Ole Miss Demographics 2026

The University of Mississippi set a third consecutive enrollment record in Fall 2025, reaching 28,405 students across all seven campuses — up 4.7% from the prior year. This article covers the full demographic breakdown of Ole Miss, including enrollment trends, gender and racial composition, geographic origin, age distribution, and faculty data.

Ole Miss Demographics: Key Statistics

• Ole Miss enrolled 28,405 students across all campuses in Fall 2025, the highest total in university history.
• Female students account for 58.2% of enrollment, compared to 41.8% male.
• White students make up 75.1% of the student body, followed by Black or African American students at 10.9%.
• 56.85% of Ole Miss students come from outside Mississippi, drawing from all 50 U.S. states.
• The six-year graduation rate reached a record 71.7%, the highest among Mississippi universities.

How Many Students Attend Ole Miss?

Ole Miss enrolled 28,405 students across its seven campuses in Fall 2025, according to the University of Mississippi Office of Institutional Research. The Oxford and regional campuses drove most of that growth, recording a 5.2% increase over the prior year. The University of Mississippi Medical Center contributed 3,183 students, residents, and fellows to the overall count.

The 2023–2024 academic year recorded 24,043 students at the Oxford and regional campuses, with 19,094 undergraduates and 4,949 graduate students. Full-time students numbered 21,617, while 2,426 attended part-time.

Enrollment Category	Count	Percentage
Total (all campuses, Fall 2025)	28,405	100%
Undergraduate (2023–24)	19,094	79.4%
Graduate (2023–24)	4,949	20.6%
Full-time students	21,617	89.9%
Part-time students	2,426	10.1%
UMMC (medical center)	3,183	–

Source: University of Mississippi Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning

Ole Miss Enrollment Trends (2021–2025)

Total enrollment at Ole Miss grew 24.1% between 2021 and 2024, compared to a national average of roughly 3–4% over the same period. The freshman class that entered in Fall 2024 numbered 5,973 — the largest in Mississippi state history at the time. The 2025 freshman class came in at 5,464, the second largest in state history, representing all 82 Mississippi counties, all 50 U.S. states, and 93 countries.

Academic Year	Total Enrollment (All Campuses)	Year-over-Year Change
Fall 2021	~21,860	—
Fall 2022	~22,700	~+3.8%
Fall 2023	24,439	+7.7%
Fall 2024	27,124	+11.0%
Fall 2025	28,405	+4.7%

Source: University of Mississippi; SuperTalk Mississippi; Daily Mississippian

Ole Miss Demographics by Gender

Women outnumber men at Ole Miss by a ratio of roughly 58 to 42. Of the 24,043 students enrolled in 2023–2024, 13,992 were female and 10,051 were male. The same distribution holds across both undergraduate and graduate programs. Among undergraduates, 10,880 were women and 8,214 were men. At the graduate level, 3,112 were female compared to 1,837 male.

This pattern aligns with national trends in higher education, where women have outnumbered men on campuses across the United States for decades. The University of Georgia shows a similar split, with women comprising 58.9% of its student body.

Level	Female	Male	Female %
Total	13,992	10,051	58.2%
Undergraduate	10,880	8,214	57.0%
Graduate	3,112	1,837	62.9%

Source: University of Mississippi Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning (2023–2024)

Ole Miss Racial Demographics

White students account for 75.1% of the Ole Miss student body, or 18,045 of the 24,043 enrolled in 2023–2024. Black or African American students represent the second-largest group at 10.9% (2,630 students), followed by Hispanic students at 4.9% (1,168 students) and Asian students at 2.4% (576 students). Students of two or more races, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian students make up the remaining enrollment.

The university’s BIPOC population stands at approximately 22% of total enrollment. White student representation has remained relatively stable over the past decade — it was 75.89% ten years ago and sits at 75.05% today, according to enrollment trend data. For comparison, UT Austin’s demographic profile shows a much higher share of Hispanic and Asian students reflecting Texas’s broader population composition.

Race / Ethnicity	Students	Percentage
White	18,045	75.1%
Black or African American	2,630	10.9%
Hispanic	1,168	4.9%
Asian	576	2.4%
Two or more races	387	1.6%
International	781	3.3%
American Indian / Other	456	1.9%

Source: College Tuition Compare / University of Mississippi IREP (2023–2024)

Ole Miss Students by Geographic Origin

Mississippi leads all states in student representation by a wide margin, with 43.15% of the student body coming from in-state. The remaining 56.85% arrive from out of state — the top contributors being neighboring Southern states such as Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. The undergraduate student body spans 44 states, reflecting Ole Miss’s growing national appeal.

