The student population at Catawba College is 1,376 (1,262 undergraduate and 114 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 101 (7.92%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 1,290 where 1,376 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 6 year-over-year increases and 3 decreases. It peaked at 1,376 students in 2025 and was lowest at 1,172 in 2023. Overall, enrollment rose from 1,275 to 1,376 students, a net gain of 101 (7.9%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Catawba College since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,275 | 1,270 | 607 | 663 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 2016-17 | 1,306 31 | 1,297 27 | 600 -7 | 697 34 | 9 4 | 0 | 9 4 |
| 2017-18 | 1,336 30 | 1,322 25 | 617 17 | 705 8 | 14 5 | 1 1 | 13 4 |
| 2018-19 | 1,294 -42 | 1,289 -33 | 601 -16 | 688 -17 | 5 -9 | 1 | 4 -9 |
| 2019-20 | 1,324 30 | 1,324 35 | 598 -3 | 726 38 | 0 -5 | 0 -1 | 0 -4 |
| 2020-21 | 1,371 47 | 1,340 16 | 625 27 | 715 -11 | 31 31 | 16 16 | 15 15 |
| 2021-22 | 1,207 -164 | 1,142 -198 | 547 -78 | 595 -120 | 65 34 | 34 18 | 31 16 |
| 2022-23 | 1,172 -35 | 1,094 -48 | 519 -28 | 575 -20 | 78 13 | 38 4 | 40 9 |
| 2023-24 | 1,241 69 | 1,153 59 | 549 30 | 604 29 | 88 10 | 43 5 | 45 5 |
| 2024-25 | 1,376 135 | 1,262 109 | 603 54 | 659 55 | 114 26 | 61 18 | 53 8 |
| Average | 1,290 | 1,249 | 587 | 663 | 41 | 19 | 22 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 1,249 where 1,262 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Catawba College since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,270 | 1,203 | 580 | 623 | 67 | 27 | 40 |
| 2016-17 | 1,297 | 1,243 | 584 | 659 | 54 | 16 | 38 |
| 2017-18 | 1,322 | 1,268 | 602 | 666 | 54 | 15 | 39 |
| 2018-19 | 1,289 | 1,229 | 583 | 646 | 60 | 18 | 42 |
| 2019-20 | 1,324 | 1,222 | 572 | 650 | 102 | 26 | 76 |
| 2020-21 | 1,340 | 1,232 | 601 | 631 | 108 | 24 | 84 |
| 2021-22 | 1,142 | 1,044 | 517 | 527 | 98 | 30 | 68 |
| 2022-23 | 1,094 | 1,000 | 499 | 501 | 94 | 20 | 74 |
| 2023-24 | 1,153 | 1,073 | 537 | 536 | 80 | 12 | 68 |
| 2024-25 | 1,262 | 1,147 | 576 | 571 | 115 | 27 | 88 |
| Average | 1,249 | 1,249 | 565 | 601 | 1,249 | 22 | 62 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 41 where 114 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Catawba College since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 2016-17 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017-18 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 8 |
| 2018-19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 2019-20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | 31 | 29 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2021-22 | 65 | 64 | 34 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2022-23 | 78 | 76 | 37 | 39 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023-24 | 88 | 85 | 41 | 44 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024-25 | 114 | 113 | 60 | 53 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Average | 41 | 41 | 19 | 19 | 41 | 1 | 2 |
The percentage of white students is 53.56%. The percentage was 69.25% 10 years ago and Catawba still has a high percentage of white students. 1.09% of enrolled students is Asian and 20.20% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 9.88% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 69.25% to 53.56%. Asian enrollment grew from 0.78% to 1.09%. Black student enrollment increased from 18.43% to 20.20%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 5.33% to 9.88%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6607 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.4826 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Catawba College over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 4 | 10 | 235 | 68 | 1 | 883 | 38 |
| 2016-17 | 5 | 14 | 244 | 92 | 1 | 878 | 43 |
| 2017-18 | 4 | 10 | 257 | 91 | 1 | 879 | 41 |
| 2018-19 | 5 | 7 | 271 | 94 | 1 | 809 | 47 |
| 2019-20 | 7 | 11 | 285 | 125 | 3 | 779 | 49 |
| 2020-21 | 5 | 14 | 281 | 111 | 2 | 778 | 67 |
| 2021-22 | 4 | 10 | 231 | 99 | 24 | 662 | 55 |
| 2022-23 | 2 | 7 | 230 | 112 | 1 | 639 | 50 |
| 2023-24 | 5 | 14 | 253 | 117 | 2 | 685 | 46 |
| 2024-25 | 3 | 15 | 278 | 136 | 1 | 737 | 57 |
| Average | 4 | 11 | 257 | 105 | 4 | 773 | 49 |
230 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 17% of total students. The number of online students has increased 27.78% since 2020. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Catawba College from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 1,275 | 0 | 161 | 1,114 |
| 2016-17 | 1,306 | 0 | 85 | 1,221 |
| 2017-18 | 1,336 | 0 | 85 | 1,251 |
| 2018-19 | 1,294 | 0 | 153 | 1,141 |
| 2019-20 | 1,324 | 0 | 223 | 1,101 |
| 2020-21 | 1,339 | 180 | 797 | 362 |
| 2021-22 | 1,207 | 163 | 163 | 881 |
| 2022-23 | 1,172 | 184 | 141 | 847 |
| 2023-24 | 1,241 | 187 | 122 | 932 |
| 2024-25 | 1,376 | 230 | 325 | 821 |
| Average | 1,287 | 94 | 226 | 967 |
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