U.S. nonprofit colleges and universities saw strong financial gains in FY24, but institutional size played a critical role in who benefited and who fell behind.

Total sector revenues rose 20.0%, from $308.6 billion in FY23 to $370.2 billion in FY24. Expenses climbed 10.0%, resulting in a $49.5 billion increase in total net assets, nearly triple the previous year’s growth. However, those gains were far from evenly distributed.

The 53 largest institutions (over $1 billion in revenue) drove much of the sector’s growth. Their revenues surged 23.4% year-over-year, aided by a booming investment environment with S&P 500 and NASDAQ returns exceeded 22% and 28%, respectively. These schools grew their net assets by $32.6 billion, or 12.6% of revenue.

Mid-sized institutions ($100M–$1B in revenues) also posted solid gains, growing net assets by 18.1% of revenue. Institutions with $25M–$100M in revenue saw modest growth (8.1%), while the smallest schools (under $25M in revenues) experienced a decline in both revenue and net assets.

Looking ahead to FY25, rising fall enrollment (+4.5%) may boost tuition revenue, and market gains (S&P 500 up 15%, NASDAQ up 14%) could help benefit those institutions with large endowments while smaller institutions may continue to be impacted by inflation rates of approximately 3%.

If you are interested in learning more about higher education financial results or financial benchmarking data for colleges and universities, please feel free to reach out.

Published: 10/02/2025

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