By Angie Nga Le

 

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has just released its annual final estimates of higher education enrollment for the 2024 fall term[1]. According to this report, total postsecondary enrollment in New Jersey for Fall 2024 was over 365,000, a 5.6% increase compared to the previous year. However, this figure remains slightly lower than the pre-pandemic enrollment of over 381,000 in 2019. Since 2019, Fall 2024 presents the second year of annual growth in higher education enrollment in New Jersey. The other year of growth is 2022, when postsecondary enrollment rose by 2.0%, reaching a total of more than 354,000 (Figure 1).

Total enrollment across all types of institutions grew year-over-year in Fall 2024, except in public two-year institutions where enrollment remained steady at nearly 111,000. Public four-year institutions saw a 4.8% increase in enrollment, exceeding 185,000, while private nonprofit four-year institutions experienced a double-digit increase of 17.0%, reaching over 66,000 (Figure 1).

Undergraduate enrollment in New Jersey surpassed 300,000 in 2024, representing a 5.7% growth compared to the previous year. Similar to overall enrollment trends, undergraduate enrollment grew in public four-year and private nonprofit four-year institutions (by 6.3% and 17.7%, respectively) but remained unchanged in public two-year institutions (Figure 2).

Graduate enrollment in New Jersey rose by 5.2%, surpassing 65,000 in Fall 2024. Notably, enrollment growth in graduate programs at private nonprofit four-year institutions was significantly higher than at public four-year institutions (15.8% compared to 0.1%). Unlike undergraduate enrollment and overall trends, graduate enrollment in 2024 surpassed pre-pandemic levels, exceeding 2019 enrollment levels. (Figure 3).

In 2024, the five most enrolled majors across various institution types included Business and Management, Computer Science, and Health. Among undergraduate four-year programs, Liberal Arts and Sciences and Psychology made the top five, while at two-year institutions, Liberal Arts and Sciences and Security Services completed the list. In graduate programs, Education and Engineering emerged among the five most popular fields of study. Health majors at two-year institutions experienced the most significant growth, rising by 12.0%, while Computer Science graduate programs saw the largest decline, dropping by 12.2% in 2024.

 

Figure 1. Total Enrollment in New Jersey

Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2025). Current Term Enrollment Estimates: Fall 2024. https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/?hilite=PAB

 

Figure 2. Undergraduate Enrollment in New Jersey

Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2025). Current Term Enrollment Estimates: Fall 2024. https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/?hilite=PAB

 

Figure 3. Graduate Enrollment in New Jersey

Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2025). Current Term Enrollment Estimates: Fall 2024. https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/?hilite=PAB

 

Angie Nga Le is a postdoctoral associate in the New Jersey State Policy Lab.

 

References:

[1] National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2025). Current Term Enrollment Estimates: Fall 2024. https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/?hilite=PAB