International students from 79 countries make up 1.03% of total enrollment. India, China, and Nepal send the most international students to Ole Miss. The 781 international students enrolled in 2023–2024 included 276 undergraduates and 505 graduate students. By comparison, the University of Michigan draws international students at roughly nine times that rate.

Origin	Share of Enrollment	Notes
Mississippi (in-state)	43.15%	Largest single state
Out-of-state (domestic)	55.82%	Draws from all 50 states
International students	1.03%	79 countries represented
Top international sources	—	India, China, Nepal

Source: College Factual; University of Mississippi IREP

Top Out-of-State Student Sources

While exact state-level counts are not publicly itemized in current reports, Ole Miss consistently draws the heaviest out-of-state enrollment from Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida — all states with strong SEC athletics followings and geographic proximity to Oxford. The Fall 2025 freshman class came from all 82 Mississippi counties and every U.S. state.

Ole Miss Age Demographics

The student body skews young. Approximately 62.54% of students fall between ages 18 and 21, slightly above the national average of 60%. Among the 24,043 students enrolled in 2023–2024, 20,378 were under 25 years old. Students 25 and older numbered 3,665, concentrated primarily in graduate programs.

Only 68 students were under 18, while 34 students were 65 or older. Among graduate students, 2,863 were over 25 — compared to 802 undergraduates in the same age range — reflecting the nature of advanced degree programs. Rutgers University shows a broadly similar age distribution, though with a higher share of non-traditional learners.

Age Group	Students	Share
Under 18	68	0.3%
18–21 (traditional)	~15,040	62.5%
22–24	~5,270	21.9%
25 and over	3,665	15.2%
65 and over	34	0.1%

Source: College Tuition Compare / University of Mississippi IREP (2023–2024)

Ole Miss Faculty Demographics

Ole Miss employs 13,261 faculty members. Women hold the majority of faculty positions at 67.6% (8,970 faculty), while men account for 32.4% (4,291 faculty). This represents an inversion of the gender balance seen at many peer institutions, where male faculty still outnumber female faculty.

By race, White faculty members number 8,365 and make up the largest group. Black or African American faculty total 3,939, and Asian faculty number 362. The student-to-faculty ratio at the Oxford campus sits around 18:1, consistent with other large public research universities. Texas A&M’s faculty, for comparison, shows near-equal gender representation with 5,407 women and 5,264 men.

Faculty Category	Count	Percentage
Total Faculty	13,261	100%
Female	8,970	67.6%
Male	4,291	32.4%
White	8,365	63.1%
Black or African American	3,939	29.7%
Asian	362	2.7%

Source: Quantumrun / University of Mississippi IREP (2023–2024)

Ole Miss Graduation and Retention Rates

Ole Miss posted record graduation rates in the 2024–2025 reporting cycle. The six-year graduation rate reached 71.7%, and the four-year rate hit 61.8% — both the highest in Mississippi and above the national averages for comparable public universities. The first-to-second year retention rate was 86.6%, continuing a streak of five straight years above 85%.

The university’s in-state tuition for 2025–2026 is set at $9,990, while non-resident tuition runs $30,150. The incoming freshman class in Fall 2025 entered with an average high school GPA of 3.58. Northwestern University’s demographic profile offers a useful contrast — a private institution where tuition and selectivity differ substantially from Ole Miss’s public model.

Metric	Rate	Note
6-year graduation rate	71.7%	Record high, tops in Mississippi
4-year graduation rate	61.8%	Record high, above national avg
First-year retention rate	86.6%	5th straight year above 85%
Incoming freshman avg GPA	3.58	Fall 2025 class
In-state tuition (2025–26)	$9,990	Below national avg
Non-resident tuition (2025–26)	$30,150	Includes non-resident fee

Source: University of Mississippi (November 2025); Daily Mississippian

Online Enrollment at Ole Miss

Distance learning has expanded significantly at Ole Miss. In 2023–2024, 1,776 students took all of their courses online, while 12,985 students enrolled in at least one online course. Online-only enrollment has grown 54.97% since 2015. Among undergraduates, 13,248 participated in some form of online learning, while 1,513 graduate students took at least one virtual class.

Of those enrolled exclusively online, 1,272 lived within Mississippi and 504 lived in other states or outside the United States. UC Riverside’s demographic data shows a comparable expansion in online coursework among large public research universities over the same period.

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