Compare the States

The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Explore the five sortable tables below to discover how the states and the District of Columbia compare in terms of their demographic challenges, the educational level of their residents, faculty pay, college enrollment, tuition costs, and much more. For an overview of higher education in the country, see the United States page. Return to the main Almanac page.

  • OVERVIEW
  • ENROLLMENT
  • GRADUATION RATES
  • FINANCE
  • DEMOGRAPHICS
STATE TOTAL INSTITUTIONS TOTALENROLLMENT MINORITYENROLLMENT HIGHEST EDUCATION LEVEL: BACHELOR’S DEGREE 6-YEAR GRADUATION RATE, ALL 4-YEAR PUBLIC TUITION AVG. PROFESSOR’S SALARY, PUBLIC DOCTORAL INSTITUTIONS CHANGE IN STATE SUPPORT FOR OPERATING EXPENSES TOTAL STATE SPENDING ON STUDENT AID
Alabama 77 302,959 32.3% 15.4% 49.0% $9,149 $85,213 4.5% $6,141,679
Alaska 9 31,331 25.8% 18.7% 32.0% $6,880 $83,388 -6.9% $21,003,391
Arizona 86 649,732 35.8% 17.4% 50.9% $9,901 $88,252 4.7% $23,163,157
Arkansas 53 168,402 24.8% 14.0% 44.3% $7,582 $78,417 1.1% $129,902,086
California 447 2,691,241 58.3% 20.3% 66.6% $9,245 $116,640 2.5% $1,872,203,792
Colorado 86 352,209 25.9% 24.8% 56.4% $8,783 $88,166 0.2% $147,852,708
Connecticut 43 199,666 30.2% 21.7% 68.3% $11,117 $111,161 -4.1% $146,327,604
Delaware 11 60,392 29.9% 18.0% 66.6% $11,680 $109,695 2.1% $25,025,804
District of Columbia 20 93,995 38.8% 23.8% 76.0% $5,251 n/a n/a $31,079,471
Florida 230 1,083,026 45.2% 18.2% 58.8% $4,346 $87,707 4.8% $551,797,144
Georgia 131 531,299 43.1% 18.6% 49.1% $7,012 $81,860 5.2% $654,568,440
Hawaii 20 69,331 50.1% 20.8% 50.1% $9,411 $100,704 10.5% $4,327,994
Idaho 19 121,108 11.0% 17.8% 46.0% $6,918 $66,883 9.9% $6,290,461
Illinois 183 802,731 35.5% 20.3% 62.7% $13,435 $89,711 0.0% $362,378,811
Indiana 85 429,386 17.4% 16.0% 59.5% $8,771 $85,752 0.3% $321,912,940
Iowa 64 275,106 18.7% 18.2% 67.0% $7,879 $95,457 0.7% $66,978,915
Kansas 74 219,350 20.3% 20.4% 53.7% $8,043 $80,509 0.3% $22,496,677
Kentucky 72 259,393 13.6% 13.6% 49.6% $9,503 $88,091 -0.5% $208,032,898
Louisiana 65 247,531 37.3% 15.2% 48.1% $8,139 $76,289 -7.2% $278,253,837
Maine 33 71,715 8.8% 19.5% 58.8% $9,179 $82,148 4.8% $16,192,065
Maryland 59 368,456 41.9% 21.1% 67.1% $8,530 $99,973 5.5% $107,829,515
Massachusetts 124 510,396 25.3% 23.1% 72.0% $11,666 $100,396 3.4% $137,660,086
Michigan 112 600,203 20.1% 17.0% 59.9% $11,611 $92,643 2.8% $101,479,258
Minnesota 115 427,757 23.7% 22.9% 63.2% $10,815 $101,320 0.7% $257,490,929
Mississippi 41 172,136 40.8% 13.0% 51.8% $7,162 $74,107 -2.4% $40,480,347
Missouri 125 409,996 19.6% 17.3% 55.8% $8,198 $80,876 5.2% $111,341,995
Montana 23 50,798 13.3% 20.4% 46.1% $6,429 $72,563 1.6% $5,907,535
Nebraska 43 136,087 17.4% 19.8% 59.4% $7,430 $87,474 0.8% $149,897,209
Nevada 26 116,097 42.4% 15.5% 43.3% $5,172 $90,197 6.0% $55,591,515
New Hampshire 27 123,966 14.8% 21.9% 68.4% $14,955 $99,746 -2.1% $10,000
New Jersey 72 423,779 40.5% 23.3% 65.2% $13,105 $99,661 0.7% $577,914,697
New Mexico 43 138,189 57.6% 14.4% 40.4% $6,271 $78,367 -4.8% $123,635,050
New York 308 1,290,916 38.6% 20.0% 65.9% $7,519 $92,800 2.8% $1,104,266,622
North Carolina 150 562,442 33.5% 18.9% 60.9% $6,949 $86,803 3.9% $376,780,320
North Dakota 20 53,840 11.8% 21.5% 51.1% $7,220 $69,747 3.4% $19,484,451
Ohio 211 668,879 17.5% 16.8% 56.9% $9,772 $85,751 3.5% $127,927,610
Oklahoma 67 210,904 26.7% 16.5% 47.4% $6,638 $82,556 -7.6% $308,984,720
Oregon 63 240,646 20.4% 20.2% 60.2% $9,444 $82,286 5.0% $136,247,982
Pennsylvania 259 755,945 21.8% 18.1% 67.1% $13,540 $92,702 2.8% $475,473,535
Rhode Island 13 82,292 22.4% 19.3% 69.6% $11,339 $89,072 5.3% $7,365,566
South Carolina 77 249,654 31.4% 17.3% 57.2% $11,792 $90,710 6.7% $372,238,544
South Dakota 25 53,664 12.7% 19.6% 51.4% $8,258 $69,383 9.3% $5,443,708
Tennessee 107 323,499 25.1% 16.1% 50.6% $8,925 $76,587 5.6% $368,234,913
Texas 277 1,571,993 53.2% 18.7% 52.7% $7,997 $86,476 2.5% $1,023,516,697
Utah 36 293,527 16.7% 21.1% 54.9% $6,159 $85,289 4.9% $117,719,568
Vermont 23 43,711 10.2% 22.3% 66.0% $15,057 $88,259 1.7% $20,372,912
Virginia 130 569,799 33.0% 21.3% 66.0% $11,643 $96,533 10.3% $651,903,337
Washington 86 365,412 24.5% 21.7% 68.4% $7,594 $97,914 6.1% $383,466,098
West Virginia 45 150,743 18.0% 11.7% 45.4% $6,914 $84,500 -0.4% $145,021,663
Wisconsin 84 350,248 15.8% 18.9% 60.6% $8,502 $92,504 0.2% $137,754,914
Wyoming 10 34,205 11.3% 17.3% 55.4% $4,178 $86,080 -8.8% $15,145,365

