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66.2 percent of 2019 high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2019
May 22, 2020
Of the 3.2 million people ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2019, 2.1 million, or 66.2 percent, were enrolled in colleges or universities in October 2019. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates in October 2019 was down slightly from the rate in October 2018.
College enrollment rates of recent high school graduates 16 to 24 years old by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 1993–2019
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
2017
66.7
61.1
71.7
67.1
59.4
83.0
61.0
2018
69.1
66.9
71.3
69.6
63.6
73.4
65.5
2019
66.2
62.0
69.8
66.9
50.7
89.9
63.4
Note: Dash means data are not available.
For 2019 high school graduates, the college enrollment rate was 69.8 percent for young women and 62.0 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of recent Asian graduates (89.9 percent) was higher than for White (66.9 percent), Hispanic (63.4 percent), and Black (50.7 percent) graduates.
Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2019, about 9 in 10 were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were less than half as likely to be in the labor force (34.0 percent) as were their peers enrolled part time (78.8 percent).
Labor force participation rates of 2019 high school graduates 16 to 24 years old by their college enrollment status, October 2019
Enrollment status
Labor force participation rate
Total enrolled in college
37.8%
Enrolled in 2-year college
47.4
Enrolled in 4-year college
33.1
Full-time students
34.0
Part-time students
78.8
Not enrolled in college
72.2
About 2 in 3 recent high school graduates enrolled in college attended 4-year colleges. Of these students, 33.1 percent participated in the labor force in October 2019, lower than the 47.4 percent for recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges.
United States Department of Labor
