Question
How many colleges are there in the US?
5,581 colleges in the fifty states and the District of Columbia took federal student aid in IPEDS's 2025–26 collection: 1,865 public, 1,672 private nonprofit and 2,044 private for-profit, according to IPEDS.
2,619 award four-year degrees.
Data retrieved
The figures behind this
| Control | Colleges | Twelve-month enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Public | 1,865 | 19,161,326 |
| Private nonprofit | 1,672 | 5,529,173 |
| Private for-profit | 2,044 | 1,942,139 |
Where to go next
More questions about Schools
- How many public schools are there in the US?
99,073 2024–25
- How many students are in public schools?
49,034,047 2024–25
- How much do schools spend per student?
$17,452 fiscal year 2024
- What is the largest school district in the US?
837,777 2024–25
Sources
- IPEDS — every postsecondary institution, with NCES's derived headline measures — National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
Compiled automatically from IPEDS — every postsecondary institution, with NCES's derived headline measures by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built
How to cite this page
Cite the page’s address and the date printed on it, and name National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education as the source of the figures.
American Factbook. “How many colleges are there in the US?.” Updated September 25, 2026. https://americanfactbook.org/schools/how-many-colleges-are-there. Source: IPEDS — every postsecondary institution, with NCES's derived headline measures, https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/DataFiles.aspx.