America’s Colleges Are Hurtling Toward an Enrollment Cliff

“Higher education is hitting a demographic cliff. After years of growth, the pipeline of 18-year-olds is dwindling—a result of lower birthrates,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The largest number of Americans born in a single year arrived on campus in the autumn of 2025, and now a falloff is looming. College enrollments are forecast to drop 13% by 2041… In some parts of the country—especially the Midwest and the Northeast—the declines have already begun.”