Almost all Austin-area universities are serving more students this fall than they did last year.
That’s according to early fall enrollment figures from nine local universities and community colleges from Georgetown to San Marcos.
The student number increases align with the state’s goal of expanding higher education access and degree completion. By 2030, the state wants 60% of working-age Texans to have a credential of value – a post-secondary degree or certificate that gives families a positive return on investment.
Here’s how many students local universities enrolled:
University of Texas
The University of Texas welcomed a record 55,172 students to campus this fall – up from 55,000 students last year. That figure includes 44,675 undergraduates and 9,487 freshmen, UT officials said in a news release.
Nearly 99,000 people applied to UT this year, a 9% increase from last year. More students are graduating, too: the university recorded its highest-ever four-year graduation rate at 77.7% this year with 16,801 degrees awarded at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
UT did not share demographic information about the new class. The university was the top-ranked public university in Texas and a top-10 public institution in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2026 rankings.
Texas State University
The San Marcos-based public university broke yet another enrollment record in fall 2026 with 47,513 students enrolled – marking a 7% increase from 2025, the university said. The university had a 3% increase in transfer students, a 67% increase in new students pursuing doctoral degrees and a 20% increase in graduate student enrollment.
President Kelly Damphousse said the university strives to become “the fastest-growing university in Texas.” It enrolled more international students, grew online enrollment by 54% in the past year and expanded its satellite campus in Round Rock.
“Together, these efforts reduce barriers of cost, time, and geography while allowing us to manage growth thoughtfully on our San Marcos Campus,” he said.
Austin Community College
Austin Community College is still accepting applicants for fall 2026, but as of last week, the number of credit-seeking students had increased to 46,304 students. That’s a 5% enrollment increase from the same time last year, building on a steady trend of increases since the district launched its free tuition pilot for high school graduates in 2024.
ACC has grown enrollment across students of all races, as well as among international, out-of-state and out-of-district students. Enrollment figures do not include students in college-readiness or community education programs, spokesperson Sydney Pruitt said.
Southwestern University
Southwestern University, a private institution in Georgetown, welcomed 345 new first-year students this fall, bringing the total enrollment to 1,353 students. That’s slightly down from last year’s enrollment of 1,434 students.
More than 20% of new enrollees are first-generation college students, and 45.5% are from underrepresented groups, spokesperson Andrew Felts said.
“While our total number of new first-year students dropped by about 6%, we did see a 15% increase in transfer students,” he said. “We also posted a first-year retention rate of 85.9%, which marks the University’s highest percentage since 2015.”
Huston-Tillotson University
Huston-Tillotson University, Austin’s first higher education institution and only historically Black university, reported a total enrollment of 1,059 students. The school’s spokesperson did not respond to questions about a demographic breakdown of students.
President Melva Wallace said the institution has enrollment constraints based on a lack of on-campus housing. With the Moody Foundation’s $150 million gift to the university last year, Huston-Tillotson plans to build more on-campus housing. It partners with St. Edward’s University to house students while it builds more residential space.
Concordia University
Concordia University, a small Lutheran university, reported 1,406 students this fall, a 2% increase from last year. The majority of those students – 87% – are from Texas, and most students are from a racial minority, according to data shared by spokesperson Matthew Grilli.
St. Edward’s University
St. Edward’s University welcomed 527 new students to campus this year – a nearly 20% increase from the starting class in fall 2025, spokesperson Gwendolyn Schuler said. Of that new class, 80% of students are from Texas.
The university reported an overall student enrollment of 2,290 students, Schuler said.
University of Austin
In its third year as a budding university operating out of a downtown building, the University of Austin – better known as UATX – now has 206 students. That’s an increase of 58 from last year. About 40% of the current class is from Texas.
UATX students don’t pay tuition and participate in a liberal arts-centered education that rebels against modern academia. The university is pursuing accreditation, a process that typically requires the university to have graduated its first class. The school is also considering opening a new law school without the approval of the American Bar Association.
Austin Christian University
The newest Austin-area university, Austin Christian University, has 81 students, up from 67 in 2025. ACU quietly launched in the backyard of a megachurch in 2023 and is currently pursuing accreditation through the Association of Biblical Higher Education.
More than 90% of students are from Texas, and 47% are from Georgetown, Round Rock and Austin, spokesperson Sandra Borne said. The student body includes 16 college seniors who will be the university’s first graduates at the end of the current school year.
This article originally published at Austin-area colleges see enrollment growth in fall 2026, including at UT and Texas State.