111 Latest Community College Statistics (2022)

This post is about College Community Statistics

community college vs university statistics

Did you know that community colleges are becoming an increasingly popular choice for students in America?

According to a report by The Huffington Post, community colleges “enroll about half of all undergraduate students in America and confer more than half of the associate degrees and more than 60 percent of all certificates.”

In this blog post, we will be looking at 111 of the latest community college statistics for 2022. We will also be examining admission statistics, enrollment statistics, costs and financial aid statistics, diversity statistics, and much more!

Let’s jump in.

Community College General Statistics

There are 1,044 community colleges in the U.S. Out of that total, 936 community colleges are public, 35 are tribal, and 73 are independent. (AACC)
Only 28% of public community colleges have on-campus housing. Most are commuter schools designed for in-district students. (AACC)
Forty-eight (48%) percent of the American workforce between the ages of 24 and 46 have accessed a community college at some point in their lives. (AACC)
Joliet Junior College was America’s very first community college. They opened their doors in 1901 with just six students. (JJC.edu)
El Centro Community College in Dallas Texas is the largest community college in America, with a 2020 student population of 74,781. That’s larger than most universities! (College Evaluator)

Community College Acceptance Rate

Many prospective college students consider community college because they are easier to get into. So what are the actual acceptance rates?

The average community college acceptance rate is 80%. This breaks down to 85% for public institutions and 75% for private. (Community College Review)
A 2022 article listed the following 15 community colleges that had a 99% to 100% acceptance rate in 2020:

Broward College (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Colorado Mountain College (Glenwood Springs, CO)
Feather River Community College District (Quincy, CA)
Granite State College (Concord, NH)
Lewis-Clark State College (Lewiston, ID)
Pensacola State College (Pensacola, FL)
South Florida State College (Avon Park, FL)
St. Petersburg College (St. Petersburg, FL)
Unity College (Unity, ME)
Wayne State College (Wayne, NE)
Western Nevada College (Carson City, NV)
Bluefield College (Bluefield, VA)
Blue Mountain College (Blue Mountain, MS)
Cottey College (Nevada, MO)
New England College (Henniker, NH)

These are not the only schools that have 100% acceptance rates. Many smaller community colleges across the country have an open admission policy. (US News)

Arkansas is the state with the highest community college acceptance rate, at 86%. Oklahoma has the lowest at just 54%. Bacone College in Oklahoma is a private not-for-profit school that brings down the state’s average with their acceptance rate of a low 15%. (Community College Review)

Admission Statistics & Demographics

In 2021, an estimated 9.2 million students will attend community colleges in the United States. (NSC Research Center)
The number of female students attending community colleges continues to outnumber male students at the highest rate ever. In 2021, there were an estimated 5.5 million female students and 3.7 million male students enrolled in community colleges. (NSC Research Center)
Thirty-Five percent of those who attend community college are full-time students and sixty-five percent are part-time students. (AACC)

Assessing College Readiness

Only about 40% of colleges take high school performance into account when assessing college readiness. As of 2016, 99% of community colleges rely on standardized tests. Private colleges are less likely to use standardized testing: Only 60% – 63% use these tests as part of their college readiness assessment. (CCRC)
Fifty (50%) percent to sixty (60%0 percent of colleges use two or more methods to assess college readiness. 20% to 30% use three or more measures. (CCRC)

Diversity in Community Colleges

Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) enrollment is on the rise, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all community college enrollees. (AACC)
According to the latest (2019) Enrollment Survey, the breakdown of enrollment by race at community colleges are:

Hispanic – 27%
Black – 13%
White – 44%
Asian/Pacific Islander – 6%
Native American – 4%
2 or more races – 4 %
Other/Unknown – 4%
Nonresident Alien – 2%

(AACC)

Age of Community College Students

The average age of community college students is 28. (AACC)
More than half of all community college students are above the age of 22. (AACC)
Only 8% of all community college students are 40 or older. (AACC)
An estimated 12% of students are under the age of 18. (NSC Research Center)

