How Many Colleges Are in the US?

As of 2013, the number of higher education institutions established in the United States is 4,726. This includes both two-year and four-year institutions, as well as for-profit and nonprofit schools.

The term “college” is used to describe all higher education institutions in the United States; an institution identified as a “university” generally confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. As of 2013, there are 3,026 four-year institutions and 1,700 two-year institutions in the USA. Of these, 1,623 schools are public and 3,103 are private; of the private schools, 1,451 are for-profit. There are 3,275 nonprofit public and private institutions of higher learning in the United States.