Online high school statistics 2024

General online school statistics

Online school, characterized primarily by virtual K-12 and distance learning college courses, has expanded since the pandemic. In the U.S., the e-learning market continues to grow as education evolves in the post-pandemic world.

• Between 2023 and 2028, the U.S. e-learning market is expected to increase by $56.44 billion.
• During the 2013-2014 and 2022-23 school years, enrollment in K-12 virtual schools expanded by over 350,000 students across all levels.
• In 2022, of the students enrolled in online college courses, the largest share of undergraduates (22%) had a household income between $25,000 and $39,000.

How many students are enrolled in online school?

In the U.S. for the fall 2022 semester, 18.58 million students were enrolled at degree-granting postsecondary institutions. About 8.5 million students, almost 46%, were not enrolled in online courses. However, 54% of undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled in distance learning. The total number of students enrolled in the fall of 2022 exclusively in distance learning was 26%, or 4.9 million.

This enrollment level reflects a drop from 2021, indicating a continued decline following the loosening of pandemic restrictions. In 2021, 60% of students were enrolled in distance education of some type, and a little more than 30% were exclusively enrolled in online college courses. Enrollment was over 700,000 students more in 2021 than in 2022, this is a drop from 5.7 million to 4.9 million students exclusively enrolled in distance education.

Regarding K-12 schools nationwide, 691 schools were fully virtual during the 2019-2020 school year — enrollment at fully virtual schools reached 293,717 students. Another 8,673 schools were not fully virtual, but offered many online courses that same year, with a little over 4.75 million enrolled students. However, total enrollment in K-12 was 50.45 million students. Fully virtual school enrollment made up only 0.6% of total state enrollment. Not fully virtual enrollment had a significantly higher percentage at 9.4%. However, all virtual school enrollment in 2019-2020 comprised only 10% of all kindergarten through 12th grade students.

Enrollment in full-time virtual schools almost doubled from the pre-pandemic 2019-2020 school year to 2020-2021. The total number of full-time virtual schools also expanded to 726 for the 2020-2021 school year.

How many students are enrolled each year?

In the U.S., out of 3,894 institutions of higher learning that grant degrees, only 143 were primarily online. The term primarily online reflects schools with more than 90% of students exclusively enrolled in distance learning. In fall 2022, primarily online institutions accounted for less than 4% of all institutions in the U.S.

Year-to-year, between fall 2021 and 2022, the number of students exclusively taking online courses dropped from 5.65 million to 4.91 million. During the same period, the total number of students enrolled across all postsecondary institutions dropped from 18.66 million to 18.58 million.

In 2024, 65% of online college students were female and 31% were male. A further 5% identified as nonbinary or nonconforming. The median age was 29 for undergraduate students and 32 for graduate students. In addition, in 2024, more students in online programs identified as white (72%) than Black (21%) or any other race.

During the 2019-2020 school year, Florida had the highest number of fully virtual schools in the U.S., with 222 schools. However, Pennsylvania had the most enrollment in fully virtual K-12 schools, with 35,808 students in 2019-2020. During the 2022-2023 school year, 562,659 students were enrolled in virtual schools across all levels, including prekindergarten, elementary, middle and high school.

How many students are expected to be enrolled?

Enrollment has gradually declined following the end of widespread COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that led to an expansion in online and remote education across all levels. However, the drop has not descended to pre-pandemic enrollment. Before the health crisis, only about 35% of students were enrolled in online classes for the 2018-2019 school year.

How many high schools offer entirely online courses?

Beginning in spring 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, online distance learning courses expanded for elementary and secondary schools. During the 2017-2018 school year, only 21% of public and 13% of private schools offered online courses. By 2020, 77% of public and 73% of private schools had reported moving to online formats.

Pros and cons of online courses

Online courses, both those offered to K-12 and college students, have multiple benefits. For college students, they allow them to more easily fit a job into their schedules. Without physical classes, students can work while earning an education. Overall, online courses give students more independence and control over their time and education. They can choose when to study and alter their daily schedule to fit other aspects of life, including work and household responsibilities. For many students who struggle with the fast pace in a physical classroom, online courses typically allow for self-pacing.

Online courses can also be offered at lower costs than traditional college courses. Fewer expenses are involved with online classes, opening up college education to a wider demographic.

Of course, for several reasons online courses may not be ideal when compared to traditional classes. Fewer opportunities for social interactions exist with online courses, and students do not have the chance to foster closer working relationships with professors. With online courses, students might miss out on these prime networking opportunities. Furthermore, some students do not thrive in situations that foster flexibility and self-pacing. Traditional courses can provide consistent routines and fewer distractions. Students may also grasp content more quickly when in-person brainstorming and the exchange of ideas is the norm.

Perceived pros and cons of online courses

Source: Bay Atlantic University

References

1. “US - E-Learning Market by Deployment, End-user and Product - Forecast and Analysis 2024-2028.” Technavio. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here
2. ”Enrollment of public elementary and secondary schools, by school level, type, and charter, magnet, and virtual status: School years 2012-13 through 2022-23.” National Center for Education Statistics. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here
3. “Share of students studying online in the United States in 2022, by total household income in U.S. dollars.” Statista. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here
4. “Table 311.15. Number and percentage of students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by distance education participation, location of student, level of enrollment, and control and level of institution: Fall 2021 and fall 2022.” National Center for Education Statistics. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here
5. “Table 3. Number of virtual schools, total state enrollment, total virtual school enrollment, and virtual school enrollment as a percentage of state total enrollment: School year 2019–20.” National Center for Education Statistics. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here
6. Molnar, A. ”Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2023.” National Education Policy Center. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here
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8. ”Online College Students Report 2024. 13th Annual Report on the Demands and Preferences of Online College Students.” Education Dynamics. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here
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11. “Traditional Classes vs. Online Classes: Which One Is Better?” Bay Atlantic University. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here
12. Institute of Education Sciences. “Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Education in the United States (Preliminary Data): Results from the 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS).” National Center for Education Statistics. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here
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14. ”Leading reasons for online college selection among students in the United States in 2023.” Statista. Evaluated on May 29, 2024.Link Here