Diversity in Higher Education: Facts and Statistics

Around 40% of undergraduates are students of color. Find college student and faculty diversity statistics, and read about the benefits of diversity in higher education.

Jane Nam is a staff writer for BestColleges' Data Center. Before her work on higher education data trends, Jane was a news writer and the managing editor for an academic journal. She has graduate degrees in social and political philosophy and women's.

Higher Education Research Analyst

Lyss Welding is a higher education analyst and senior editor for BestColleges who specializes in translating massive data sets and finding statistics that matter to students. Lyss has worked in academic research, curriculum design, and program evalua.

Jane Nam is a staff writer for BestColleges' Data Center. Before her work on higher education data trends, Jane was a news writer and the managing editor for an academic journal. She has graduate degrees in social and political philosophy and women's.

Higher Education Research Analyst

Lyss Welding is a higher education analyst and senior editor for BestColleges who specializes in translating massive data sets and finding statistics that matter to students. Lyss has worked in academic research, curriculum design, and program evalua.

Data Summary

In a 2023 BestColleges survey, over half of students (55%) reported that they would consider transferring if their college were to abolish diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Data show that having a diverse campus can benefit students, not only socially, but also when it comes to their future careers and earnings.

This report covers the racial and ethnic diversity of college students and faculty and explores why diversity is important in higher education.

Demographics of Colleges

This section explores college-student demographics by institution type and over time. The racial/ethnic groups considered include white, Hispanic and Latino/a, Black, Asian, and Native American/Alaska Native learners.

Racial Diversity in College Enrollment

In the fall of 2023, over 15 million undergraduate students were enrolled in the U.S.

• White students made up nearly half of the total undergraduate population at 40.5%. Note Reference [1]
• Hispanic and Latino/a students were the second largest group at 18.3% of the total undergraduate population. Note Reference [1]

Diversity in College by School Type

Over 15 million students were enrolled in undergraduate programs in 2023. Note Reference [1]

• Private, nonprofit four-year universities were the least diverse institutions: 46% of students were white, and 34% of students were Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC). About 21% did not identify their race.
• At public four-year schools, 45% of students were white, 39% were BIPOC, and 16% did not identify their race.
• At public two-year schools, 37% of students were white, 45% were BIPOC, and 18% did not identify their race.
• At private, for-profit four-year universities, 29% of students were white, 43% were BIPOC, and 28% did not identify their race.

History of Diversity in College Enrollment, 1980-2020

According to 2022 data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), diversity in college enrollment has increased with each decade. Note Reference [4]

• The representation of all racial/ethnic groups increased on college campuses between 1980 and 2022, except for white students.
• White students made up around 81% of the undergraduate population in 1980, but only 54% in 2020.
• The Hispanic and Latino/a population increased the most, from 4% of the student population in 1980 to just over 20% in 2020.
• Put another way, Hispanic and Latino/a student representation increased a whopping 408% in the past four decades.
• The Asian and Pacific Islander student population increased from 2.4% in 1980 to nearly 8% in 2020.
• The Black student population grew from 9% to 13%.
• The percentage of Native American/Alaska Native college students within the total student population hovered consistently between 0.7% and 1% from 1990-2020.

Racial Diversity in Colleges, 2019-2023

In the four years between 2019 and 2023, racial diversity in higher education appears to have been relatively steady.

• Undergraduate enrollment declined by 1.03 million students during this four-year period, and all racial/ethnic groups' numbers, except for Hispanic and Latino/a students, decreased. Note Reference [1]
• White students experienced the biggest drop, with a 16.8% decrease in the number of students from 2019-2023. Note Reference [1]
• White students made up nearly 46% of the student population in 2019, but this figure dropped to 41% as of 2023. Note Reference [1]
• Hispanic and Latino/a students were the only racial/ethnic group that increased in undergraduate enrollment from 2019-2023 by just over 1%.
• Asian students experienced the smallest decrease in the number of students (-1%, or 9,000 fewer students). Note Reference [1]
• Black student representation stayed about the same, at 11% of undergraduates.
• The percentage of Native American undergraduate students remained consistently at 0.7% from 2019-2023. Note Reference [1]

Diversity on College Campuses

Diversity on college campuses extends past racial and ethnic diversity. For example, BestColleges ranked some of the most diverse colleges based on several factors, including the percentage of non-white students, female students, international students, and first-generation students.

Diversity also includes gender, age, family structure, and more considerations.

