Community Colleges Industry Profile

Establishments in this industry provide academic and occupational courses of study and grant associate degrees, certificates, or diplomas below the baccalaureate level. Major US community colleges include Houston Community College, Ivy Tech Community College, Lone Star College, Northern Virginia Community College, and Tarrant County College.

Community colleges are becoming increasingly popular outside the US as avenues for addressing workforce needs and expanding access to higher learning. In India, the federal government and nongovernmental organizations oversee hundreds of community colleges. About 3 million students are enrolled in higher education colleges in the UK, according to Statista. The community college model has also been widely adopted in Japan, South Korea, and France.

The educational service industry in the US, that includes community colleges, has about 80,000 establishments and a combined annual revenue of about $65 billion.

Institutions that grant baccalaureate and higher-level degrees are covered in the Colleges and Universities profile; technical and trade schools are addressed in the Education & Training Services profile.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand depends on the demographic composition of the communities that surround a school and local employment needs. The profitability of individual institutions depends on efficient operations. Large community colleges have advantages in being able to offer a broader range of programs. Smaller institutions can compete effectively by specializing.

In 2022, there were about 940 public community colleges in the US. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, community ...