, custom apps, and mobile apps. Data can also be exported for offline workflows. For more information about ACS layers, visit the FAQ. Please cite the Census and ACS when using this data.Data Note from the Census:Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data). The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables.Data Processing Notes:This layer is updated automatically when the most current vintage of ACS data is released each year, usually in December. The layer always contains the latest available ACS 5-year estimates. It is updated annually within days of the Census Bureau's release schedule. Click here to learn more about ACS data releases.Boundaries come from the US Census TIGER geodatabases, specifically, the National Sub-State Geography Database (named tlgdb_(year)_a_us_substategeo.gdb). Boundaries are updated at the same time as the data updates (annually), and the boundary vintage appropriately matches the data vintage as specified by the Census. These are Census boundaries with water and/or coastlines erased for cartographic and mapping purposes. For census tracts, the water cutouts are derived from a subset of the 2020 Areal Hydrography boundaries offered by TIGER. Water bodies and rivers which are 50 million square meters or larger (mid to large sized water bodies) are erased from the tract level boundaries, as well as additional important features. For state and county boundaries, the water and coastlines are derived from the coastlines of the 2023 500k TIGER Cartographic Boundary Shapefiles. These are erased to more accurately portray the coastlines and Great Lakes. The original AWATER and ALAND fields are still available as attributes within the data table (units are square meters). The States layer contains 52 records - all US states, Washington D.C., and Puerto RicoCensus tracts with no population that occur in areas of water, such as oceans, are removed from this data service (Census Tracts beginning with 99).Percentages and derived counts, and associated margins of error, are calculated values (that can be identified by the "_calc_" stub in the field name), and abide by the specifications defined by the American Community Survey.Field alias names were created based on the Table Shells file available from the American Community Survey Summary File Documentation page.Negative values (e.g., -4444...) have been set to null, with the exception of -5555... which has been set to zero. These negative values exist in the raw API data to indicate the following situations:The margin of error column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate.Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution.The median falls in the lowest interval of an open-ended distribution, or in the upper interval of an open-ended distribution. A statistical test is not appropriate.The estimate is controlled. A statistical test for sampling variability is not appropriate.The data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small.

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 1982 sought enrollment data from 3,327 institutions of higher education. Key data elements, presented for up to 12 record types for each institution (corresponding to major fields of study and total enrollments summary), include number of full-time and part-time students by class level, sex, race, and total number of students. Additional data include the institutions' type of accreditation and type of calendar system.

This Private Schools feature dataset is composed of private elementary and secondary education facilities in the United States as defined by the Private School Survey (PSS, https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, https://nces.ed.gov), US Department of Education for the 2017-2018 school year. This includes all prekindergarten through 12th grade schools as tracked by the PSS. This feature class contains all MEDS/MEDS+ as approved by NGA. 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 release includes the addition of 2675 new records, modifications to the spatial location and/or attribution of 19836 records, the removal of 254 records no longer applicable. Additionally, 10,870 records were removed that previously had a STATUS value of 2 (Unknown; not represented in the most recent PSS data) and duplicate records identified by ORNL.

As of fall 2021, the University of Central Florida had the largest on-campus population in the United States, with 60,075 undergraduates. Texas A&M University, College Station had the second largest on-campus population in that year, with 53,876 undergrads.

In 2021, a total of 608,220 students were enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools in the state of California - the most out of any state. Florida, New York, Texas, and Pennsylvania rounded out the top five states for private school students in that year.

In 2021, around 721,940 undergraduate students were enrolled in public 2-year postsecondary institutions in the United States. A further 46,820 undergrads were enrolled in private 2-year postsecondary institutions.

