Berks Vital Signs

Education

Change in College Enrollment

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Change in College Enrollment

What does this measure?

The change since 2002 of people enrolled in a postsecondary educational institution (college, university, community college).

Why is this important?

Higher education is associated with greater earnings and standard of living, and the rate of students pursuing further education also provides an indirect measure of the strength of the high schools.

How is our county performing?

In 2019, Berks County had a 9% increase in college enrollment since 2002, enrolling over 25,000 students. Among neighboring counties in 2019, Lebanon (-37%) and Schuylkill (-64%) had decreased enrollment, while Lehigh (32%) and Montgomery (39%) counties had increased enrollment since 2002.

Notes about the data

This measure includes students attending vocational schools and 2- and 4-year colleges. Data for this indicator are released annually in November.

There may be additional research available on this topic. Click on Reports and Resources to learn more.

Change in College Enrollment

	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Pennsylvania	N/A	5%	8%	8%	11%	13%	15%	18%	26%	27%	24%	20%	20%	17%	15%	12%	10%	7%
Berks County	N/A	10%	19%	25%	28%	30%	32%	39%	39%	40%	37%	31%	25%	22%	19%	17%	13%	9%
Berks County Regions
Central
Northeast
South
Southeast
West
Reading city
Berks County Peers
Chester County	N/A	-2%	2%	12%	14%	15%	15%	15%	19%	17%	14%	12%	8%	4%	3%	2%	2%	-0%
Lancaster County	N/A	8%	11%	15%	20%	26%	29%	-9%	-6%	-4%	-6%	-3%	-4%	-4%	-5%	-4%	-5%	-4%
Lebanon County	N/A	3%	3%	2%	3%	4%	2%	-35%	-34%	-34%	-35%	-38%	-35%	-38%	-39%	-40%	-37%	-37%
Lehigh County	N/A	21%	28%	32%	35%	35%	38%	42%	49%	44%	38%	34%	28%	25%	30%	30%	33%	32%
Montgomery County	N/A	5%	11%	12%	17%	19%	22%	26%	34%	39%	38%	29%	76%	71%	63%	51%	42%	39%
Schuylkill County	N/A	2%	29%	35%	35%	35%	32%	83%	296%	336%	175%	172%	183%	115%	-40%	-39%	-58%	-64%

Source: Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
Notes: Rate is percentage change since 2002.

Number of People Enrolled in Local Colleges

	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Pennsylvania	832,104	872,949	895,459	897,859	922,486	941,825	956,534	978,649	1,046,978	1,055,521	1,029,375	998,982	999,010	976,541	952,875	933,499	914,163	886,725
Berks County	23,101	25,368	27,407	28,858	29,518	30,085	30,519	32,121	32,156	32,449	31,654	30,263	28,934	28,135	27,552	27,033	26,083	25,267
Berks County Regions
Central
Northeast
South
Southeast
West
Reading city
Berks County Peers
Chester County	28,608	28,036	29,132	31,948	32,669	32,908	32,936	32,944	34,119	33,527	32,701	31,942	30,833	29,745	29,409	29,285	29,067	28,531
Lancaster County	22,479	24,363	24,897	25,856	27,085	28,357	29,080	20,457	21,079	21,469	21,228	21,700	21,481	21,535	21,356	21,666	21,371	21,531
Lebanon County	4,103	4,235	4,206	4,170	4,242	4,251	4,203	2,657	2,708	2,720	2,681	2,561	2,662	2,548	2,523	2,471	2,604	2,575
Lehigh County	17,326	21,048	22,104	22,786	23,441	23,362	23,996	24,666	25,877	25,018	23,954	23,143	22,155	21,626	22,486	22,554	22,988	22,829
Montgomery County	40,250	42,265	44,520	44,973	46,923	47,909	48,982	50,707	53,758	55,956	55,703	52,003	71,034	68,872	65,620	60,647	57,109	56,008
Schuylkill County	2,509	2,552	3,236	3,397	3,381	3,379	3,304	4,594	9,925	10,942	6,894	6,813	7,109	5,392	1,517	1,520	1,048	915

Source: Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

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