The student population at Iowa State University is 30,380 (25,628 undergraduate and 4,752 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 5,334 over the past decade.
The percentage of undergraduate students at ISU is 84.36% which is decreased by 4,406 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 928 and it has been decreasing.
The female to male ratio is 0.84 to 1 which means that male students enrolled slightly more than female students.
972 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has decreased by -32.92% since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 32,964 where 30,380 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
84.36% of total students is undergraduate students and 15.64% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has decreased by 4,406 and the graduate enrollment has decreased by 928 over past 10 years.
The female to male ratio is 0.84 to 1 and it means that there are slightly more male students enrolled in ISU than female students.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Iowa State University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 35,714 | 30,034 | 17,071 | 12,963 | 5,680 | 3,084 | 2,596 |
| 2016-17 | 36,350 636 | 30,671 637 | 17,585 514 | 13,086 123 | 5,679 -1 | 3,118 34 | 2,561 -35 |
| 2017-18 | 36,158 -192 | 30,571 -100 | 17,586 1 | 12,985 -101 | 5,587 -92 | 3,085 -33 | 2,502 -59 |
| 2018-19 | 34,992 -1,166 | 29,621 -950 | 17,076 -510 | 12,545 -440 | 5,371 -216 | 2,834 -251 | 2,537 35 |
| 2019-20 | 33,372 -1,620 | 28,294 -1,327 | 16,197 -879 | 12,097 -448 | 5,078 -293 | 2,635 -199 | 2,443 -94 |
| 2020-21 | 31,822 -1,550 | 26,843 -1,451 | 15,170 -1,027 | 11,673 -424 | 4,979 -99 | 2,499 -136 | 2,480 37 |
| 2021-22 | 30,708 -1,114 | 25,808 -1,035 | 14,467 -703 | 11,341 -332 | 4,900 -79 | 2,481 -18 | 2,419 -61 |
| 2022-23 | 29,969 -739 | 25,241 -567 | 14,072 -395 | 11,169 -172 | 4,728 -172 | 2,345 -136 | 2,383 -36 |
| 2023-24 | 30,177 208 | 25,332 91 | 14,034 -38 | 11,298 129 | 4,845 117 | 2,425 80 | 2,420 37 |
| 2024-25 | 30,380 203 | 25,628 296 | 14,119 85 | 11,509 211 | 4,752 -93 | 2,406 -19 | 2,346 -74 |
| Average | 32,964 | 27,804 | 15,738 | 12,067 | 5,160 | 2,691 | 2,469 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 27,804 where 25,628 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 Iowa State University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 30,034 | 28,771 | 16,297 | 12,474 | 1,263 | 774 | 489 |
| 2016-17 | 30,671 | 28,872 | 16,504 | 12,368 | 1,799 | 1,081 | 718 |
| 2017-18 | 30,571 | 28,743 | 16,456 | 12,287 | 1,828 | 1,130 | 698 |
| 2018-19 | 29,621 | 27,929 | 16,043 | 11,886 | 1,692 | 1,033 | 659 |
| 2019-20 | 28,294 | 26,713 | 15,231 | 11,482 | 1,581 | 966 | 615 |
| 2020-21 | 26,843 | 25,271 | 14,184 | 11,087 | 1,572 | 986 | 586 |
| 2021-22 | 25,808 | 24,461 | 13,635 | 10,826 | 1,347 | 832 | 515 |
| 2022-23 | 25,241 | 23,992 | 13,297 | 10,695 | 1,249 | 775 | 474 |
| 2023-24 | 25,332 | 24,111 | 13,263 | 10,848 | 1,221 | 771 | 450 |
| 2024-25 | 25,628 | 24,445 | 13,417 | 11,028 | 1,183 | 702 | 481 |
| Average | 27,804 | 27,804 | 14,833 | 11,498 | 27,804 | 905 | 569 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 5,160 where 4,752 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 Iowa State University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 5,680 | 3,728 | 1,945 | 1,783 | 1,952 | 1,139 | 813 |
| 2016-17 | 5,679 | 3,428 | 1,796 | 1,632 | 2,251 | 1,322 | 929 |
| 2017-18 | 5,587 | 3,426 | 1,816 | 1,610 | 2,161 | 1,269 | 892 |
| 2018-19 | 5,371 | 3,284 | 1,639 | 1,645 | 2,087 | 1,195 | 892 |
| 2019-20 | 5,078 | 3,068 | 1,499 | 1,569 | 2,010 | 1,136 | 874 |
| 2020-21 | 4,979 | 3,031 | 1,458 | 1,573 | 1,948 | 1,041 | 907 |
| 2021-22 | 4,900 | 3,092 | 1,519 | 1,573 | 1,808 | 962 | 846 |
| 2022-23 | 4,728 | 3,029 | 1,447 | 1,582 | 1,699 | 898 | 801 |
| 2023-24 | 4,845 | 3,198 | 1,550 | 1,648 | 1,647 | 875 | 772 |
| 2024-25 | 4,752 | 3,070 | 1,504 | 1,566 | 1,682 | 902 | 780 |
| Average | 5,160 | 5,160 | 1,617 | 1,618 | 5,160 | 1,074 | 851 |
The percentage of white students is 69.53%. The percentage was 71.45% 10 years ago and ISU still has a high percentage of white students. 4.09% of enrolled students is Asian and 2.37% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 6.56% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 71.45% to 69.53%. Asian enrollment grew from 2.78% to 4.09%. Black student enrollment decreased from 2.64% to 2.37%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 4.38% to 6.56%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.5092 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This increased from 0.4858 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Iowa State University 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 | 91 | 993 | 943 | 1,564 | 35 | 25,516 | 700 |
| 2016-17 | 75 | 1,083 | 954 | 1,724 | 29 | 25,550 | 752 |
| 2017-18 | 75 | 1,100 | 976 | 1,827 | 29 | 25,239 | 748 |
| 2018-19 | 73 | 1,149 | 928 | 1,933 | 22 | 24,740 | 778 |
| 2019-20 | 66 | 1,149 | 850 | 1,982 | 24 | 23,831 | 799 |
| 2020-21 | 56 | 1,189 | 867 | 1,951 | 24 | 23,124 | 837 |
| 2021-22 | 54 | 1,165 | 821 | 1,993 | 18 | 22,282 | 838 |
| 2022-23 | 48 | 1,228 | 787 | 1,986 | 23 | 21,634 | 809 |
| 2023-24 | 43 | 1,243 | 773 | 2,015 | 17 | 21,522 | 851 |
| 2024-25 | 41 | 1,244 | 721 | 1,994 | 16 | 21,122 | 888 |
| Average | 62 | 1,154 | 862 | 1,897 | 24 | 23,456 | 800 |
972 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 3% of total students. The number of online students has decreased -32.92% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Iowa State University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 35,714 | 1,449 | 4,245 | 30,020 |
| 2016-17 | 36,350 | 1,517 | 4,694 | 30,139 |
| 2017-18 | 36,158 | 1,406 | 5,327 | 29,425 |
| 2018-19 | 34,992 | 1,374 | 6,215 | 27,403 |
| 2019-20 | 33,372 | 1,298 | 6,504 | 25,570 |
| 2020-21 | 31,822 | 4,289 | 24,045 | 3,488 |
| 2021-22 | 30,708 | 1,108 | 14,911 | 14,689 |
| 2022-23 | 29,969 | 1,013 | 15,545 | 13,411 |
| 2023-24 | 30,177 | 983 | 16,180 | 13,014 |
| 2024-25 | 30,380 | 972 | 17,472 | 11,936 |
| Average | 32,964 | 1,541 | 11,514 | 19,910 |
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