U.S. Cities with Most College Students

For academic year 2019-2020, total 20,425,028 students have enrolled in U.S. colleges including 17,325,543 undergraduate and 3,100,630 graduate students. By gender, there are 8,750,209 male students and 11,674,819 female students at U.S. colleges.

This article analyzes and lists the cities that has the most college students. New York (NY) has the most college students (290,216 student in 82 colleges) where the city's total population is 19,354,922. Chicago (IL) has the second most college students (219,981 student in 73 colleges) where the city's total population is 8,675,982. See the Cencus residence rule and residence situation to check how the students are counted at their parental home or college location. The city population data is from SimpleMaps.com.

Next table and chart show the 25 largest cities with most college student for academic year 2019-2020.

25 U.S. Cities with the Most College Students

City	Number of Colleges	Total Enrollment	City Population
New York, NY	82	290,216	19,354,922
Chicago, IL	73	219,981	8,675,982
Salt Lake City, UT	18	200,797	1,098,400
Los Angeles, CA	54	183,219	12,815,475
Houston, TX	64	175,189	5,446,468
Tempe, AZ	14	171,860	185,038
San Diego, CA	35	160,576	3,210,314
Minneapolis, MN	14	153,597	2,926,757
Boston, MA	30	150,338	4,637,537
Phoenix, AZ	34	149,726	4,081,849
Philadelphia, PA	37	149,664	5,637,884
Atlanta, GA	37	133,648	5,228,750
Indianapolis, IN	29	131,644	1,564,699
Miami, FL	44	131,272	6,381,966
Orlando, FL	16	130,254	1,776,841
San Antonio, TX	46	124,702	2,002,530
Manchester, NH	8	110,024	160,742
Austin, TX	27	105,525	1,638,716
Sacramento, CA	23	105,249	1,854,698
Columbus, OH	24	104,783	1,528,314
Baltimore, MD	24	100,393	2,170,504
Saint Louis, MO	23	99,607	2,078,283
Washington, DC	24	98,399	5,289,420
Denver, CO	26	92,189	2,787,266
San Francisco, CA	21	90,493	3,603,761

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2020 Average Tuition & Fees By State

For academic year 2019-2020, the average undergraduate tuition & fees is $6,533 for state residents and $13,637 for out-of-state students for public colleges. For private schools, the average tuition & fees is $22,403 for all students. For graduate programs, the average in-state tuition & fees is $10,999 and out-of-state rate is $20,281 at public schools, and $16,930 at private schools.

Vermont colleges have the most expensive undergraduate tuition & fees of $27,475 and New Mexico colleges have the lowest undergraduate tuition & fees of $6,710. Hawaii colleges have the highest graduate tuition & fees of $32,655 and North Dakota colleges have the lowest graduate tuition & fees of $9,539. We include 4 years (or high colleges) and community colleges for the undergraduate cost statistics and only include 4 years (or high) colleges for graduate costs statistics.

Next table shows the average tuition and living costs by state for academic year 2019-2020. You can compare all colleges located in your desired State by following the link on State name.

Average Tuition & Fees by State (2019-2020)

