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Of the 3.1 million people ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2016, about 2.2 million, or 69.7 percent, were enrolled in college in October 2016. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates in October 2016 was little changed from the rate in October 2015.
Year | Total | Men | Women | White | Black or African American |
Asian | Hispanic or Latino |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993 |
62.6% | 59.7% | 65.4% | 62.8% | 55.6% | — | 62.5% |
1994 |
61.9 | 60.6 | 63.2 | 63.6 | 50.9 | — | 48.9 |
1995 |
61.9 | 62.6 | 61.4 | 62.6 | 51.4 | — | 53.8 |
1996 |
65.0 | 60.1 | 69.7 | 65.8 | 55.3 | — | 50.7 |
1997 |
67.0 | 63.5 | 70.3 | 67.5 | 59.6 | — | 65.5 |
1998 |
65.6 | 62.4 | 69.1 | 65.8 | 62.1 | — | 47.5 |
1999 |
62.9 | 61.4 | 64.4 | 62.8 | 59.2 | — | 42.2 |
2000 |
63.3 | 59.9 | 66.2 | 64.0 | 56.2 | — | 53.0 |
2001 |
61.6 | 59.7 | 63.5 | 63.1 | 54.7 | — | 51.2 |
2002 |
65.2 | 62.1 | 68.4 | 66.7 | 58.7 | — | 53.5 |
2003 |
63.9 | 61.2 | 66.5 | 65.0 | 58.3 | 84.1 | 58.6 |
2004 |
66.7 | 61.4 | 71.6 | 68.4 | 61.1 | 76.0 | 61.9 |
2005 |
68.6 | 66.5 | 70.4 | 69.4 | 56.8 | 87.5 | 54.1 |
2006 |
66.0 | 65.9 | 66.1 | 66.8 | 55.6 | 82.4 | 58.1 |
2007 |
67.2 | 66.1 | 68.3 | 68.7 | 55.2 | 90.9 | 63.9 |
2008 |
68.6 | 65.9 | 71.5 | 70.8 | 54.9 | 87.5 | 63.8 |
2009 |
70.1 | 66.0 | 73.8 | 69.2 | 68.7 | 92.2 | 59.3 |
2010 |
68.1 | 62.8 | 74.0 | 68.6 | 61.4 | 84.0 | 59.6 |
2011 |
68.3 | 64.6 | 72.3 | 67.7 | 67.5 | 86.7 | 66.6 |
2012 |
66.2 | 61.3 | 71.3 | 66.6 | 58.2 | 82.2 | 70.3 |
2013 |
65.9 | 63.5 | 68.4 | 67.1 | 59.3 | 79.1 | 59.9 |
2014 |
68.4 | 64.0 | 72.7 | 67.3 | 70.9 | 86.1 | 65.2 |
2015 |
69.2 | 65.8 | 72.6 | 71.1 | 54.6 | 83.0 | 68.9 |
2016 |
69.7 | 67.4 | 71.9 | 69.7 | 58.2 | 92.4 | 72.0 |
Note: Dash indicates data not available. |
For 2016 high school graduates, the college enrollment rate was 71.9 percent for young women and 67.4 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of recent Asian graduates (92.4 percent) was higher than for their Hispanic (72.0 percent), White (69.7 percent), and Black (58.2 percent) counterparts.
Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2016, about 9 in 10 were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were about half as likely to be in the labor force (34.6 percent) as were their peers enrolled part time (77.1 percent).
Enrollment status | Labor force participation rate |
---|---|
Total enrolled in college |
38.4 |
Enrolled in 2-year college |
51.8 |
Enrolled in 4-year college |
31.5 |
Full-time students |
34.6 |
Part-time students |
77.1 |
Not enrolled in college |
72.3 |
About 2 in 3 recent high school graduates enrolled in college attended 4-year colleges. Of these students, 31.5 percent participated in the labor force in October 2016, lower than the 51.8 percent for recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges.
These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2016 High School Graduates” (HTML) (PDF). People whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 69.7 percent of 2016 high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/69-point-7-percent-of-2016-high-school-graduates-enrolled-in-college-in-october-2016.htm (visited October 31, 2024).