How many colleges are there anyway? Version 2022

I've always been fascinated by the idea of "colleges." We think we know what we mean when we say it, but do we really?

When some people say "college" they might mean any four-year college that enrolls undergraduates. Others might mean everything except for-profit colleges. Do you include community colleges in your group? Some people do, and others don't.

And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that when some major news outlets talk about "college" they are really talking about the 15 or 50 institutions their readers or listeners fascinate over.

Well, now you can see the answer. Sort of. I started with IPEDS data, which includes all post-secondary institutions that receive Title IV aid. There are many institutions in the US that don't and although they can report to IPEDS, they are not required to, and many don't.

But if we start with all the IPEDS institutions that enrolled at least one student in 2022, you get 5,978. And that's where the fun begins.

There are two quick views here.

The first view (using the tabs across the top) shows several common ways of breaking colleges into groups: By region, Carnegie type, and control, for instance. It's not interactive, but you can see how your concept of colleges might be too small.

The second tab makes up in interactivity what the first tab missed. Use any of the filters to filter to the number based on your definition: Some of the filters are discrete, some are numeric ranges. Any combination is fine, and the pink bar will update automatically with the new count. Be sure to read the instructions at the bottom about how to use the discrete filters.

Anything jump out at you here? Leave a comment below.

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