{"id":7798,"date":"2023-12-18T11:59:18","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T16:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/fewer-young-men-are-in-college-especially-at-4-year-schools\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:59:16","slug":"fewer-young-men-are-in-college-especially-at-4-year-schools","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/12\/18\/fewer-young-men-are-in-college-especially-at-4-year-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Fewer young men are in college, especially at 4-year schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_feature.png?w=640\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-445985\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Basketball teammates Caleb Williams, left, and Coby Gold greet each other on campus at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Nov. 29. (Stephen Maturen for The Washington Post via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">College enrollment among young Americans <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2023\/03\/09\/american-skipping-college-huge-numbers-pandemic-turned-them-off-education\/\">has been declining<\/a> gradually over the past decade. In 2022, the total number of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college was down by approximately 1.2 million from its peak in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-8401\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/12\/18\/fewer-young-men-are-in-college-especially-at-4-year-schools\/sr_2023-12-18_college-enrollment_01-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c9d9d6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c9d9d6;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_01.png?resize=480,561 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_01.png?resize=620,724 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"362\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_01.png?w=310\" alt=\"Bar chart showing that the share of 18- to 24-year-old college students who are men has declined since 2011, driven by a decrease at 4-year colleges\" class=\"wp-image-8401 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of the decline is due to fewer young men pursuing college. About 1 million fewer young men are in college but only 0.2 million fewer young women. As a result, men make up 44% of young college students today, down from 47% in 2011, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This shift is driven entirely by the falling share of men who are students at four-year colleges. Today, men represent only 42% of students ages 18 to 24 at four-year schools, down from 47% in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At two-year colleges, which are largely community colleges, the drop in enrollment has been similar for men and women, so the gender balance has not changed much. Men represent 49% of students ages 18 to 24, up slightly from 48% in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pew Research Center has a long-standing research commitment to understanding gender gaps in the U.S. workforce, including gaps in workforce preparation and educational attainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Census Bureau publishes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/data\/tables\/time-series\/demo\/school-enrollment\/cps-historical-time-series.html\">historical tables<\/a> on 18- to 24-year-olds\u2019 college enrollment dating back to 1967. Its historical college enrollment series uses the October school enrollment supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The specific table used in this analysis is Table A-5 A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The analysis of the gender balance at two- and four-year colleges uses the October CPS micro data files made available at the <a href=\"https:\/\/cps.ipums.org\/cps\/index.shtml\">Integrated Public Use Microdata Series<\/a> (IPUMS) at the University of Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">High school graduates refer to adults who have a high school diploma (including equivalency).<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decline in young college enrollment since 2011 is not driven by a drop in the overall number of 18- to 24-year-old high school graduates. That number has modestly increased since 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, the falling share of young high school graduates who are enrolling in college is causing the decline. And the drop has been greater among young men than women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, only 39% of young men who have completed high school are enrolled in college, down from 47% in 2011. The rate at which young female high school graduates enroll has also fallen, but not by nearly as much (from 52% to 48%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-8404\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/12\/18\/fewer-young-men-are-in-college-especially-at-4-year-schools\/sr_2023-12-18_college-enrollment_02-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"efefee\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #efefee;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_02.png?resize=480,549 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_02.png?resize=782,894 782w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_02.png?resize=840,960 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"480\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_02.png?w=420\" alt=\"Dot plot showing that the gender gap in college enrollment has widened since 2011, from 5 to 9 percentage points, among 18- to 24-year-old high school graduates enrolled in college\" class=\"wp-image-8404 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By race and ethnicity, the widening of the gender gap in college enrollment is most apparent among White high school graduates. Young White women who have finished high school are now 10 percentage points more likely to be enrolled in college than similar men. In 2011, the difference was only 4 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found that the <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/11\/08\/whats-behind-the-growing-gap-between-men-and-women-in-college-completion\/\">reasons people give for not finishing<\/a> college differ by gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among adults who did not have a bachelor\u2019s degree and weren\u2019t enrolled in college, men were more likely than women to say they didn\u2019t go to college because they just didn\u2019t want to or because they didn\u2019t feel they needed more education for the type of job they wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But men and women were about equally likely to say that not being able to afford a four-year degree was a major reason why they hadn\u2019t completed college.