Parenthood

18 – 24 year old students who are also parents, are 3 times more likely to attend community college than a 4 year program: 45% compared to 15%. (AACC)
Thirty-three (33%) of female community college students had a child living with them, and so did 17% of males. (CCSSE)
Fifteen (15%) of community college students are single parents. (AACC)
Thirty-six (36%) of Pell Grant recipients have children living with them. (CCSSE)
Seventy-four (74%) of students who have children living with them say that they always live paycheck to paycheck. (CCSSE)

Disability

In 2001, just 22 programs existed to help students with learning disabilities prepare for college. By 2010 that had increased to 250. (USA Today)
Nineteen (19%) of all undergraduate students report having a disability. (NCES)
Students aged 30 and over had the highest rate of disability at 23%. (NCES)
26.4% of high school graduates with a disability go on to attend community college. (NCES)

Developmental Education & Remedial Courses in Community College

Developmental education and remedial courses are a non-credit way to improve a student’s baseline education. Their goal is to help students prepare for college level courses.

The National Center for Educational Statistics estimates that 59.8% of first time community college students needed to take one or more remedial courses. (NCES)
On average, community college students pass 48% of the remedial courses that they are enrolled in. (NCES)
Forty-nine (49%) of students pass all of the remedial courses that they enroll in, and 16% fail all of them. (AACC)
Ninety-nine (99%) of community colleges use standardized testing to assess if a student needs to take remedial courses. (postsecondaryreadiness.org)
Studies suggest that there is no solid evidence that remedial courses contribute to higher success rates in college. Only 28% of students that are referred into developmental education graduate after 8 years. (CCRC)

Community College Enrollment and Completion

Enrollment Statistics

Liberal Arts programs (Including Humanities and General Studies) have the highest enrollment in community colleges, followed closely by Computer Sciences. (NSC Research Center)
California enrolls the most community college students: An estimated 4.4 million in 2021. Alaska enrolls the fewest with just under 40,000. (NSC Research Center)
In 2019-2020, 58% of all community college students were credit earning students. (AACC)
In 2016, 29% of students enrolled in community colleges were first generation students and 5% were veterans. (AACC)
58.5% of students who enrolled in a program in 2019, continued on to a second year of college. Only 51.6% returned to the same college. (NSC Research Center)
Part-time students are less likely to return after their first year of college: 45.8% vs. 66.7% of full-time students. (NSC Research Center)

Completion Statistics

55% – 59.7% of certificate earning students in the US, did so at a community college. (AACC)
About 40% of community college students will complete their program within 6 years. 42.1% will finish after 8 years. (AACC)
Stacker made a list of the top community colleges in every state, and Indian Capital Technology Center in Muskogee Oklahoma had the highest graduation rate at 98%. They also boasted a 100% acceptance rate.
Only 29.2% of students enrolled in community college will start and finish their studies at the same institution. This low number is partially due to students transferring to 4 year programs. (NSC Research Center)
In the 8 years following their enrollment, 40% of community college students will have dropped out altogether. (NSC Researcher)

Community College Graduation Statistics

Not all students who complete community college will receive a credential. Some will transfer to a 4 year program without technically graduating, after either completing a few credit hours, or a full two years.

In 2018-2019, 878,900 associate degrees were awarded, 619,711 certificates were awarded, and 20,700 baccalaureate degrees were awarded at community colleges. (AACC)
Community colleges graduate more women than men. In 2021, 57% of all graduates were women, and 43% of all graduates were men. (AACC)
Women have earned more bachelor’s degrees than men every year since the mid 1980’s. (The Atlantic)

Transfer to Four-Year Colleges

Among all students who completed a degree at a four-year college in 2015–16, 49% had enrolled at a public two-year college in the previous 10 years. (AACC)
Nearly 6% of bachelor’s earning students attended public two-year colleges only as high school dual enrollment students. (CCRC)
Texas had the most former public two-year college students among bachelor’s degree earners in 2015–16 with 75%. Rhode Island had the fewest with 24%. (NSC Research Center)
Of the 81% of students who start community college with plans to continue into a 4 year program, only 31% do. (CCRC)
Eighty (80%) percent of transfer students who complete their bachelor’s do so within 5 years of attending community college. (CCRC)
Fifty-five (55%) percent of bachelor’s earning transfer students were enrolled in 1 – 4 terms of community college before attending their chosen program. Another 32% of students took 5 – 9 terms before transferring, and 13% attended community college for an astonishing 10 or more terms before entering a 4 year institution. (CCRC)
The average in-district student can save $5,888 per year when taking their first two years at a community college prior to transferring to a 4 year college. (TICAS)

Dual Enrollment and Dual-Credit Programs

“Dual enrollment” or “dual credit” refers to programs where high school students can take community college courses at the same time as their regular courses.

