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
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