Enrollment Trends at McNeese

The student population at McNeese State University is 6,241 (5,668 undergraduate and 573 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 1,912 (23.45%) over the past decade.

Class Level: The percentage of undergraduate students at McNeese is 90.82% which is decreased by 1,718 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 194 and it has been decreasing.
Gender Breakdown: In 2025, there were 60 male students for every 100 female students, down from 66 in 2015.
1,117 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 44.69% since 2015.

School Home 2024 Student Population

Trends by Subject

Home
Trends
Mcneese State University
Student Population

Student Population Changes

The average student population over the last 11 years is 7,061 where 6,241 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.

Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 3 year-over-year increases and 6 decreases. It peaked at 8,153 students in 2016 and was lowest at 6,060 in 2024. Overall, enrollment dropped from 8,153 to 6,241 students, a net loss of 1,912 (23.5%).

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at McNeese State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Undergraduate			Graduate
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	8,153	7,386	3,013	4,373	767	232	535
2016-17	7,621 -532	6,894 -492	2,807 -206	4,087 -286	727 -40	215 -17	512 -23
2017-18	7,629 8	6,926 32	2,776 -31	4,150 63	703 -24	203 -12	500 -12
2018-19	7,647 18	6,998 72	2,843 67	4,155 5	649 -54	181 -22	468 -32
2019-20	7,295 -352	6,663 -335	2,716 -127	3,947 -208	632 -17	165 -16	467 -1
2020-21	7,284 -11	6,674 11	2,638 -78	4,036 89	610 -22	163 -2	447 -20
2021-22	6,454 -830	5,893 -781	2,275 -363	3,618 -418	561 -49	140 -23	421 -26
2022-23	6,230 -224	5,696 -197	2,242 -33	3,454 -164	534 -27	135 -5	399 -22
2023-24	6,060 -170	5,560 -136	2,141 -101	3,419 -35	500 -34	121 -14	379 -20
2024-25	6,241 181	5,668 108	2,183 42	3,485 66	573 73	159 38	414 35
Average	7,061	6,436	2,563	3,872	626	171	454

McNeese State University Enrollment Trends Chart

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 6,436 where 5,668 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 McNeese State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	7,386	5,821	2,416	3,405	1,565	597	968
2016-17	6,894	5,467	2,254	3,213	1,427	553	874
2017-18	6,926	5,567	2,286	3,281	1,359	490	869
2018-19	6,998	5,641	2,329	3,312	1,357	514	843
2019-20	6,663	5,407	2,210	3,197	1,256	506	750
2020-21	6,674	5,401	2,142	3,259	1,273	496	777
2021-22	5,893	4,757	1,838	2,919	1,136	437	699
2022-23	5,696	4,471	1,785	2,686	1,225	457	768
2023-24	5,560	4,526	1,784	2,742	1,034	357	677
2024-25	5,668	4,668	1,815	2,853	1,000	368	632
Average	6,436	6,436	2,086	3,087	6,436	478	786

McNeese State University Undergraduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 626 where 573 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 McNeese State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	767	320	123	197	447	109	338
2016-17	727	315	108	207	412	107	305
2017-18	703	330	105	225	373	98	275
2018-19	649	289	90	199	360	91	269
2019-20	632	305	85	220	327	80	247
2020-21	610	301	86	215	309	77	232
2021-22	561	267	83	184	294	57	237
2022-23	534	244	85	159	290	50	240
2023-24	500	219	64	155	281	57	224
2024-25	573	253	95	158	320	64	256
Average	626	626	92	192	626	79	262

McNeese State University Graduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 62.81%. The percentage was 68.56% 10 years ago and McNeese still has a high percentage of white students. 1.95% of enrolled students is Asian and 18.04% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 4.95% of the student body.

Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 68.56% to 62.81%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.47% to 1.95%. Black student enrollment increased from 17.29% to 18.04%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 2.65% to 4.95%.

