The student population at College of the Desert is 12,861 (all undergraduate). The number of students has increased by 2,395 over the past decade.
The female to male ratio is 1.30 to 1 which means that female students enrolled slightly more than male students.
4,122 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 749.90% since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 11,090 where 12,861 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
The female to male ratio is 1.30 to 1 and it means that there are slightly more female students enrolled in C of the Desert than male students.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at College of the Desert since 2015.
| Year | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 10,466 | 4,791 | 5,675 |
| 2016-17 | 10,792 326 | 4,832 41 | 5,960 285 |
| 2017-18 | 11,146 354 | 4,973 141 | 6,173 213 |
| 2018-19 | 11,412 266 | 5,027 54 | 6,385 212 |
| 2019-20 | 11,919 507 | 5,302 275 | 6,617 232 |
| 2020-21 | 10,932 -987 | 4,401 -901 | 6,531 -86 |
| 2021-22 | 10,229 -703 | 4,205 -196 | 6,024 -507 |
| 2022-23 | 10,382 153 | 4,367 162 | 6,015 -9 |
| 2023-24 | 10,764 382 | 4,623 256 | 6,141 126 |
| 2024-25 | 12,861 2,097 | 5,587 964 | 7,274 1,133 |
| Average | 11,090 | 4,811 | 6,280 |
The percentage of white students is 14.70% and the percentage of black students is 2.38% at College of the Desert. 2.65% of enrolled students is Asian. Hispanic students comprise 73.94% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 19.64% to 14.70%. Asian enrollment declined from 3.20% to 2.65%. Black student enrollment decreased from 2.85% to 2.38%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 68.28% to 73.94%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.4298 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This decreased from 0.4927 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has declined.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at College of the Desert 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 | 37 | 335 | 298 | 7,146 | 19 | 2,056 | 274 |
| 2016-17 | 32 | 334 | 304 | 7,573 | 10 | 1,994 | 289 |
| 2017-18 | 39 | 329 | 313 | 8,049 | 18 | 1,905 | 279 |
| 2018-19 | 35 | 344 | 304 | 8,388 | 12 | 1,857 | 297 |
| 2019-20 | 43 | 354 | 313 | 8,765 | 13 | 1,852 | 304 |
| 2020-21 | 36 | 322 | 257 | 8,066 | 8 | 1,721 | 324 |
| 2021-22 | 27 | 310 | 242 | 7,561 | 6 | 1,594 | 311 |
| 2022-23 | 36 | 307 | 255 | 7,838 | 14 | 1,485 | 289 |
| 2023-24 | 27 | 310 | 262 | 8,208 | 13 | 1,481 | 304 |
| 2024-25 | 37 | 341 | 306 | 9,509 | 8 | 1,891 | 314 |
| Average | 35 | 329 | 285 | 8,110 | 12 | 1,784 | 299 |
4,122 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 32% of total students. The number of online students has increased 749.90% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at College of the Desert from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 10,466 | 485 | 1,731 | 8,250 |
| 2016-17 | 10,792 | 642 | 2,086 | 8,064 |
| 2017-18 | 11,146 | 646 | 2,049 | 8,451 |
| 2018-19 | 11,412 | 798 | 2,334 | 8,280 |
| 2019-20 | 11,919 | 919 | 2,595 | 8,405 |
| 2020-21 | 10,932 | 10,522 | 387 | 23 |
| 2021-22 | 10,229 | 7,621 | 1,344 | 1,264 |
| 2022-23 | 10,382 | 4,078 | 3,568 | 2,736 |
| 2023-24 | 10,764 | 3,635 | 3,802 | 3,327 |
| 2024-25 | 12,861 | 4,122 | 4,016 | 4,723 |
| Average | 11,090 | 3,347 | 2,391 | 5,352 |
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