About the data

Data cover all degree-granting institutions eligible to receive Title IV federal financial aid, unless otherwise specified. Data on state population, age distribution, educational attainment, the proportion of state residents who speak a language other than English at home, per capita income, and the poverty rate are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey.

Overall enrollment and enrollment by race and ethnicity are from the U.S. Department of Education for the fall of 2015. Minority enrollment represents American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, blacks, Hispanics, Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, and students of two or more races. Racial categories exclude people of Hispanic ethnicity, who are shown separately and may be of any race. “Nonresident aliens” are natives of foreign countries who are studying in the United States on a temporary basis.

Average pay of full-time professors is from the 2015-16 academic year, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education, and is adjusted to a standard nine-month work year. Medical-school faculty members are excluded. The number of degrees awarded is based on U.S. Department of Education data collected for the 2014-15 academic year. Professional degrees like medical and law degrees are included in the number of doctorates. Average tuition and fees cover undergraduate charges for 2015-16 and are weighted by the full-time-equivalent undergraduate enrollment in the previous year. Figures for public institutions represent charges to state residents. Six-year graduation rates are for first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students who entered degree-granting four-year institutions in the fall of 2009 and graduated within six years. Those figures are also from the U.S. Department of Education.

SAT scores are for 2016; figures are from the College Board. ACT scores are also for 2016. One-year change in state funds for higher-education operating expenses reflect the difference between 2015-16 and 2016-17; data are from the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University. Illinois data are being reviewed and are not yet available. Total state spending on student aid is for 2014-15; data are from the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.

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