92% of International Students Studying in 29 States and Washington, D.C.

International Student Data from IIE

According to the Institute of International Education, there was a record-high of 1,094,792 international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities during the 2017-18 academic year. That number also includes those who were on Optional Practical Training. However, the number of new students to the U.S. had decreased by 6.6%. This follows the previous year’s decline of 3.3%.

International Students’ Favorite States

Where are most international students studying in 2017-18? The answer is listed below. Altogether, the top 29 states and Washington, D.C. hosted over 92% of international students studying at higher educational institutions. The table also lists the top 5 places where international students originate and which states they favored. Slightly more than 1/3 of international students are in three states – California, New York, and Texas.

Table Columns from left to right:
(1) Rank
(2) State (or Washington, D.C.)
(3) Total number of international students
(4) Percentage of growth in international student numbers from the previous year
(5) Top 5 places where international student originate

Rank	State	Student #	% of Growth	Place of Origin
1	California	161,942	+3.2%	China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan
2	New York	121,260	+2.4%	China, India, South Korea, Canada, Taiwan
3	Texas	84,348	-0.9%	India, China, Mexico, Vietnam, South Korea
4	Massachusetts	68,192	+8.4%	China, India, South Korea, Canada, Saudi Arabia
5	Illinois	53,362	+2.2%	China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan
6	Pennsylvania	51,817	+1.3%	China, India, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Canada
7	Florida	46,516	+1.7%	China, India, Venezuela, Brazil, Saudi Arabia
8	Ohio	37,583	-2.8%	China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
9	Michigan	34,049	-0.7%	China, India, Saudi Arabia, Canada, South Korea,
10	Indiana	29,994	-2.0%	China, India, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan
11	Washington	28,455	+2.4%	China, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, India
12	Arizona	23,203	+2.4%	China, India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Korea
13	Missouri	23,014	-1.1%	India, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Nepal
14	New Jersey	22,924	+1.0%	China, India, South Korea, Canada, Saudi Arabia
15	Georgia	22,789	+5.9%	China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria
16	North Carolina	21,092	+4.9%	China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, U.K.
17	Virginia	20,233	-0.8%	China, India, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Vietnam
18	Maryland	19,671	+0.9%	China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria
19	Minnesota	15,695	+2.0%	China, India, South Korea, Nepal, Saudi Arabia
20	Connecticut	15,278	+3.9%	China, India, Saudi Arabia, Canada, South Korea
21	Iowa	13,362	+7.0%	China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal
22	Wisconsin	12,951	-2.0%	China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia
23	Oregon	12,580	-4.8%	China, Saudi Arabia, India, Japan, South Korea
24	Washington,DC	12,230	+0.2%	China, Saudi Arabia, India, South Korea, Nigeria
25	Colorado	11,639	+1.0%	China, India, Saudi Arabia, Canada, South Korea
26	Kentucky	9,942	+26.9%	India, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Nigeria
27	Kansas	9,571	-6.5%	India, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan
28	Alabama	9,300	-2.6%	China, India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Korea
29	Oklahoma	8,945	-8.6%	China, India, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Nepal
30	Tennessee	8,870	-10.9%	China, Saudi Arabia, India, Nigeria, South Korea
Total		1,010,807

92% of International Students Studying in 29 States and Washington, D.C.

International Student Data from IIE

International Students’ Favorite States

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