The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.5681 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.4984 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at McNeese 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
Year	2015-16	40	120	1,410	216	8	5,590	207
2016-17	30	115	1,252	229	5	5,267	234
2017-18	40	118	1,262	232	5	5,259	256
2018-19	37	116	1,234	279	6	5,308	262
2019-20	28	115	1,136	277	5	5,030	255
2020-21	33	108	1,202	285	4	4,982	267
2021-22	26	100	987	259	5	4,443	259
2022-23	34	109	960	271	5	4,203	247
2023-24	23	115	1,033	269	4	3,972	242
2024-25	25	122	1,126	309	4	3,920	275
Average	32	114	1,160	263	5	4,797	250

McNeese State University Enrollment by Race Trends Chart

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

1,117 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 18% of total students. The number of online students has increased 44.69% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at McNeese State University from 2015 to 2025.

Year	Total Enrollment	Online Completely	Enrolled in Some Online Courses	Not Enrolled in Online Courses
2015-16	8,153	772	3,267	4,114
2016-17	7,621	760	3,225	3,636
2017-18	7,629	871	3,410	3,348
2018-19	7,647	951	3,476	3,220
2019-20	7,295	802	3,268	3,225
2020-21	7,284	1,554	4,814	916
2021-22	6,454	1,250	4,320	884
2022-23	6,230	1,165	3,170	1,895
2023-24	6,060	1,142	2,961	1,957
2024-25	6,241	1,117	3,183	1,941
Average	7,061	1,038	3,509	2,514

Ratings & Review

Share your experiences and thoughts about McNeese State University. It will be a great help to applicants and prospective students!

Be the first reviewer

Most Searched Louisiana Colleges (last 30 days)

Undergraduate

Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Public, 4-year | Baton Rouge
Tulane University of Louisiana Private, 4-year | New Orleans
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Public, 4-year | Lafayette
University of New Orleans Public, 4-year | New Orleans
Opelousas School of Cosmetology Private, Less than 2-year | Opelousas
Southern University and A & M College Public, 4-year | Baton Rouge
Louisiana Tech University Public, 4-year | Ruston
McNeese State University Public, 4-year | Lake Charles
University of Louisiana at Monroe Public, 4-year | Monroe
Herzing University-New Orleans Private, 4-year | Metairie

compare schools

Graduate

Louisiana State University-Shreveport Public, 4-year | Shreveport
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Private, 4-year | New Orleans
University of New Orleans Public, 4-year | New Orleans
Southern University at New Orleans Public, 4-year | New Orleans
Grambling State University Public, 4-year | Grambling
Nicholls State University Public, 4-year | Thibodaux
Louisiana Tech University Public, 4-year | Ruston
Northwestern State University of Louisiana Public, 4-year | Natchitoches
University of Louisiana at Monroe Public, 4-year | Monroe
Notre Dame Seminary Graduate School of Theology Private, 4-year | New Orleans

compare schools

Online Schools

Baton Rouge Community College Public, 2-4 year | Baton Rouge
Grambling State University Public, 4-year | Grambling
Delgado Community College Public, 2-4 year | New Orleans
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Public, 4-year | Baton Rouge
Nicholls State University Public, 4-year | Thibodaux
Southeastern Louisiana University Public, 4-year | Hammond
Louisiana State University-Shreveport Public, 4-year | Shreveport
University of Phoenix-Louisiana Private, 4-year | Baton Rouge
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans Public, 4-year | New Orleans
Louisiana State University at Alexandria Public, 4-year | Alexandria

compare schools

Trade Schools

Cloyd's Beauty School 1 Inc Private, Less than 2-year | West Monroe
Infinity College Private, 2-4 year | Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Monroe Public, 4-year | Monroe
Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute-Covington Private, Less than 2-year | Covington
Delta College West Private, Less than 2-year | Lake Charles
LaSalle Tech Private, Less than 2-year | Houma
Nicholls State University Public, 4-year | Thibodaux
Bossier Parish Community College Public, 2-4 year | Bossier City
Stevensons Academy of Hair Design Private, Less than 2-year | New Orleans
Delta College South Private, Less than 2-year | Baton Rouge

compare schools