State	Undergraduate			Graduate			Living Costs
	Public In-Sate	Public Out-of-State	Private	Public In-Sate	Public Out-of-State	Private	On-Campus	Off-Campus
Alaska (9 colleges)	6,545	$18,608	$13,504	$12,541	$24,616	$12,110	$11,130	$11,149
Alabama (73 colleges)	6,753	$13,056	$16,351	$9,492	$19,573	$12,197	$7,383	$7,692
Arkansas (56 colleges)	4,978	$8,156	$17,760	$7,598	$13,494	$21,202	$7,814	$8,426
Arizona (80 colleges)	5,663	$12,897	$20,473	$14,556	$25,967	$16,919	$9,744	$8,731
California (507 colleges)	3,026	$11,728	$24,629	$11,260	$21,867	$21,351	$13,184	$14,704
Colorado (100 colleges)	6,829	$16,499	$17,741	$11,561	$19,587	$18,270	$10,317	$11,285
Connecticut (50 colleges)	8,376	$19,745	$33,632	$13,497	$24,703	$20,563	$13,838	$11,255
District of Columbia (22 colleges)	6,020	$12,704	$26,758	$9,860	$18,176	$24,613	-	$16,781
Delaware (10 colleges)	9,161	$21,604	$18,050	$19,594	$23,341	$13,719	$12,596	$11,701
Florida (228 colleges)	3,887	$9,788	$20,459	$10,021	$23,124	$14,970	$10,117	$11,108
Georgia (128 colleges)	4,714	$11,332	$20,490	$7,213	$18,954	$15,651	$9,750	$8,622
Hawaii (23 colleges)	5,016	$13,406	$16,405	$14,499	$32,655	$15,980	$9,954	$15,108
Iowa (86 colleges)	6,067	$9,651	$23,419	$11,029	$26,404	$11,827	$7,572	$8,047
Idaho (35 colleges)	5,556	$14,332	$16,733	$9,816	$27,300	$13,199	$8,865	$8,700
Illinois (185 colleges)	5,881	$11,386	$25,389	$11,857	$18,160	$18,769	$10,267	$9,600
Indiana (83 colleges)	8,203	$21,391	$23,775	$8,476	$19,880	$18,849	$9,947	$9,076
Kansas (68 colleges)	4,859	$8,151	$20,779	$8,561	$19,296	$10,855	$8,178	$8,437
Kentucky (84 colleges)	6,331	$17,213	$20,173	$11,023	$18,366	$10,759	$9,658	$7,871
Louisiana (73 colleges)	6,539	$12,811	$18,697	$9,835	$16,603	$16,726	$9,656	$9,521
Massachusetts (119 colleges)	8,810	$16,808	$38,936	$13,116	$18,933	$28,922	$13,157	$10,019
Maryland (61 colleges)	6,734	$14,592	$26,378	$12,328	$19,419	$16,791	$11,748	$12,639
Maine (33 colleges)	6,866	$13,790	$31,937	$14,461	$18,866	$22,686	$8,891	$7,729
Michigan (102 colleges)	7,001	$12,197	$23,572	$16,009	$25,599	$18,652	$10,423	$8,967
Minnesota (97 colleges)	6,857	$8,680	$25,968	$11,064	$14,872	$15,144	$8,125	$7,892
Missouri (121 colleges)	5,958	$11,544	$18,825	$8,681	$17,286	$13,779	$8,907	$8,616
Mississippi (49 colleges)	4,934	$7,971	$15,529	$7,894	$12,219	$13,318	$6,005	$7,347
Montana (30 colleges)	4,479	$11,128	$15,578	$6,703	$20,365	$20,293	$8,864	$8,333
North Carolina (148 colleges)	3,497	$10,842	$23,363	$8,140	$21,603	$14,978	$9,987	$8,598
North Dakota (27 colleges)	6,030	$7,904	$14,065	$6,985	$9,539	$12,725	$7,630	$7,863
Nebraska (47 colleges)	5,738	$9,814	$20,047	$7,246	$14,688	$12,922	$8,432	$8,149
New Hampshire (27 colleges)	10,068	$20,420	$32,379	$15,858	$20,000	$19,626	$11,791	$12,695
New Jersey (99 colleges)	8,595	$14,114	$22,062	$16,893	$23,523	$20,455	$13,839	$13,440
New Mexico (41 colleges)	3,260	$6,710	$20,285	$6,544	$12,438	$21,826	$7,754	$9,293
Nevada (27 colleges)	5,012	$15,230	$20,842	$6,045	$15,589	$22,486	$9,617	$10,406
New York (327 colleges)	6,953	$14,340	$25,668	$12,356	$23,192	$23,958	$13,228	$12,888
Ohio (231 colleges)	6,582	$13,116	$21,549	$11,587	$22,939	$16,356	$11,134	$8,137
Oklahoma (69 colleges)	6,203	$10,496	$20,731	$6,460	$15,696	$13,893	$7,199	$8,854
Oregon (77 colleges)	7,264	$15,656	$23,299	$16,666	$23,875	$19,523	$10,964	$10,557
Pennsylvania (263 colleges)	11,478	$19,472	$26,613	$19,377	$25,720	$20,280	$11,480	$11,351
Rhode Island (16 colleges)	9,615	$22,424	$36,235	$12,028	$22,080	$23,571	$12,541	$11,073
South Carolina (73 colleges)	8,238	$15,737	$21,865	$13,059	$24,022	$15,037	$9,100	$9,417
South Dakota (30 colleges)	7,462	$9,284	$13,364	$7,183	$11,697	$12,873	$7,499	$7,704
Tennessee (128 colleges)	6,727	$11,553	$20,055	$11,326	$22,746	$18,401	$9,197	$6,851
Texas (278 colleges)	5,020	$11,124	$20,874	$7,513	$16,628	$17,862	$9,474	$9,145
Utah (38 colleges)	6,107	$13,487	$16,943	$8,140	$21,967	$12,429	$7,550	$7,645
Virginia (125 colleges)	8,387	$19,550	$20,498	$14,191	$26,945	$14,040	$11,218	$8,697
Vermont (24 colleges)	12,895	$27,475	$36,983	$12,321	$21,634	$24,101	$11,599	$11,094
Washington (84 colleges)	5,371	$11,054	$24,518	$14,534	$27,932	$20,729	$10,569	$10,576
Wisconsin (90 colleges)	6,217	$11,176	$26,316	$9,084	$17,869	$15,221	$7,736	$7,715
West Virginia (54 colleges)	6,129	$12,251	$17,057	$8,599	$16,354	$12,046	$10,469	$8,170
Wyoming (9 colleges)	4,316	$11,085	$25,000	$6,289	$16,009	-	$7,692	$8,919
Average	$6,533	$13,637	$22,403	$10,999	$20,281	$16,930	$9,682	$9,776

