African-American students made up nearly a third of all those at four-year and two-year for-profit institutions and more than a third of those at two-year private nonprofit institutions, while they were only 13.5 percent of all students enrolled in colleges in the fall of 2017. The sector in which Asian students had their highest representation was four-year public institutions. The sector in which white students had their highest representation was four-year private nonprofit institutions, where they made up nearly two-thirds of all students. The highest representation for Hispanics was at two-year public institutions, closely followed by two-year for-profit colleges. Click on the plus sign at the beginning of each row to see additional data.
| Sector | Total | Female | American Indian or Alaska Native | Asian | Black or African-American | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | White | 2 or more races | Nonresident aliens |
| 4-year public, number | 8,839,171 | 4,860,879 | 53,473 | 607,664 | 925,071 | 1,421,794 | 17,694 | 4,677,996 | 321,468 | 537,661 |
| 4-year public, percentage | 100.0% | 55.0% | 0.7% | 7.6% | 11.5% | 17.7% | 0.2% | 58.3% | 4.0% | 6.1% |
| 4-year private nonprofit, number | 4,057,994 | 2,350,339 | 17,638 | 241,365 | 441,596 | 397,522 | 9,656 | 2,204,859 | 123,578 | 349,721 |
| 4-year private nonprofit, percentage | 100.0% | 57.9% | 0.5% | 7.0% | 12.9% | 11.6% | 0.3% | 64.2% | 3.6% | 8.6% |
| 4-year for-profit, number | 909,638 | 602,309 | 6,981 | 30,681 | 230,605 | 115,935 | 5,697 | 344,476 | 25,281 | 22,520 |
| 4-year for-profit, percentage | 100.0% | 66.2% | 0.9% | 4.0% | 30.4% | 15.3% | 0.7% | 45.3% | 3.3% | 2.5% |
| 2-year public, number | 5,706,678 | 3,217,688 | 50,948 | 334,771 | 741,785 | 1,405,951 | 15,021 | 2,668,462 | 192,094 | 86,546 |
| 2-year public, percentage | 100.0% | 56.4% | 0.9% | 6.2% | 13.7% | 26.0% | 0.3% | 49.3% | 3.6% | 1.5% |
| 2-year private nonprofit, number | 48,390 | 35,674 | 863 | 1,145 | 16,243 | 5,194 | 227 | 18,463 | 1,592 | 1,034 |
| 2-year private nonprofit, percentage | 100.0% | 73.7% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 37.1% | 11.9% | 0.5% | 42.2% | 3.6% | 2.1% |
| 2-year for-profit, number | 186,701 | 125,371 | 2,050 | 6,900 | 55,209 | 45,594 | 1,076 | 60,562 | 5,049 | 1,532 |
| 2-year for-profit, percentage | 100.0% | 67.2% | 1.2% | 3.9% | 31.3% | 25.8% | 0.6% | 34.3% | 2.9% | 0.8% |
| All institutions, number | 19,748,577 | 11,192,263 | 131,953 | 1,222,526 | 2,410,510 | 3,391,991 | 49,371 | 9,974,821 | 669,067 | 999,014 |
| All institutions, percentage | 100.0% | 56.7% | 0.7% | 6.8% | 13.5% | 19.0% | 0.3% | 55.9% | 3.7% | 5.1% |
Note: This table shows all full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students at two-year and four-year degree-granting institutions in the United States that are eligible to receive Title IV federal financial aid. Percentages of the racial or ethnic groups were calculated by dividing them into the totals minus the numbers of nonresident aliens and people whose race was unknown. The percentages whose race was unknown, which in 2017 ranged from 3.1 percent at four-year public institutions to 14.0 percent at four-year for-profit institutions, are not shown. “Hispanic” students may be of any race. Nonresident aliens are not included in any racial or ethnic categories. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to Ruth Hammond.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data
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