Census data: School enrollment down from 2019 to 2020

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Fewer people in the United States are enrolling in school according to new Census data released Tuesday.

Preschool enrollment for 3 and 4-year-olds fell from 54% in 2019 to 40% in 2020.

It’s the first time since 1996 that fewer than half the children in this age group were enrolled.

College enrollment was at its lowest since 2007. Census data shows most of the decline was in two-year colleges, which saw their lowest enrollment levels in 20 years. Those results reflect findings of a News10NBC Investigation into a 47% drop in enrollment at Monroe Community College.

There was little change in graduate school enrollment.

Among college students in 2020, 53% were non-Hispanic White, 20% were Hispanic, 15% were Black and 10% were Asian.

In total, U.S. school enrollment dropped by 2.9 million from 2019 to 2020, according to the data.

The Census did caution that overall response to the October Current Population Survey declined from 84% in 2019 to 81% in 2020, which may have impacted the results.