The student population at Northeastern Illinois University is 5,734 (4,226 undergraduate and 1,508 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 4,157 (42.03%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 7,449 where 5,734 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 1 year-over-year increase and 8 decreases. It peaked at 9,891 students in 2016 and was lowest at 5,504 in 2024. Overall, enrollment dropped from 9,891 to 5,734 students, a net loss of 4,157 (42%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Northeastern Illinois University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 9,891 | 8,095 | 3,596 | 4,499 | 1,796 | 698 | 1,098 |
| 2016-17 | 9,538 -353 | 7,665 -430 | 3,357 -239 | 4,308 -191 | 1,873 77 | 692 -6 | 1,181 83 |
| 2017-18 | 8,984 -554 | 7,113 -552 | 3,150 -207 | 3,963 -345 | 1,871 -2 | 691 -1 | 1,180 -1 |
| 2018-19 | 8,103 -881 | 6,390 -723 | 2,786 -364 | 3,604 -359 | 1,713 -158 | 624 -67 | 1,089 -91 |
| 2019-20 | 7,423 -680 | 5,700 -690 | 2,449 -337 | 3,251 -353 | 1,723 10 | 619 -5 | 1,104 15 |
| 2020-21 | 7,119 -304 | 5,220 -480 | 2,151 -298 | 3,069 -182 | 1,899 176 | 596 -23 | 1,303 199 |
| 2021-22 | 6,440 -679 | 4,608 -612 | 1,917 -234 | 2,691 -378 | 1,832 -67 | 587 -9 | 1,245 -58 |
| 2022-23 | 5,756 -684 | 4,207 -401 | 1,729 -188 | 2,478 -213 | 1,549 -283 | 490 -97 | 1,059 -186 |
| 2023-24 | 5,504 -252 | 4,042 -165 | 1,719 -10 | 2,323 -155 | 1,462 -87 | 492 2 | 970 -89 |
| 2024-25 | 5,734 230 | 4,226 184 | 1,809 90 | 2,417 94 | 1,508 46 | 504 12 | 1,004 34 |
| Average | 7,449 | 5,727 | 2,466 | 3,260 | 1,723 | 599 | 1,123 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 5,727 where 4,226 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 Northeastern Illinois University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 8,095 | 4,502 | 2,033 | 2,469 | 3,593 | 1,563 | 2,030 |
| 2016-17 | 7,665 | 4,321 | 1,909 | 2,412 | 3,344 | 1,448 | 1,896 |
| 2017-18 | 7,113 | 4,164 | 1,802 | 2,362 | 2,949 | 1,348 | 1,601 |
| 2018-19 | 6,390 | 3,640 | 1,564 | 2,076 | 2,750 | 1,222 | 1,528 |
| 2019-20 | 5,700 | 3,294 | 1,415 | 1,879 | 2,406 | 1,034 | 1,372 |
| 2020-21 | 5,220 | 3,019 | 1,243 | 1,776 | 2,201 | 908 | 1,293 |
| 2021-22 | 4,608 | 2,657 | 1,095 | 1,562 | 1,951 | 822 | 1,129 |
| 2022-23 | 4,207 | 2,525 | 1,050 | 1,475 | 1,682 | 679 | 1,003 |
| 2023-24 | 4,042 | 2,494 | 1,069 | 1,425 | 1,548 | 650 | 898 |
| 2024-25 | 4,226 | 2,579 | 1,111 | 1,468 | 1,647 | 698 | 949 |
| Average | 5,727 | 5,727 | 1,429 | 1,890 | 5,727 | 1,037 | 1,370 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 1,723 where 1,508 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 Northeastern Illinois University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,796 | 374 | 175 | 199 | 1,422 | 523 | 899 |
| 2016-17 | 1,873 | 353 | 162 | 191 | 1,520 | 530 | 990 |
| 2017-18 | 1,871 | 337 | 130 | 207 | 1,534 | 561 | 973 |
| 2018-19 | 1,713 | 327 | 125 | 202 | 1,386 | 499 | 887 |
| 2019-20 | 1,723 | 383 | 149 | 234 | 1,340 | 470 | 870 |
| 2020-21 | 1,899 | 513 | 169 | 344 | 1,386 | 427 | 959 |
| 2021-22 | 1,832 | 487 | 181 | 306 | 1,345 | 406 | 939 |
| 2022-23 | 1,549 | 422 | 150 | 272 | 1,127 | 340 | 787 |
| 2023-24 | 1,462 | 397 | 158 | 239 | 1,065 | 334 | 731 |
| 2024-25 | 1,508 | 402 | 140 | 262 | 1,106 | 364 | 742 |
| Average | 1,723 | 1,723 | 154 | 246 | 1,723 | 445 | 878 |
The percentage of white students is 20.23% and the percentage of black students is 10.71% at Northeastern Illinois University. 7.17% of enrolled students is Asian. Hispanic students comprise 48.62% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 36.94% to 20.23%. Asian enrollment declined from 8.76% to 7.17%. Black student enrollment increased from 9.80% to 10.71%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 33.30% to 48.62%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.7056 which indicates that quite diverse. This decreased from 0.7350 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has declined.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Northeastern Illinois 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 | 24 | 866 | 969 | 3,294 | 27 | 3,654 | 171 |
| 2016-17 | 21 | 825 | 979 | 3,216 | 25 | 3,348 | 166 |
| 2017-18 | 20 | 739 | 1,028 | 3,003 | 22 | 2,958 | 154 |
| 2018-19 | 19 | 665 | 843 | 2,774 | 17 | 2,630 | 144 |
| 2019-20 | 11 | 660 | 753 | 2,672 | 21 | 2,316 | 126 |
| 2020-21 | 10 | 607 | 723 | 2,659 | 16 | 2,176 | 125 |
| 2021-22 | 12 | 536 | 646 | 2,389 | 11 | 1,958 | 118 |
| 2022-23 | 6 | 519 | 625 | 2,127 | 10 | 1,645 | 113 |
| 2023-24 | 10 | 397 | 501 | 2,695 | 5 | 1,154 | 96 |
| 2024-25 | 14 | 411 | 614 | 2,788 | 7 | 1,160 | 123 |
| Average | 15 | 623 | 768 | 2,762 | 16 | 2,300 | 134 |
1,101 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 19% of total students. The number of online students has increased 588.13% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Northeastern Illinois University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 9,891 | 160 | 932 | 8,799 |
| 2016-17 | 9,538 | 160 | 908 | 8,470 |
| 2017-18 | 8,984 | 197 | 987 | 7,800 |
| 2018-19 | 8,103 | 197 | 1,203 | 6,703 |
| 2019-20 | 7,423 | 204 | 1,332 | 5,887 |
| 2020-21 | 7,119 | 6,955 | 136 | 28 |
| 2021-22 | 6,440 | 2,576 | 2,632 | 1,232 |
| 2022-23 | 5,756 | 2,079 | 2,427 | 1,250 |
| 2023-24 | 5,504 | 1,012 | 2,165 | 2,327 |
| 2024-25 | 5,734 | 1,101 | 2,235 | 2,398 |
| Average | 7,449 | 1,464 | 1,496 | 4,489 |
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