50.6% of college applicants to Wake County’s 16 universities were admitted for fall 2022

Wake County’s 16 universities admitted an estimated 50.6% of applicants for fall 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those who were admitted, 28.8% enrolled.

Of the 16 institutions in the county, six provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including North Carolina State University at Raleigh, Meredith College and Shaw University.

At least 46,190 people applied to Wake County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.

NCES data shows that among them, around 67,276 students enrolled in the universities, including 54,314 in undergraduate and 12,962 in graduate programs. In total 5.7% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.

The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of white (55.3%) and Black or African American (16.5%) students.

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, North Carolina State University at Raleigh stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 36,700 students.

U.S. college enrollment has been in a downward trend since peaking at around 18.1 million students in 2010. Recent increases offered some relief, but experts project a steeper decline in 2025.

This decline is likely due to two main factors. First, the pool of young adults is shrinking as birth rates have fallen nearly 23% between 2007 and 2022. Second, the rising cost of higher education, including skyrocketing student loan debt. A 2023 Wall Street Journal report shows that more than half of Americans think a four-year degree is not worth the cost.

NCES shows that enrollment data was not available for four institutions in Wake County, including Strayer University-South Raleigh Campus, ECPI University-Raleigh and Strayer University-North Raleigh Campus.

Some educational data is based on estimates. Shifting demographics among student populations can sometimes result in gender totals which do not equal 100%.