How many people drop out of college?

About 32% of students who entered school in 2015 had dropped out of college six years later. However, due to the underreporting of transfers, the percentage of students who drop out of college is tricky to determine.

Why do students drop out of college?

Students most commonly drop out of college due to personal or familial issues, financial difficulties, or to pursue another career path. But students might also drop out due to stress, dissatisfaction or lack of interest in their studies, uncertainty about their future plans, or because they are unable to finish a course or graduate.

What percentage of college students drop out during their first year?

First-year students have an average dropout rate of approximately 24%.

Are college dropout rates increasing?

Overall dropout rates among first-year college students have declined. In 2006, dropout rates were 29%, but as of 2020, only about 24% of first-year students dropped out of school.

College Dropout Rate in the U.S.

Updated on January 25, 2024

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• Fact-checked by Marley Rose

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More than 39 million Americans have some college experience with no degree. But dropout rates have steadily decreased over the last decade.

College graduate student wearing a blue cap and gown sits alone in an empty outdoor auditorium before his graduation ceremony.

Credit: Image Credit: Sean De Burca / The Image Bank / Getty Images

Data Summary

Between 2020 and 2021, about 24% of first-time, full-time undergraduate first-year students dropped out of college.^[1]
In 2022, 29.2% of students who enrolled in 2017 were no longer enrolled six years later and had not received their degree.^[2]
As of July 2021, 40.4 million Americans (about 16% of the total adult population) had some college experience but no degree.^[3]
About 1.4 million Americans had completed four or more years of college but had no degree in 2021.^[4]
Based on 10 years of data, men’s average dropout rate is five percentage points higher than women’s.^[5]
American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, and Pacific Islander first-year students’ average dropout rates are more than eight percentage points higher than their Hispanic, white, and Asian peers’.^{Note Reference [5]}

More than 1 million college students drop out of school each year. From financial strains, to familial responsibilities, to dissatisfaction with their degree program, students often find themselves at a crossroads when deciding whether or not to stay in school.

This report outlines the populations most likely to drop out of college, why they do so, and how dropping out can impact their future.

The Overall College Dropout Rate

As of 2022, approximately 29.2% of students who entered school in 2017 neither earned their degree nor were enrolled at any other institution six years later.^{Note Reference [2]} Because of how recently this data collection period ended, there is still a chance that some of these students will re-enroll or have already re-enrolled at another institution.

Did You Know?

Determining the overall college dropout rate can be a challenge.

Institutions most commonly track the number of students who are no longer enrolled or who do not receive a degree. However, these numbers often don’t account for students who re-enroll at another institution. As such, dropout rates may be overestimated.

For first-year students, the most recent dropout rates are a little clearer.

Between 2016 and 2021, the average dropout rate for first-year, full-time students was 24.4%.^[6]
Since 2006-2007, the dropout rate for first-time, full-time, first-year undergraduates has decreased by almost five percentage points.

College Dropout Rates by School Type

For first-year students attending college for the first time, the college dropout rate is highest at public, two-year institutions.^{Note Reference [6]}

Between 2020 and 2021, 2 in 5 (39%) full-time, first-year undergraduates at public two-year schools — such as community colleges — dropped out of school.
First-year undergraduates who attended nonprofit four-year institutions had the lowest dropout rate from 2020-2021 at 18.9%.
Overall, students attending for-profit institutions are historically more likely to drop out than students attending public or nonprofit institutions. However, for-profit two-year institutions buck this trend.

College Dropout Rate Demographics

Different demographic groups, such as those based on race, sex/gender, and age, have varying dropout rates. As with all dropout rates, some students who are counted as dropouts may have transferred to another institution without notifying their first institution.

College Dropout Rates by Race

Based on 10 years of data spanning 2006-2015, American Indian/Alaska Native first-year students have the highest average dropout rate at about 40%.^{Note Reference [5]} This is roughly 10 percentage points higher than the most recent average dropout rate for all students.
Black and Pacific Islander first-year students also dropped out at higher rates than Hispanic, White, and Asian students.^{Note Reference [5]}
Asian students have consistently had the lowest dropout rate after their first year of all other racial/ethnic groups at an average of 15.6%.^{Note Reference [5]}

College Dropout Rates by Gender

Women are more likely to complete college in four years than men, and the data suggests that they are also less likely to drop out of school. However, data directly comparing the percentage of women who drop out to men is scarce.

About 51% of women who enrolled in college in 2014 completed their degree within four years compared to 41% of men.^[7]
Women have tended to complete their degree within four years at a rate 26% higher than men on average within the past 10 years of available data.^{Note Reference [7]}
On average, six years after enrolling, about 23% of women are no longer enrolled in school compared to about 28% of men.^{Note Reference [5]}

Neither the National Center for Education Statistics nor the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports on dropout rates for nonbinary students, transgender students, intersex students, or other students outside of the male/female or man/woman binary.

College Dropout Rates by State

Large states like California, Texas, and New York have the highest number of residents with some college experience yet no degree. However, Oregon has the largest percentage of these individuals relative to the state’s total population.^{Note Reference [3]}

Table: Percentage of Americans With Some College, No Degree by State, 2021

State⇅	Percentage With Some College, No Degree⇅
Alabama	13.6%
Alaska	24.9%
Arizona	14.6%
Arkansas	15.5%
California	24.6%
Colorado	17.9%
Connecticut	15.2%
Delaware	9.6%
Florida	10.5%
Georgia	10.7%

…

Reasons Why College Students Drop Out

In a 2021 UPCEA survey of 3,236 individuals aged 20-34, the most common reasons students say they ultimately left their institution were money and personal/family issues.^[8]

Nearly one-third of students (32%) selected personal/family issues as the reason they ultimately left school.
Just under one-quarter of students (24%) cited money, while 11% said work/pursue a career path, and 10% said they were disinterested/dissatisfied with school.
Younger students were most likely of any respondents to say disinterest/dissatisfaction with school was their main reason for dropping out.

Economic Impacts of College Dropouts

College dropouts borrow more money on average to pay for school than their counterparts who complete their degrees.^[9] They are also left with less ability to pay back their student loan debt, as dropouts earn less and have higher rates of unemployment than those with degrees.^[10]

Students who began school in 2003 and were no longer enrolled six years later paid 14-59% more per credit than their counterparts who completed a degree within six years.^{Note Reference [9]}
As of 2021, those over the age of 25 with some college but no degree had median weekly earnings of $935 and an unemployment rate of 3.5%.^{Note Reference [10]}
Those over the age of 25 with a bachelor’s degree or higher took home at least $1,432 in median weekly earnings and had an unemployment rate of 2.2% or less.^{Note Reference [10]}

Frequently Asked Questions About College Dropout Rates

About 32% of students who entered school in 2015 had dropped out of college six years later.^{Note Reference [2]} However, due to the underreporting of transfers, the percentage of students who drop out of college is tricky to determine.