81.3% of college applicants to Douglas County’s 11 universities were admitted for fall 2022

Douglas County’s 11 universities admitted an estimated 81.3% of applicants for fall 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those who were admitted, 24.7% enrolled.

Of the 11 institutions in the county, five provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including University of Nebraska at Omaha, Creighton University and College of Saint Mary.

At least 17,788 people applied to Douglas County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.

NCES data shows that among them, around 45,159 students enrolled in the universities, including 34,088 in undergraduate and 11,071 in graduate programs. In total 5.6% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.

The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of white (58%) and Hispanic (16.1%) students.

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, University of Nebraska at Omaha stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 15,058 students.

U.S. college enrollment has been in a downward trend since peaking at around 18.1 million students in 2010. Recent increases offered some relief, but experts project a steeper decline in 2025.

This decline is likely due to two main factors. First, the pool of young adults is shrinking as birth rates have fallen nearly 23% between 2007 and 2022. Second, the rising cost of higher education, including skyrocketing student loan debt. A 2023 Wall Street Journal report shows that more than half of Americans think a four-year degree is not worth the cost.

Some educational data is based on estimates. Shifting demographics among student populations can sometimes result in gender totals which do not equal 100%.