Racial Differences in School and College Enrollments by Age Group

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that in October 2009 nearly 12 million African Americans were enrolled in school at some level. This was 32.4 percent of all African Americans over the age of 3. In contrast, 23.9 percent of all white Americans over the age of 3 were enrolled in school in October 2009. The reasons for the disparity include the fact that a higher percentage of young blacks compared to young whites are enrolled in preschool. Another factor is that blacks often stay enrolled in college and in graduate school longer than is the case for whites.

Eight percent of all African Americans over the age of 3 were enrolled in college or graduate school in October 2009. For whites, the figure is 6.8 percent. Whites are more likely than blacks to be enrolled in college in the traditional 18-22 age group. But older blacks are more likely than older whites to be enrolled in college. For example, 10 percent of blacks in the 30-34 age group are enrolled in college compared to 8 percent of whites in the age group. For those in the 35-44 age group, 7.2 percent of blacks and 4.4 percent of whites were enrolled in college.

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