HBCU Facts and Statistics

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) opened the path to higher education for Black students more than 150 years ago. Now, they enroll just under one-tenth of all Black college students and are a major driver of their socioeconomic mobility.

This report explores how many students enroll in and graduate from these institutions. It also examines how HBCUs are funded and what kinds of financial assistance students are offered to attend them.

List of HBCUs

As of 2022, there were 101 HBCUs in 19 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).^{Note Reference [1]} Nearly every state with an HBCU is in the South or Southeast. Fifty-two are public institutions, and 50 are private institutions.^[3]

HBCU Enrollment

In 2022, 343,682 students were enrolled in HBCUs. Between 1976 and 2022, enrollment at HBCUs increased by more than 54%.^{Note Reference [1]}

• HBCU enrollment peaked in 2010, with 326,614 students enrolled.
• From 1976-2010, enrollment increased by about 47%. But between 2010 and 2021, it decreased by 12%.
• In 2020, HBCU enrollment was at the lowest point it had been in the last 10 years, dropping to 279,157 students.
• Despite dropping in 2020, undergraduate enrollment at HBCUs increased by 0.8% between fall 2020 and fall 2022.^[4]

Black Student Enrollment

Though HBCUs previously served as the only option for Black students to receive a college education, they now serve as one of many. For the last 10 years, about 9% of all Black college students were enrolled at an HBCU.^{Note Reference [1], [5]}

As of 2022, Black students accounted for 70% of all enrolled HBCU students. Over the last 10 years, the percentage of Black HBCU students has decreased by five percentage points while the percentage of non-Black HBCU students has increased by five percentage points.^{Note Reference [1]}

• Black student enrollment at HBCUs peaked in 2010 when 265,908 Black students were enrolled. They accounted for over 81% of the student population that year.
• Non-Black enrollment at HBCUs peaked in 2022 when 101,644 non-Black students were enrolled. They accounted for nearly 30% of the student population during the year.

Enrollment by Sex

Female enrollment at HBCUs has surpassed male enrollment every year since 1976. As of 2021, female students accounted for 64% of HBCU learners.^{Note Reference [1]}

• Over the last 10 years, female enrollment was at its highest in 2010 and its lowest in 2016.
• During the last 10 years, male enrollment peaked in 2010 and dropped to its lowest in 2020.
• Male enrollment in 2020 was the lowest it's been since 1986.

The NCES does not include information about nonbinary or transgender student enrollment.

Enrollment by Institution Type

Private four-year institutions account for the majority of HBCUs, but public four-year schools enroll the largest number of students.^{Note Reference [1]}

• Since 1976, HBCU students enrolled at public four-year institutions accounted for approximately 65% of all HBCU students.
• During the same period, HBCU students enrolled at private four-year institutions accounted for about 25% of all HBCU students.
• Enrollment at public and private two-year institutions has historically accounted for about one-tenth of all HBCU enrollment.

HBCU Graduation Rates

Graduation rates among HBCU students are not as clearly reported as general graduation rates for all students regardless of institution type. But during the 2020-2021 academic year, 48,171 degrees were conferred to HBCU students.^[6] They accounted for 2% of all degrees conferred to undergraduate students in the U.S. during the year.^[7]

According to a 2017 Education Trust survey and data from NCES, Black students who attend HBCUs have an average six-year graduation rate of about 32%.^{Note Reference [2]} By comparison, as of 2021, Black students at non-HBCUs had a six-year graduation rate of roughly 44%.^[8]

Based on the survey, at institutions where 40-75% of first-year students are low-income, Black HBCU students have slightly higher graduation rates than Black students attending non-HBCUs.^{Note Reference [2]}

• The average graduation rate for Black HBCU students was 38% as of 2017.
• The average graduation rate for Black non-HBCU students was 32%.

Some HBCUs report their graduation rates on their websites. As of 2022:

• Spelman College had an average six-year graduation rate of 76%.^[9]
• Howard University had an average four-year graduation rate of 59% and an average six-year graduation rate of 70%.^[10]
• Hampton University had an average six-year graduation rate of 57%, based on students who enrolled in 2015.^[11]
• Morehouse College maintains an average six-year graduation rate of 54%.^[12]

Cost of Attendance at HBCUs

During the 2022-2023 academic year, the average total cost of attendance for on-campus students at HBCUs ranged from $26,791-$30,624.^{Note Reference [1]}

• Average tuition and fees were $11,514 for in-district students and $15,330 for out-of-state students.
• Average costs for books and other supplies were $1,416.
• Average on-campus room and board costs were $9,402.

Financial Aid at HBCUs

A BestColleges analysis of data obtained from the Department of Education's data system found that during the 2021-2022 academic year, the total amount of grant aid awarded to HBCU students at 101 institutions was $551 million.^{Note Reference [1]}

• On average, 85% of undergraduate HBCU students were awarded federal, state, local, or institutional grant aid during the 2021-2022 academic year.
• The average amount of grant aid awarded to undergraduate HBCU students was $11,177.
• During the same year, 61% of undergraduate HBCU students were awarded Pell Grants.
• The average amount of Pell Grant aid awarded to students in 2021-2022 was $5,470.
• 54% of undergraduate HBCU students were awarded federal student loans.
• The average federal student loan amount awarded to undergraduate HBCU students was $5,952.

HBCU Funding

Like all other institutions, government funding is an essential part of HBCUs' revenue. However, HBCUs rely on funding more so than other institutions. In 2021, funds from federal, state, and local governments accounted for 46% of HBCUs' total $12 billion revenue.^{Note Reference [7]} By comparison, government funding in 2021 accounted for about 39% of all institutions' revenue.^[13]

• In 2021, funds from federal, state, and local governments were 56% of public HBCUs' total revenue.^{Note Reference [6]}
• At private HBCUs where revenue tends to be driven by tuition and fees rather than funding, government funds still made up 31% of total revenue.^{Note Reference [6]}

Under federal law, 18 HBCUs are considered land-grant institutions.^[14] This status entitles them to receive the same funding per student as all other land-grant institutions. However, according to a 2022 Forbes analysis, at least 16 land-grant HBCUs have been underfunded by a total of $12.8 billion since 1987.^[15]

In March 2022, the Biden administration announced a state-by-state breakdown of funding that would be awarded to HBCUs under the American Rescue Plan. Under the plan, HBCUs received more than $2.7 billion in federal funding.^[16]

Frequently Asked Questions About HBCUs