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2020 Average Tuition & Fees at U.S. Colleges

4 Years (or high) Colleges Average Tuition & Fees

For 4 years or high colleges, the average tuition & fees is $8,642 for state residents and $19,004 for out-of-state students for public colleges in academic year 2019-2020. For private schools, the average tuition & fees is $24,975 for all students. The 4 years or high college often refer to national universities, liberal arts colleges, and regional universities. Those schools offer and grant at least bachelor degree and many schools offer graduate programs. For graduate programs, the average in-state tuition & fees is $11,217 and out-of-state rate is $20,350 at public schools, and $18,211 at private schools.

The 2020 average living costs including room, board, and other living expenses is $10,678 when a student lives on campus facilities such as dormitory and institute owned apartment. When a student lives off-campus, the average living costs is $10,515.

Next tables and charts shows the average tuition, fees, and living costs by school type for academic year 2019-2020.

Average Tuition & Fees & Living Costs (4 years or high schools)

	Public Schools		Private Schools
	In-State	Out-of-State
Undergraduate Tuition & Fees	$8,642	$19,004	$24,975
Graduate Tuition & Fees	$11,217	$20,350	$18,211
On-Campus Living Costs	$10,678		$10,945
Off-Campus Living Costs	$10,515		$10,338

Undergraduate Tuition, Fees, and Living Costs Chart (2019-2020)

Graduate Tuition, Fees, and Living Costs Chart (2019-2020)

Community Colleges (2-4 years schools) Average Tuition & Fees

For 2-4 years colleges, also known as community college, the average tuition & fees is $3,769 for state residents and $7,574 for out-of-state students for public colleges in academic year 2019-2020. For private schools, the average tuition & fees is $17,952 for all students. The 2020 average living costs at community colleges is $10,678 when a student lives on-campus and $10,515 when a student lives off-campus.

Next tables and charts shows the average tuition, fees, and living costs for community colleges (2-4 years colleges) for academic year 2019-2020.

