Enrollment Trends at Bates

Student Population Changes

The average student population over the last 11 years is 1,801 where 1,760 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.

Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 4 year-over-year increases and 5 decreases. It peaked at 1,876 students in 2021 and was lowest at 1,753 in 2024. Overall, enrollment dropped from 1,792 to 1,760 students, a net loss of 32 (1.8%).

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Bates College since 2015.

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	1,792	884	908
2016-17	1,780 -12	881 -3	899 -9
2017-18	1,787 7	882 1	905 6
2018-19	1,832 45	920 38	912 7
2019-20	1,820 -12	914 -6	906 -6
2020-21	1,876 56	925 11	951 45
2021-22	1,821 -55	885 -40	936 -15
2022-23	1,790 -31	846 -39	944 8
2023-24	1,753 -37	865 19	888 -56
2024-25	1,760 7	848 -17	912 24
Average	1,801	885	916

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 60.23%. The percentage was 71.37% 10 years ago and Bates still has a high percentage of white students. 6.59% of enrolled students is Asian and 4.49% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 9.72% of the student body.

Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 71.37% to 60.23%. Asian enrollment grew from 3.85% to 6.59%. Black student enrollment decreased from 4.91% to 4.49%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 7.65% to 9.72%.

The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6143 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.4789 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Bates College over the past 11 years (2015-2025).

• Trends Table
• Interactive Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	American Indian or Native American	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	White	Two or More Races
	2015-16	3	69	88	137	0	1,279	80
2016-17	2	75	103	154	0	1,243	77
2017-18	2	70	87	145	1	1,259	84
2018-19	2	72	94	138	1	1,294	81
2019-20	2	91	101	139	2	1,222	103
2020-21	3	92	106	133	1	1,266	118
2021-22	4	103	101	142	2	1,176	125
2022-23	4	114	91	162	2	1,116	135
2023-24	4	115	78	155	1	1,076	147
2024-25	3	116	79	171	1	1,060	149
Average	3	92	93	148	1	1,199	110

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

Bates College does not offer online degree/certificate programs. All Students have enrolled in on-campus programs.