2025 Community College Statistics

Report Highlights

6.7 million college undergraduates were enrolled in public two-year colleges during the 2021-2022 academic year.
66% are part-time students.
Over 32% of undergraduate students are made up of community college students.
About 66% of undergraduates have enrolled in a community college at some point after completing high school.
Among all students who began college in the fall semester of 2021 at a public two-year community college, only 62% were still enrolled at any collegiate institution by the fall of 2022.
Of the total students, only about 54% returned to the same community college a year later.
58% of community college students are female, and 42% are male.
About 33% of students in community college received a federal Pell Grant in 2016.
From 2015 to 2016, 49% of all students who completed their undergraduate studies and obtained their bachelor’s degree first enrolled in a community college.

More Statistics: Average College Graduate Salaries, Number of Schools in the US, Average GPA in High School.

Community College vs. University Statistics

Many students face the difficulty of deciding whether they should attend a local community college or a four-year institution. Comparing the data between the two can provide insight into whether one is better than the other. Attending community college or a four-year university has its pros and cons.

On average, the total cost of tuition and fees for community college is about $3,990 per year for in-district, full-time study during the 2023-2024 academic year.
On average, a community college student who graduates with an associate degree will earn $7,200 more annually compared to a college dropout.
There are 1,026 community colleges in the United States, and about 8.9 million students are enrolled in them during the 2020-2021 academic year.
The average annual cost for community college tuition from 2023 to 2024 was $3,990. In comparison, a public four-year college had tuition of around $11,260. For private four-year colleges, it had a high average annual tuition of $41,540.
Community college students who decide to attend a two-year college instead of a four-year institution can save upwards of about $30,000 in potential student debt.
Community colleges have much smaller class sizes, ranging from about 25 to 35 students per class. In comparison, four-year institutions have many introductory classes that seat over 300 or more students.
Students who graduated from a four-year university had a median outstanding debt upwards of $25,000, according to the 2016 data from the Pew Research Center.
However, students with less than a bachelor’s degree only had a median outstanding debt of $10,000.
Post-graduate degree students have a median debt upwards of $45,000.
82% of students in for-profit institutions and 60% of students enrolled in public four-year colleges have taken out student loans.

Here are some interesting characteristics of college students pertaining to their job status, students who received a Pell Grant, and students who have applied for some form of financial aid from 2011 to 2012.

Applied for Aid

	Public 2 Year	Public 4 Year	Private Nonprofit 4 Year	For-Profit	Total
Federal	61%	71%	76%	87%	70%
Any	70%	82%	89%	95%	80%
Percentage Receiving Pell	38%	38%	36%	64%	41%

Job While Enrolled in Schools – All Students

	Public 2 Year	Public 4 Year	Private Nonprofit 4 Year	For-Profit	Total
No Job	31%	35%	36%	39%	34%
Part-Time	36%	46%	46%	25%	39%
Full-Time	33%	20%	18%	36%	27%

Job While Enrolled in School – Dependant Status

	Public 2 Year	Public 4 Year	Private Nonprofit 4 Year	For-Profit	Total
No Job	31%	39%	40%	42%	36%
Part-Time	47%	51%	53%	37%	49%
Full-Time	21%	11%	8%	21%	14%

Job While Enrolled in School – Full- Time Students

	Public 2 Year	Public 4 Year	Private Nonprofit 4 Year	For-Profit	Total
No Job	37%	39%	39%	40%	39%
Part-Time	40%	51%	50%	26%	43%
Full-Time	23%	12%	11%	34%	18%

Job While Enrolled in School – Part-Time Students

	Public 2 Year	Public 4 Year	Private Nonprofit 4 Year	For-Profit	Total
No Job	28%	25%	27%	36%	28%
Part-Time	33%	37%	32%	24%	34%
Full-Time	38%	37%	42%	41%	38%

Demographics of Community College Students (Age, Race, and Income)

When analyzing the demographics of community college students, there are plenty of factors to consider. This includes the percentage of students from low-income families and their ethnicity, such as white, Asian, black, or Hispanic.