Average Tuition & Fees & Living Costs (2-4 Years Colleges)

	Public Schools		Private Schools
	In-State	Out-of-State
Undergraduate Tuition & Fees	$3,769	$7,574	$17,952
On-Campus Living Costs	$7,346		$9,624
Off-Campus Living Costs	$9,397		$12,985

2-4 Years College Tuition, Fees, and Living Costs Chart (2019-2020)

Career Colleges (Less than 2 years schools) Average Tuition & Fees

For less than 2 years college such as career college and training school, the average tuition & fees is $3,769 for state residents and $7,574 for out-of-state students for public colleges. We not that the tuition & fees are not quite different even in public colleges. For private schools, the average tuition & fees is $17,952 for all students. The 2020 average living costs at community colleges is $10,678 when a student lives on-campus and $10,515 when a student lives off-campus.

Next tables and charts shows the average tuition, fees, and living costs for less than 2 years colleges for academic year 2019-2020.

Average Tuition & Fees & Living Costs (Less than 2 Years Colleges)

	Public Schools		Private Schools
	In-State	Out-of-State
Undergraduate Tuition & Fees	$6,347	$8,981	$15,017
On-Campus Living Costs	$9,993		$8,228
Off-Campus Living Costs	$10,658		$11,734

Less than 2 Years College Tuition, Fees, and Living Costs Chart (2019-2020)

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U.S. Colleges Student Enrollment Trends (2010-2019)

For academic year 2019-2020 total 20,274,611 students have enrolled in U.S. colleges including 17,191,867 undergraduate and 3,082,744 graduate students. By gender, there are 8,698,205 male students and 11,576,406 female students at U.S. colleges.

This article analyzes the changes of college student population over last 10 years with table and chart. The total number of students has slowly declined 4.55% over the past decade - from 21,196,198 (2010) to 20,274,611 (2019). The number of undergraduate students has decreased 6.41% over last 10 years - from 18,293,035 (2010) to 17,191,867 (2019). Unlike the undergraduate population, the number of graduate students has increased 5.83% over the past decade - from 2,903,163 (2010) to 3,082,744 (2019).

Next table and chart show the total number of enrolled students for both undergraduate and graduate programs year by year. The percentage number for the gender column represents the portion of each gender over total number of students by program.

College Student Population Trends (2010-2019)

Year	Total			Undergraduate			Graduate
	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2010	21,196,198	9,067,126 (42.78%)	12,129,072 (57.22%)	18,293,035	7,872,627 (43.04%)	10,420,408 (56.96%)	2,903,163	1,194,499 (41.14%)	1,708,664 (58.86%)
2011	21,949,200	9,397,119 (42.81%)	12,552,081 (57.19%)	18,964,919	8,166,776 (43.06%)	10,798,143 (56.94%)	2,984,281	1,230,343 (41.23%)	1,753,938 (58.77%)
2012	21,897,778	9,357,334 (42.73%)	12,540,444 (57.27%)	18,916,930	8,125,006 (42.95%)	10,791,924 (57.05%)	2,980,848	1,232,328 (41.34%)	1,748,520 (58.66%)
2013	21,462,233	9,217,842 (42.95%)	12,244,391 (57.05%)	18,508,688	7,994,175 (43.19%)	10,514,513 (56.81%)	2,953,545	1,223,667 (41.43%)	1,729,878 (58.57%)
2014	21,169,912	9,160,919 (43.27%)	12,008,993 (56.73%)	18,223,414	7,939,053 (43.57%)	10,284,361 (56.43%)	2,946,498	1,221,866 (41.47%)	1,724,632 (58.53%)
2015	20,986,793	9,097,534 (43.35%)	11,889,259 (56.65%)	18,025,422	7,865,290 (43.63%)	10,160,132 (56.37%)	2,961,371	1,232,244 (41.61%)	1,729,127 (58.39%)
2016	20,713,641	9,013,306 (43.51%)	11,700,335 (56.49%)	17,726,560	7,771,120 (43.84%)	9,955,440 (56.16%)	2,987,081	1,242,186 (41.59%)	1,744,895 (58.41%)
2017	20,531,808	8,917,417 (43.43%)	11,614,391 (56.57%)	17,513,251	7,675,150 (43.82%)	9,838,101 (56.18%)	3,018,557	1,242,267 (41.15%)	1,776,290 (58.85%)
2018	20,411,008	8,829,000 (43.26%)	11,582,008 (56.74%)	17,360,811	7,589,293 (43.72%)	9,771,518 (56.28%)	3,050,197	1,239,707 (40.64%)	1,810,490 (59.36%)
2019	20,274,611	8,698,205 (42.90%)	11,576,406 (57.10%)	17,191,867	7,460,853 (43.40%)	9,731,014 (56.60%)	3,082,744	1,237,352 (40.14%)	1,845,392 (59.86%)

