Total enrollment at the University of Utah grew by 2.3% this fall, according to data released by the Utah System of Higher Education. The university added 888 students compared to last fall's census count, marking its seventh consecutive year of growth.
The university welcomed 6,672 first-year students and 1,538 new transfer students this fall, bringing total enrollment to 39,060. The first-year class saw a 2.4% increase from last year. Since fall 2020, the university has grown its first-year class by nearly 49% and its total enrollment by 18%.
In-state students drove much of this growth. The university welcomed 281 more first-year students from Utah than last year, representing an 8.8% increase. Utah residents now make up 52% of the incoming class, which draws from all 29 Utah counties, all 50 states, and 108 countries.
Undergraduate enrollment reached 30,279, while graduate enrollment decreased to 8,781 from 8,911. This decline in graduate enrollment was driven by fewer new graduate students and a 5.7% drop in international graduate enrollment.
Mitzi Montoya, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, stated that every student choosing the university deserves a clear path to graduation and the support to get there. She noted that continued success depends on helping students complete degrees and prepare for future careers rather than just enrollment numbers.
The current growth comes as Utah approaches a demographic shift. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute projects the state's traditional college-age population, consisting of residents ages 18 to 24, will peak around 2028 at approximately 475,000. Following that peak, the population is projected to fall about 18% to roughly 390,000 by 2047.
Gardner Institute researchers, in a September presentation to the Utah Board of Higher Education, urged institutions to use years of growth to build resilience. This includes improving retention and completion, serving more students over age 25, and being prudent with long-term costs like major hiring expansions and debt. Projections updated at the end of 2025 suggest this demographic decline may arrive earlier and last longer than previous forecasts. Utah's fertility rate dropped to 1.80 in 2024, which is below the 2.1 rate required for population replacement.
The Utah System of Higher Education's Commissioner's office noted that the ongoing upward trend in degree completion in the state serves as a sign of effective student success initiatives at Utah's colleges and universities.