The North American private school market, valued at $61.05 billion in 2025, is experiencing robust growth, projected to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.55% from 2025 to 2033. This significant expansion is fueled by several key factors. Increasing disposable incomes among high-net-worth individuals are driving demand for premium educational services. Parents are increasingly prioritizing specialized programs, smaller class sizes, and enhanced extracurricular activities offered by private schools, leading to a preference for private education over public schools, particularly in the senior high and elementary segments. Furthermore, a growing emphasis on STEM education and personalized learning experiences is shaping the curriculum and infrastructure investments within private schools. Competition is intensifying amongst established institutions like Avenues The World School and Harvard Westlake School, alongside newer entrants seeking to carve out market share. This competitive landscape is leading to innovation in pedagogy, technology integration, and facilities development. The market segmentation reveals a strong presence across all education levels, with elementary, middle and junior high, and senior high schools all contributing significantly to the overall market value. Within North America, the United States likely dominates the market share, followed by Canada and Mexico. However, growth in Mexico might be slightly lower than in the U.S. and Canada due to differing economic factors and varying levels of private education adoption. The market faces some restraints, including the high cost of tuition, which can be a barrier for many families. Regulatory changes and increasing government scrutiny regarding admissions policies and financial transparency also pose potential challenges. Nevertheless, the long-term outlook for the North American private school market remains positive, driven by persistent demand for high-quality education and a growing preference for private schooling within the affluent segments of society.

School enrollment data are used to assess the socioeconomic condition of school-age children. Government agencies also require these data for funding allocations and program planning and implementation. Data on school enrollment and grade or level attending were derived from answers to Question 10 in the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS). People were classified as enrolled in school if they were attending a public or private school or college at any time during the 3 months prior to the time of interview. The question included instructions to “include only nursery or preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, home school, and schooling which leads to a high school diploma, or a college degree.” Respondents who did not answer the enrollment question were assigned the enrollment status and type of school of a person with the same age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino origin whose residence was in the same or nearby area. School enrollment is only recorded if the schooling advances a person toward an elementary school certificate, a high school diploma, or a college, university, or professional school (such as law or medicine) degree. Tutoring or correspondence schools are included if credit can be obtained from a public or private school or college. People enrolled in “vocational, technical, or business school” such as post secondary vocational, trade, hospital school, and on job training were not reported as enrolled in school. Field interviewers were instructed to classify individuals who were home schooled as enrolled in private school. The guide sent out with the mail questionnaire includes instructions for how to classify home schoolers. Enrolled in Public and Private School – Includes people who attended school in the reference period and indicated they were enrolled by marking one of the questionnaire categories for “public school, public college,” or “private school, private college, home school.” The instruction guide defines a public school as “any school or college controlled and supported primarily by a local, county, state, or federal government.” Private schools are defined as schools supported and controlled primarily by religious organizations or other private groups. Home schools are defined as “parental-guided education outside of public or private school for grades 1-12.” Respondents who marked both the “public” and “private” boxes are edited to the first entry, “public.” Grade in Which Enrolled – From 1999-2007, in the ACS, people reported to be enrolled in “public school, public college” or “private school, private college” were classified by grade or level according to responses to Question 10b, “What grade or level was this person attending?” Seven levels were identified: “nursery school, preschool;” “kindergarten;” elementary “grade 1 to grade 4” or “grade 5 to grade 8;” high school “grade 9 to grade 12;” “college undergraduate years (freshman to senior);” and “graduate or professional school (for example: medical, dental, or law school).” In 2008, the school enrollment questions had several changes. “Home school” was explicitly included in the “private school, private college” category. For question 10b the categories changed to the following “Nursery school, preschool,” “Kindergarten,” “Grade 1 through grade 12,” “College undergraduate years (freshman to senior),” “Graduate or professional school beyond a bachelor’s degree (for example: MA or PhD program, or medical or law school).” The survey question allowed a write-in for the grades enrolled from 1-12. Question/Concept History – Since 1999, the ACS enrollment status question (Question 10a) refers to “regular school or college,” while the 1996-1998 ACS did not restrict reporting to “regular” school, and contained an additional category for the “vocational, technical or business school.” The 1996-1998 ACS used the educational attainment question to estimate level of enrollment for those reported to be enrolled in school, and had a single year write-in for the attainment of grades 1 through 11. Grade levels estimated using the attainment question were not consistent with other estimates, so a new question specifically asking grade or level of enrollment was added starting with the 1999 ACS questionnaire. Limitation of the Data – Beginning in 2006, the population universe in the ACS includes people living in group quarters. Data users may see slight differences in levels of school enrollment in any given geographic area due to the inclusion of this population. The extent of this difference, if any, depends on the type of group quarters present and whether the group quarters population makes up a large proportion of the total population. For example, in areas that are home to several colleges and universities, the percent of individuals 18 to 24 who were enrolled in college or graduate school would increase, as people living in college dormitories are now included in the universe.