From 2020 to 2021, roughly 47% of independent community college students and 23% of dependent students had a family income of under $20,000.
In total, out of all college students, 32% of undergraduates are enrolled in community colleges.
From 2021 to 2022, the ethnicity of community college students can be broken down into 41% White, 27% Hispanic, 13% Black, and 6% Asian.
Hispanics have seen the most significant increase in the attendance of community colleges, up 10% since 2008.
In addition, White students are the majority; however, their percentage dropped by 10%.
In 2020, over 25% of community college students had dependent children.
15% of these college students had dependent children that are ages six years or older.
About 29% are first-generation students to attend college.
Below is a table representing the percentage of college students based on their income level and whether they are categorized as a dependent or an independent during the 2015 to 2016 academic school year.

Income	Dependent	Independent	Overall
Below $20,000	23%	47%	37%
$20,000 to $49,999	28%	31%	30%
$50,000 and above	49%	22%	33%

Enrollment Statistics

The Columbia Community College Research Center performed their research when it comes to how many students attend community colleges. However, there are roughly 100 community colleges that offer some form of bachelor’s degree programs. As a result, it’s listed in the Provisional National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) as a four-year institutional college.

During the fall of 2023 academic semester, about 6.7 million students were enrolled in public two-year colleges. This reflects a 2.6% increase compared to the previous year.
In 2022, approximately 3.5 million students were enrolled in two-year institutions, down from 5.7 million in 2011.
Community colleges have experienced a 4.7% increase in enrollment by spring 2024, indicating a positive trend in community college attendance following the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, about 81.1% of college students attended public universities or colleges, a 2.3 percentage point increase from 2020.
As of 2024, community colleges play a significant role in higher education, with approximately 12.4 million students enrolled.
In 2024, community colleges accounted for approximately 41% of all undergraduate students in the U.S.
There are about 1,462 community colleges in the United States.
Community colleges have experienced a 9% increase in enrollment, while baccalaureate colleges saw a 3% increase.

Average Age of Community College Students

Typically, the average age of community college students is much older than a typical undergraduate from a four-year institution. These facts came from the U.S. Department of Education and the American Association of Community Colleges.

In the 2023 to 2024 academic year, roughly 51% of community college students are 21 years old or younger.
Nearly 39% of students are in the age range of 22 to 39.
About 10% of students are 40 years and older.
In 2024, the average age of community college students is 28 years old.

Transfer to Four-Year Institutions

A community college is designed for students to get in and out of in a relatively short period. As a result, some students transfer before finishing their associate’s degree, while others transfer to a four-year college once they’ve completed their associate’s degree. In addition, some students may obtain their degree and elect not to further their education through a four-year institution.

80% of college students entering community college have indicated that they desire to obtain a bachelor’s degree or higher.
However, only 20% of community college students who intended to transfer to a four-year university succeeded within four years.
Of the community college students who did transfer to a four-year institution, about 6% attended a for-profit institution, 19% moved to private nonprofit institutions, and 75% of them transferred to public institutions.
Unfortunately, 43% of a community college student’s credits are lost when transferring from one college to another. This averages out to about 13 credits lost per community college student. Even then, some credits that are accepted are applied as elective credit.
40% of all undergraduate students have transferred at least one time within six years of enrolling.

How Many Community College Students Obtained Their Bachelor’s Degree Within Six Years of Starting Community College?

Tracking the progress of community college students is important because they indicate whether or not they actually obtained their goal of earning a bachelor’s degree. Here are facts relating to community college students earning their bachelor’s degree.

Out of the 31% of community college students who have successfully transferred to a four-year college, 49.1% of them were able to earn a bachelor’s degree within a six-year time frame.
15.7% of the total students entering community college in 2016 successfully earned a bachelor’s degree in six years.
44% of community college students that transferred to four-year public institutions completed their bachelor’s degree in six years.
33% of community college students who transferred to nonprofit four-year colleges earned their bachelor’s degree.
9% of the students who transferred to private for-profit four-year colleges got their bachelor’s degree within six years.
64% of transfer college students who chose to enroll for full-time study obtained their bachelor’s degree.
In comparison, only 42% of college students who switched between full-time and part-time study obtained their bachelor’s degree.
About 5% of students that were exclusively enrolled part-time obtained their bachelor’s degree.
53% of higher-income transfer students obtained their bachelor’s degree, while 39% of low-income transfer students earned theirs.