In 2010, 15% of all community college students were dual enrollment students still in high school. (CCRC)
By 2017, dual enrollment accounted for up to 50% of students at some colleges. (Education Next)
Fifty (50%) percent of dual enrollment students decide to attend community college immediately after high school. 84% of these students go on to enroll at the same college they already took courses with. (CCRC)
Forty-one (41%) percent of dual enrollment students go directly into a 4 year college program after high school. (CCRC)

Dual enrollment appears to have a benefit for the long-term success of community college students:

46% of dual enrollment students who go directly to community college will earn a credential within 5 years. (Compared to only 40% of all community college students in 6 years.) (CCRC)
64% of dual enrollment students who enter a 4 year college after high school will complete a college credential within 5 years. (CCRC)
Only 12% of dual enrollment students do not go on to enroll at a post-secondary institution by the time they are 20. (CCRC)
Dual enrollment helps to close the education income gap. 61% of dual enrollment students were from low or middle income families. (CCRC)

Community College Online Education Statistics

2020 may not have changed post secondary education as much as one would think. These statistics show that online education was already common, and even popular, prior to being absolutely necessary.

As of the 2018/19 academic year, 97% of community colleges offered some form of distance (online) learning. (NCES)
Sixty-eight (68%) percent of community colleges offer programs that are completely online. (NCES)
As of 2019, 35% of community college students were enrolled in at least one online class. 12% of students were completely remote. (NCES)
Online classes are often taken for the sake of convenience and not necessity. 85% of fully online college students live in the same state as their school. (NCES)
Online college enrollment grew by 1.5 million between 2012 and 2018. (NCES)
In 2020, 72.8% of college students were enrolled in distance learning. (NCES)

Community College Costs and Financial Aid

Tuition is just a small part of total expenses for college. The average student reports spending more than $300 per semester on textbooks, despite buying used books, or taking other cost saving measures.

Here is a look at some of the costs and financial concerns that community college students are facing:

The average cost of tuition at community college is $3,770 for in-district students. (AACC)
A 2014/15 survey found that the total cost of community college – including tuition, textbooks, school supplies, transportation, and living expenses was an average of $6,057 for lower income students, and increased slightly in each income bracket. Those in higher income families ($110,000+ per year) spent an average of $11,755. (CCSSE)
Forty-seven (47%) of students say that a lack of finances could cause them to withdraw from their college program. (CCSSE)
54% of students say that they struggle to keep up with their bills, but another 45% indicate that they have no problem. (CCSSE)
49% of students said that they had run out of money at least once in the last year. (CCSSE)

Most and Least Expensive States to Attend Community College

New Hampshire is far and away the most expensive state in which to attend community college. The average net price of annual college expenses for a lower income family was $14,457. A community college student in New Hampshire would need to work 51 hours per week at the state minimum wage to earn their college expenses. A 4 year program was just barely more expensive in this state, coming in at $15,782. (TICAS)
Michigan is the most affordable state in which to attend community college. The average student pays $4,192 per year, which equates to just 13 hours of work per week at the state’s minimum wage. (TICAS)
Washington state and Hawaii would only require 15 hours of minimum wage work to pay for community college related expenses, and in several states 16 hours of work was the magic number: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Mississippi, New York, and Rhode Island. (TICAS)
The lowest income to expenditure disparity was in Utah, where the highest income students spent just $589 more on annual community college expenses than the lowest income students ($8523 compared to $7934). (TICAS)

Financial Aid and Community College

Of the amount of federal aid received by community colleges in 2017-2018, one-third were Pell Grants, seventeen percent (17%) were work study grants, twenty-four percent (24%) were federal supplemental educational opportunity grants, twelve percent (12%) were subsidized federal loans, and six percent (6%) were unsubsidized federal loans. (AACC)

A Pell Grant is a federal grant awarded to students who can demonstrate exceptional financial need and have not already earned a post-secondary credential.

