College enrollment in the United States is on the decline. The number of undergraduates in the nation's colleges reached an all-time high in 2011 as widespread unemployment in the aftermath of the Great Recession boosted enrollment, especially at two-year schools. Since then, undergraduate college enrollment has fallen by 17 percent, with two-year schools getting the worst of it.
The biggest drivers of enrollment at two-year colleges are current events—such as recessions and pandemics. When unemployment is high, two-year college enrollment grows. When jobs are plentiful or a pandemic sweeps the country, two-year enrollment falls. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, enrollment at two-year colleges surged. At the 2010 peak, 5.9 million students were enrolled at two-year schools. Since that peak, enrollment at two-year schools has fallen by 37 percent. Between 2019 and 2020, two-year schools saw the biggest decline in their enrollment on record—a loss of 588,000 students.
Two-year college enrollment for selected years
2020: 3.7 million
2019: 4.3 million
2010: 5.9 million (peak year)
2006: 4.3 million (pre-Great Recession)
Percent change from peak year, 2010 to 2020: -36.6%
Four-year college enrollment for selected years
2020: 10.1 million
2019: 10.3 million
2016: 11.2 million (peak year)
2006: 9.6 million (pre-Great Recession)
Percent change from peak year, 2016 to 2020: -9.6%
While current events have some influence on enrollment at four-year colleges, demographics play a bigger role. Enrollment of undergraduates at four-year schools did not peak until 2016, just as the number of 18-to-24-year-olds crested in the U.S. population. Since the 2016 peak year, enrollment has fallen just 10 percent—less than a third of the drop at two-year schools. The pandemic has had only a modest impact on four-year schools. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of undergraduates enrolled at four-year colleges fell by 2 percent versus the 14 percent decline at two-year schools.
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