U.S. College Student Population Trends Chart (2010-2019)

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Non-Resident Alien Student Population Trends at U.S. Colleges (2010-2019)

A non-resident alien is a person who is not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national. A nonresident alien is an alien who has not passed the green card test or the substantial presence test (more information at IRS). Generally, in U.S. colleges, a student with F-1 or J-1 visa status will not meet the substantial test for 5 years and so the student is categorized a non-resident alien. Sometimes the international student refers to the non-resident alien. For academic year 2019-2020, 994,438 non-resident alien students (4.90% of total 20,274,611 students) have enrolled in U.S. colleges. In undergraduate programs, there are 567,212 non-resident alien students and 427,226 students have enrolled in graduate programs.

The non-resident alien student population have been increased from 683,055 (3.22%) to 994,438 (4.90%) for last 10 years (2010-2019). Next table and chart show the number of enrolled non-resident alien students for both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Non-resident Alien Student Population Trends (2010-2019)

	Total		Undergraduate		Graduate
	Total	Non-Resident Alien	Total	Non-Resident Alien	Total	Non-Resident Alien
2010	21,196,198	683,055 (3.22%)	18,293,035	375,686 (2.05%)	2,903,163	307,369 (10.59%)
2011	21,949,200	708,919 (3.23%)	18,964,919	398,877 (2.10%)	2,984,281	310,042 (10.39%)
2012	21,897,778	744,153 (3.40%)	18,916,930	425,415 (2.25%)	2,980,848	318,738 (10.69%)
2013	21,462,233	786,202 (3.66%)	18,508,688	451,563 (2.44%)	2,953,545	334,639 (11.33%)
2014	21,169,912	844,244 (3.99%)	18,223,414	485,195 (2.66%)	2,946,498	359,049 (12.19%)
2015	20,986,793	921,580 (4.39%)	18,025,422	530,630 (2.94%)	2,961,371	390,950 (13.20%)
2016	20,713,641	987,060 (4.77%)	17,726,560	567,797 (3.20%)	2,987,081	419,263 (14.04%)
2017	20,531,808	1,001,211 (4.88%)	17,513,251	571,360 (3.26%)	3,018,557	429,851 (14.24%)
2018	20,411,008	1,003,091 (4.91%)	17,360,811	576,134 (3.32%)	3,050,197	426,957 (14.00%)
2019	20,274,611	994,438 (4.90%)	17,191,867	567,212 (3.30%)	3,082,744	427,226 (13.86%)

Non-resident Alien Student Population Trends Chart (2010-2019)

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Asian Student Population Trends at U.S. Colleges (2010-2019)

For academic year 2019-2020, 1,265,413 Asian students (6.24% of total 20,274,611 students) have enrolled in U.S. colleges. In undergraduate programs, there are 1,063,988 Asian students and 201,425 students have enrolled in graduate programs. Most students are from China, South Korea, and Japan, but the other Asia countries such as Thailand and Vietnam have students at U.S. schools.