Pell Grants only cover an average of 37% of total student expenses, and 40% of students who received Pell Grants also relied on student loans. (CCSSE)
61% of Pell Grant recipients live below the poverty line. (CCSSE)
In 2015-2016, thirty-four percent (34%) of community college students received federal grants, fifteen percent (15%) received federal loans, twenty-two percent (22%) received state aid, seven (7%) received institutional aid, and fifty-nine percent (59%) received other financial aid. (AACC)
91% of students say that they needed information about financial assistance, and 27% disagreed or strongly disagreed that their college provided adequate information about available options. (CCSSE)

Low Income Difficulties in Affording Community College

More than half of Latino students (52%), about three in five Native American students (59%), and almost two-thirds of African-American students (64%) have family incomes under $30,000. On average for those students, the total cost of community college tuition and other expenses was 50% of their net income. (TICAS)
For students with family incomes between $30,001 and $48,000, community college costs require about a third (32%) of their discretionary income. Families with an income of $30,000 or less have no (or net negative) discretionary income, but are still expected to cover an average of $6000 in college related expenses. (TICAS)
Higher income families spend an average of $5000 more per year on community college expenses than lower income families, but that still only accounts for an average of 9% of their discretionary income. (TICAS)

While community college can be a financial hardship for lower income families, it is still significantly less expensive than a 4 year program:

Lower income families (<$30,000 per year) will pay over $9000 per year for a 4 year school compared to $6,000 at a community college. (TICAS)

Student Debt

While affording community college may sound somewhat bleak after all of these stats, there is good news:

Fifty-nine (59%) percent of community college students finish their program without student debt. Seventy-seven (77%) are able to complete community college with less than $10,000 of student debt. (AACC)

This might indicate that while students live paycheck to paycheck and struggle financially while in school, they do so because they can’t – or don’t want to – incur a large amount of debt.

Alternatively, the 27% of students who say that they weren’t given adequate information about financial aid, may not have known that they could use student loans for living expenses and other costs that contribute to the total expense.

Economic Returns to Community College

In layman’s terms, the “economic return” of community college (or other post secondary) is the extent to which it was “worth it” to go to school. Does the overall expense ever pay itself back?

Students who complete college with an associate degree earn a lifetime 25% more (on average) than those with a high school education. (AACC)
The unemployment rate for those with a high school diploma or less is 75% higher than for those with an associate degree: 6.3% vs 3.6%. (AACC)
Ridgewater College in Minnesota provides a particularly high economic return: 93% of students who complete a program here are employed in their field within the next two years. (Stacker)

Net Earning Premium

The economic return is sometimes called an NEP, or Net Earning Premium, but it means the same thing: Does the benefit of community college outweigh the cost, and at what point?

A 2021 report showed that Construction, Engineering, and Allied Health programs had the highest NEPs: Approximately $23,000 to $28,000. (Brookings)
Students enrolled in Education, Consumer Sciences, and Services certificate programs had a negative NEP of $2000 to $5000. This means that these students did not earn enough additional income to have covered the cost of their program. Those earning a Consumer Sciences or Education associate degree also had a negative NEP of approximately $2000. (Brookings)

Employment During Community College Statistics

benefits of community college statistics

One of the biggest draws for students is the fact that community colleges have much more flexible schedules than those at university. For those working to pay their way, community college is the place to be!

Sixty-Two (62%) of all full-time community college students work. Twenty-one (21%) full-time, forty-one (41%) part-time. (AACC)
Seventy-two (72%) of all part-time community college students work. Thirty-eight (38%) full-time and thirty-four (34%) part-time. (AACC)
Forty-nine (49%) percent of all students reported that they work more than 20 hours per week. (TICAS)
In 28 states, community college students would have to work more than 20 hours per week to afford their college expenses. (TICAS)

Community College v. University Statistics

A few of the most common reasons for choosing community college over university are: Affordability, smaller class sizes, convenience, and more relaxed admission requirements.