How Many Community College Students Who Transferred to a Four-Year Institution Earned an Associates Degree?

Depending on the student’s end goal, they may choose to obtain an associate’s degree or simply bypass it. Typically, those who want to earn an associate’s degree are more likely to test the workforce before they decide whether they want to further their education. Students who have decided ahead of time that they want to get their bachelor’s degree are more likely to skip earning their associate’s degree.

From 2018 to 2019, 22% of college students who earned their bachelor’s degree also had earned their associate’s degree first.
For transfer students that went from a community college to a four-year program, 41% of them earned a certificate or associate’s degree before obtaining their bachelor’s degree.

Financial Aid

The American Association of Community College did a full report on their findings regarding the trends and statistics of community colleges. Here are the stats regarding financial aid received from students from 2003 to 2004.

The total financial aid received by public community college students in 2003 to 2004, depending status:

College Type and Dependency Status	Total Aid	Grants	Loans (excluding PLUS)	Work-Study	Federal Aid	Federal Grants	Federal Loans	State Aid
Dependent	$3,154	$2,415	$2,853	$1,915	$2,923	$2,334	$2,460	$1,206
Independent, unmarried	$3,424	$1,866	$4,436	$2,194	$3,764	$2,022	$4,212	$1,076
Independent, married	$2,244	$1,399	$4,072	$1,700	$3,163	$1,815	$3,808	$1,086
Independent with dependents	$3,291	$2,194	$4,022	$2,183	$3,544	$2,261	$3,936	$1,041
Total	$3,177	$2,161	$3,638	$2,047	$3,331	$2,240	$3,412	$1,116

Dual-Credit and Dual Enrollment Programs

Dual enrollment programs enable high school-aged students to attend college classes at a local community college while still enrolled in high school. These classes will count for both high school and college credit.

About 2.5 million high school students participated in dual enrollment courses during the 2022-2023 academic year.
73.5% of these students took dual-credit courses at public community colleges.
Approximately 90% of public high schools have students participating in dual-credit courses as of 2022-2023.
42% of schools with dual enrollment require families to pay for these courses, while the remaining costs are covered by the school, state, or district.
In a study tracking high school students who began taking dual enrollment courses in fall 2015, 81% attended college in the first year after high school.

For online courses, we recommend Coursera.

Community College Costs

Community college tuition is more affordable than all other types of college sectors. This includes public four-year and private four-year institutions.

From 2023 to 2024, the average community college tuition and fees for full-time students averaged out to $3,990 nationally.
In comparison, public four-year colleges cost around $11,260 annually.
Approximately 81% of full-time community college students receive some form of financial aid.
About 14% pay over $3,400 after grants, and another 14% pay under $1,100 after grants and aid.
Roughly 80% of community college students work, and 39% of them work full-time.
However, only 2% of these students receive Federal Work-Study aid.
47% of independent community college students and 23% of dependent community college students have a family income of under $20,000.
From 2021 to 2022, about 38.6% of college students received federal loans, with an average loan amount of $7,487.
Among community college students who obtained their associate’s degree, 59% didn’t take any student loans.
13% had over $20,000 in student loans, and 30% had under $20,000 in loans.
About 26% of community college students who borrowed student loans default within 12 years of entering community college.

Looking for more statistics? Here is our average community college cost statistics page.

Community College Online Education

For many students, online education has been a popular route. Today, many community colleges offer online education, especially for those who have other obligations such as raising a child, taking care of family members, or working odd hours in the day.

In the fall of 2018, 1.9 million two-year college students took at least one online course.
21% of community college students enrolled in some online classes, while 14% were exclusively online.
The Washington State community and technical college found that completion rates for online classes were about 5.5 percentage points less than in-class courses.

Developmental Education

Community college is often a place where college students who have previously dropped out or failed in some courses come back for remedial courses. Many students come back intending to obtain a degree.

From 2019 to 2020, the percentage of community college students enrolled in remedial coursework dropped to 16%, down from 23% in 2015–16.
Approximately 50% of Black community college students and 45% of Hispanic students have taken remedial courses, compared to 35% of White students.
Among students who started at a public two-year college in 2003 and enrolled in any remedial courses, 33% earned a certificate, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree by 2009, and 23% were still enrolled.

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