The Asian student population have been increased from 1,184,865 (5.59%) to 1,265,413 (6.24%) for last 10 years (2010-2019). Next table and chart show the number of enrolled Asian students for both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Asian Student Population Trends (2010-2019)

	Total		Undergraduate		Graduate
	Total	Asian	Total	Asian	Total	Asian
2010	21,196,198	1,184,865 (5.59%)	18,293,035	1,018,446 (5.57%)	2,903,163	166,469 (5.73%)
2011	21,949,200	1,144,451 (5.21%)	18,964,919	977,530 (5.15%)	2,984,281	166,921 (5.59%)
2012	21,897,778	1,153,504 (5.27%)	18,916,930	980,313 (5.18%)	2,980,848	173,191 (5.81%)
2013	21,462,233	1,144,890 (5.33%)	18,508,688	973,641 (5.26%)	2,953,545	171,249 (5.80%)
2014	21,169,912	1,153,381 (5.45%)	18,223,414	980,870 (5.38%)	2,946,498	172,511 (5.85%)
2015	20,986,793	1,171,429 (5.58%)	18,025,422	995,564 (5.52%)	2,961,371	175,865 (5.94%)
2016	20,713,641	1,189,751 (5.74%)	17,726,560	1,009,872 (5.70%)	2,987,081	179,879 (6.02%)
2017	20,531,808	1,215,567 (5.92%)	17,513,251	1,028,962 (5.88%)	3,018,557	186,605 (6.18%)
2018	20,411,008	1,241,011 (6.08%)	17,360,811	1,045,993 (6.03%)	3,050,197	195,018 (6.39%)
2019	20,274,611	1,265,413 (6.24%)	17,191,867	1,063,988 (6.19%)	3,082,744	201,425 (6.53%)

Asian Student Population Trends Chart (2010-2019)

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Online Student Population Trends (2015-2019)

Online degree/courses becomes a new tradition on post-secondary education over the world as well as United States. For academic year 2019-2020, total 3,292,502 students have enrolled online exclusively to get their degree and/or certificate. It is increased by 5.09% (159,342 students more enrolled). In this article, we analyze the online student population trends for both undergraduate and graduate programs over last 5 years. In undergraduate programs, total 2,348,530 students are enrolled online exclusively out of total undergraduate enrollment 17,191,867. For online graduate programs, 943,972 students are enrolled online exclusively out of total 3,082,744 graduate school students in academic year 2019-2020.

Next table shows the number of enrolled students for online programs/courses by enrollment type - online exclusively, enrolled in some online courses, and not enrolled in online courses.

UndergraduateGraduate

Undergraduate Online Student Population Trends (2015-2019)

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Total	18,025,422	17,726,560	17,513,251	17,360,811	17,191,867
Enrolled Online exclusively	2,125,200 (11.79%)	2,128,974 (12.01%)	2,183,109 (12.47%)	2,254,176 (12.98%)	2,348,530 (13.66%)
Enrolled Some Online Courses	2,715,445 (15.06%)	2,884,259 (16.27%)	3,085,128 (17.62%)	3,313,306 (19.08%)	3,437,902 (20.00%)
Not Enrolled in Online Courses	13,184,777 (73.15%)	12,713,327 (71.72%)	12,245,014 (69.92%)	11,793,329 (67.93%)	11,405,435 (66.34%)

Undergraduate Online Student Population Chart (2019-2020)

Graduate Program Online Student Population Trends (2015-2019)

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Total	2,961,371	2,987,081	3,018,557	3,050,197	3,082,744
Enrolled Online exclusively	733,991 (24.79%)	780,564 (26.13%)	828,964 (27.46%)	878,984 (28.82%)	943,972 (30.62%)
Enrolled Some Online Courses	229,183 (7.74%)	248,845 (8.33%)	279,348 (9.25%)	278,569 (9.13%)	278,418 (9.03%)
Not Enrolled in Online Courses	1,998,197 (67.48%)	1,957,672 (65.54%)	1,910,245 (63.28%)	1,892,644 (62.05%)	1,860,354 (60.35%)

Graduate Student Population By Age (2019-2020)

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