In 2019, the total amount of students enrolled in colleges and universities were 19.6 Million (National Center for Education Statistics). Of that amount, 11.6 million students were enrolled in community colleges in 2019. (AACC)
The average student pays nearly 3x more in tuition and fees attending a four-year public university costs ($10,560) than the average student pays at a community college ($3,770). (AACC)

Statistics Supporting Free Tuition at Community College

A 2019 survey showed that 72% of Americans support free college tuition. The highest support was among women (80%), those who make under $50,000 (79%), and people with a high school education or less (79%). The lowest support came from men (63%) and those with an annual income of $75,000+ (66%). (AACC)
A study in Illinois showed that the benefit of free community college would outweigh the cost in just 18 years. The long term state and local revenue benefit would continue to climb significantly year-over-year while the costs would only marginally increase. (Ed Source)
Those against free tuition claim that community college graduation rates are too low to invest in it. In Arkansas, the Career Pathways Initiative provides financial supports for tuition, childcare, and other expenses, as well as tutoring. The program has increased graduation rates from the 24% state average to 54%. (CCSSE)
The Rhode Island Promise program began in 2017 and offers two years of free community college to qualifying full time students. 19.6% of students who entered the program in that same year graduated in 2 years compared to only 6% of previous cohorts. (URI)
Students that qualify for financial aid, on average already receive enough to cover the cost of their tuition plus $220. (CollegeBoard)
A congressional report indicates that the government spent $91 billion on higher education supports in 2016, but tuition in the same year was only $79 billion. (Ed Source)

International Students at Community Colleges

The Houston Community College System receives the largest number of international students: 5,645 in 2018/19. (US News)
International students at community colleges account for 10% of total students that are in an undergraduate program. (Acenet.edu)
There were more than one million international students in America for the 2017/18 school year, and they contributed $39 billion to the economy. (Acenet.edu)
Of the 1,095,299 international students who attended community college in the United States during the 2018/19 school year, 768,260 were from Asia. China was the country who sent the most students: 369,458. (Open Doors)
In 2020/21, US community colleges still received nearly one million international students, of whom 317,299 were from China. (Open Doors)
20.8% of international students study Engineering, followed closely by Math and Computer Sciences (19.9%), and Business (15.9%). (Open Doors)
International students pay anywhere from two to eight times what an in-state student pays to attend community college. (Open Doors)

Interesting Community College Facts

Not every community college is accredited. It is up to students to make sure that they choose an accredited school and program. The US Department of Education does not provide accreditation either, they merely endorse accrediting agencies. Even if a college claims to be accredited, it may not be by an approved agency, so students still need to do their due diligence. (US Department of Education)

Laramie, Wyoming was rated the best small college town in America based on cost of living, unemployment, safety, and “wow factor.” (College Values Online)

Most community colleges offer the same extra-curricular activities as universities, but they struggle to get participants because most students don’t live on campus. (US News)

Community Colleges in Pop Culture

Navarro College, made famous by the Netflix show “Cheer,” is a community college in Corsicana Texas with a 100% acceptance rate. Annual tuition at Navarro for an in-district student is $1399. (Navarro College)

Trinity Valley Community College in Athens Texas is also featured on “Cheer.” One year of tuition at Trinity Valley costs $1170, and they also boast a 100% acceptance rate. (Trinity Valley Community College)

The popular NBC show “Community,” which is about a group of misfit students at a low quality community college, was filmed at Los Angeles City College.

Community College Statistics Final Thoughts

As the “Great Resignation” is expected to continue, BestColleges found that 31% of employees plan to learn new skills this year in anticipation of a potential career change. Will we see a related spike in community college enrollment in the coming years?

In 2021, half of current high school students felt that they would need 3 years or less of college, and a bachelor’s degree wasn’t necessary. Most prospective students and parents think the return on investment for a 4 year program isn’t high enough.

Community college is a great choice for students that want job training and higher education, but don’t want to commit as much time or money as a university program requires.

Overall, community colleges tend to get a bad rap compared to flashier and more expensive universities, but they provide excellent value and are accessible to the average American student.

111 Latest Community College Statistics (2022)

This post is about College Community Statistics

Community College General Statistics

Community College Acceptance Rate