64.5% of college applicants to Hudson County’s 9 universities were admitted for fall 2022

Hudson County’s nine universities admitted an estimated 64.5% of applicants for fall 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those who were admitted, 15.1% enrolled.

Of the nine institutions in the county, four provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including New Jersey City University, Saint Peter’s University and Stevens Institute of Technology.

At least 21,959 people applied to Hudson County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.

NCES data shows that among them, around 27,188 students enrolled in the universities, including 18,941 in undergraduate and 8,247 in graduate programs. Only 3.7% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.

The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of Hispanic (41.7%) and white (23.2%) students.

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, Stevens Institute of Technology stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 9,314 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.

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