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>College enrollment among young Americans has been declining over the past decade, and it&#8217;s mostly due to fewer young men pursuing degrees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":648,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-18T16:59:39Z","apple_news_api_id":"0de2ddbe-b473-4224-9a33-7dc345ae5330","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-18T16:59:39Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ADeLdvrRzQiSaM33DRa5TMA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"apple_news_api_pending":"1713063237","relatedPosts":[{"key":"_i0rzrssjr","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/04\/12\/10-facts-about-todays-college-graduates\/","postId":331068,"title":"10 facts about today\u2019s college graduates","date":"2022-04-12T13:56:51","label":"Short Reads"},{"key":"_8ydivtwb2","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/11\/08\/whats-behind-the-growing-gap-between-men-and-women-in-college-completion\/","postId":402551,"title":"What\u2019s behind the growing gap between men and women in college completion?","date":"2021-11-08T13:00:20","label":"Short Reads"}],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[213,394,374],"bylines":[984],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[519],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-7798","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","category-education-gender","category-educational-attainment","category-higher-education","bylines-richard-fry","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-social-trends"],"label":"Short Read","post_parent":0,"word_count":549,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/12\/18\/fewer-young-men-are-in-college-especially-at-4-year-schools\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":8412,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_feature.png","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_feature.png?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"caption":"Basketball teammates Caleb Williams, left, and Coby Gold greet each other on campus at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Nov. 29. (Stephen Maturen for The Washington Post via Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":8412,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_feature.png","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/sr_2023.12.18_college-enrollment_feature.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"Basketball teammates Caleb Williams, left, and Coby Gold greet each other on campus at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Nov. 29. 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(Stephen Maturen for The Washington Post via Getty Images)","chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Fewer young men are in college than in 2011, especially at 4-year schools","description":"College enrollment among young Americans has been declining over the past decade, and it's mostly due to fewer young men pursuing degrees.","og_title":"Fewer young men are in college, especially at 4-year schools","og_description":"College enrollment among young Americans has been declining over the past decade, and it's mostly due to fewer young men pursuing degrees.","schema_type":"Article","noindex":false,"canonical_url":"","primary_terms":{"regions-countries":10822328,"research-teams":10818967},"custom_schema":[],"twitter_description":"College enrollment among young Americans has been declining over the past decade, and it's mostly due to fewer young men pursuing degrees.","og_image":8412,"indexnow_submitted_at":null,"gsc_index_status":null},"prepublish_checks":{},"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"relatedPostsOrdered":[{"date":"2022-04-12T13:56:51","key":"_i0rzrssjr","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/04\/12\/10-facts-about-todays-college-graduates\/","permalink":"","postId":331068,"title":"10 facts about today\u2019s college graduates","label":"Short Reads"},{"date":"2021-11-08T13:00:20","key":"_8ydivtwb2","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/11\/08\/whats-behind-the-growing-gap-between-men-and-women-in-college-completion\/","permalink":"","postId":402551,"title":"What\u2019s behind the growing gap between men and women in college completion?","label":"Short Reads"}],"bylinesOrdered":[{"key":"_uigbxa2jl","termId":984}],"acknowledgementsOrdered":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/short-read\/7798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/short-read"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/short-read"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/648"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7798"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/short-read\/7798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21148,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/short-read\/7798\/revisions\/21148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"bylines","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bylines?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"datasets","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/datasets?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"_post_visibility","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_post_visibility?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"formats","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/formats?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"_fund_pool","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_fund_pool?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"regions-countries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions-countries?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"research-teams","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-teams?post=7798"},{"taxonomy":"workflow-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workflow-status?post=7798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}