This project contains a city-level panel dataset of financial and enrollment variables of public city school systems from the Biennial Survey of Education between 1922 and 1940. The Biennial Survey of Education provides statistics on state school systems, city school systems, institutions of higher learning (universities, colleges, teachers, colleges, normal schools), private high schools, and private vocational schools. The data presented in this project is for city school systems only.

United States US: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Primary School Enrollment: Gross data was reported at 1.002 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.998 Ratio for 2014. United States US: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Primary School Enrollment: Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 0.997 Ratio from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2015, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.027 Ratio in 1999 and a record low of 0.980 Ratio in 1993. United States US: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Primary 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 primary education is the ratio of girls to boys enrolled at primary 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).

United States US: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data was reported at 1.313 Ratio in 1998. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.305 Ratio for 1996. United States US: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 1.135 Ratio from Dec 1971 (Median) to 1998, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.313 Ratio in 1998 and a record low of 0.690 Ratio in 1971. United States US: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Gender parity index for gross enrollment ratio in tertiary education is the ratio of women to men enrolled at tertiary 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).

This statistic shows student enrollment numbers in U.S. private schools teaching prekindergarten through to grade 12 (preK-12), as distinguished by the religious affiliation of the school. In the 2009/10 school year, of the 5,488,000 students enrolled in private schools, there were 2,160,000 students enrolled in private catholic school in the United States.

The 1995 Private School Universe Survey (PSS 1995) is a study that is part of the Private School Universe program; program data is available since 1989-1990 at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/pssdata.asp. PSS 1995 (https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/) is a cross-sectional survey that collects data on private elementary and secondary schools, including religious orientation, level of school, length of school year, length of school day, total enrollment, race/ethnicity of students, number of high school graduates, number of teachers employed, program emphasis, and existence and type of kindergarten program. The study was conducted using mail questionnaires and telephone follow-up of all private schools in the United States. The PSS includes both schools with a religious orientation (e.g., Catholic, Lutheran, or Jewish) and nonsectarian schools with programs ranging from regular to special emphasis and special education. Key statistics produced from PSS 1995-96 are on the number of religiously affiliated schools, the number of private high school graduates, and the number of private school students and teachers.

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 1983 sought enrollment data from 3,330 institutions of higher education. Key data elements, presented for up to 12 record types for each institution (corresponding to the total enrollments summary), include number of full-time and part-time students by class level, sex, and race, as well as total number of students. Additional data include the institutions' type of accreditation and type of calendar system. (Source: downloaded from ICPSR 7/13/10)

Please Note: This dataset is part of the historical CISER Data Archive Collection and is also available at ICPSR at https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08397.v1. We highly recommend using the ICPSR version as they may make this dataset available in multiple data formats in the future.

Financial Aid Management Software Market size was valued at USD 2.63 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 5.10 Billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 10.80% from 2024 to 2031.

Global Financial Aid Management Software Market Drivers

Rising Demand for Higher Education and Financial Aid: As more students pursue higher education globally, the demand for financial aid has grown in tandem. The increasing cost of tuition, coupled with the need for accessible financing options, has led to more students and families seeking financial aid opportunities. This has created a need for robust systems to manage financial aid applications, disbursements, and reporting. Educational institutions are relying on financial aid management software to handle a higher volume of applications and ensure that aid is distributed efficiently and fairly. This demand is particularly strong in countries with large populations of university-bound students, such as the United States, India, and China.

Complexity of Financial Aid Regulations: Financial aid programs are subject to a wide array of regulations and compliance requirements, such as those set by government agencies, accrediting bodies, and financial institutions. In the U.S., for example, institutions must comply with federal regulations set by the U.S. Department of Education (e.g., Title IV funds), as well as state-specific requirements. Navigating these complex regulations manually is time-consuming and error-prone. Financial aid management software automates compliance monitoring, ensuring that institutions adhere to the rules and guidelines for distributing aid. This automation reduces the risk of non-compliance and the associated penalties, making financial aid software indispensable for colleges and universities.