• Women have outnumbered men in college since 1979, and in 2022, 8.3 million women were enrolled in postsecondary institutions compared to 6.1 million men. Note Reference [5]
• In a sample of nearly 182,000 students, the American Association of American Universities found that 0.9% of undergraduates identified as nonbinary or genderqueer, and 0.4% identified as trans as of 2019. Note Reference [6]
• In 2022, 6.2% of full-time undergrads lived with children under 18, compared to 21.9% of part-time undergrads. Note Reference [7]
• According to the Center for First-Generation Student Success, 26% of undergrads were first-generation college students in 2020, meaning their parents did not have a postsecondary education. Over half of undergrads (54%) did not have parents with bachelor's degrees. Note Reference [8]
• Over 1 million college students receive GI Bill® benefits, meaning they are active military service members or veterans.
• In 2022-2023, there were roughly 858,400 international students enrolled at U.S. colleges.
• It's estimated that roughly 427,000 college students are undocumented, and 181,000 qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status. Note Reference [9]

Why Is Diversity Important in College?

Learning from people of different cultures and backgrounds has a positive impact on college campuses, and the majority of students desire diverse learning environments.

Benefits of Diversity in Colleges

In a 2013 publication from the National Bureau of Economic Research, authors Barbara Wolfe and Jason Fletcher show a positive correlation between attending a racially diverse institution and future earnings potential. This might be due to the fact that those who graduate from colleges with diverse student bodies tend to be more attractive job candidates for companies with a global reach. Note Reference [2]

Wolfe and Fletcher found that those who attended more diverse colleges could expect to earn a little over 5% more than those who didn't. Note Reference [2] They could also expect to make a family income of about 3.5% more. The positive correlation between attending a diverse college and earning a higher income was especially true for Hispanic and Latino/a students, for whom the additional increase came out to be nearly $10,000 more per year.

In addition to income increases, attending a diverse institution also resulted in students having more diverse friend groups. Note Reference [2] Those who went to a high school with a diverse student body had a significantly higher chance of having a diverse friend group in college.

In a BestColleges survey of over 1,000 prospective and current undergraduate and graduate students, the majority responded that racial/ethnic diversity improves the social experience (62%) and learning environment (59%) of schools. In the same survey, over half of the students (56%) answered that colleges should be responsible for increasing the representation of historically excluded groups in their student bodies. This was true regardless of a respondent's political party or race.

These statistics suggest that diversity in colleges not only benefits students in terms of future income and social life but also that students feel racial/ethnic diversity improves their postsecondary education experience.

Faculty Diversity

Research shows that Black students with same-race instructors perform better on tests and are less likely to drop out. Note Reference [10] As reported by the Washington Post, diversity and education expert Leslie T. Fenwick and Howard University president emeritus H. Patrick Swygert asserted that students' interactions with faculty of color can prove to students that anyone of any race can be a model of intellectual authority. Note Reference [11]

In fall 2022, over half of faculty members (65%) were white: Note Reference [3]

• White men made up 34% of all faculty and white women, 32%.
• White women made up the largest percentage of assistant professors, instructors, and lecturers.
• At the professor and associate professor levels, there was a higher percentage of men than women, regardless of race.
• The percentage of women faculty increased with lower academic rank.
• Asian and white men made up a higher percentage of faculty than their women counterparts.
• Native American/Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander women made up a higher percentage of faculty than their men counterparts.

References

1. Current Term Enrollment Estimates: Fall 2023. National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. March 2024. (back to footnote 1 in content ⤶)
2. Wolfe, B. & J. Fletcher. Estimating Benefits from University-Level Diversity. National Bureau of Economic Research. February 2013. (back to footnote 2 in content ⤶)
3. Race/Ethnicity of College Faculty. Fast Facts. National Center for Education Statistics. May 2022. (back to footnote 3 in content ⤶)
4. Table 306.20. Total Fall Enrollment in Degree-granting Postsecondary Institutions, by Level and Control of Institution and Race/Ethnicity or Nonresident Status of Student: Selected Years, 1976 through 2021. December 2022. (back to footnote 4 in content ⤶)
5. Table 303.10. Total Fall Enrollment in Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions, by Attendance Status, Sex of Student, and Control of Institution: Selected Years, 1947 Through 2031. National Center for Education Statistics. December 2022. (back to footnote 5 in content ⤶)
6. Cantor, David et al. Report on the AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct (PDF). The American Association of American Universities. January 2020. (back to footnote 6 in content ⤶)
7. Table 503.40 Percentage of 16- to 64-year-old undergraduate students who were employed, by attendance status, hours worked per week, and selected characteristics: 2010, 2015, and 2022. NCES. March 2024. (back to footnote 7 in content ⤶)
8. Whitley, S.E., Benson, G., & Wesaw, A., First-generation Student Success: A Landscape Analysis of Programs and Services at Four-year Institutions. Washington, DC: Center for First-generation Student Success, NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and Entangled Solutions. October 2018. (back to footnote 8 in content ⤶)
9. Undocumented Students in Higher Education. Presidents' Alliance: On Higher Education and Immigration. March 2021. (back to footnote 9 in content ⤶)
10. The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers (PDF). IZA Institute of Labor Economics. March 2017. (back to footnote 10 in content ⤶)
11. Strauss, Valerie. It's 2015. Where Are All the Black College Faculty? The Washington Post. November 2015. (back to footnote 11 in content ⤶)