LSU's enrollment is now over 37,000 students....and BRCC is bigger than SU

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The Baton Rouge area’s college enrollment is at an all-time high, and local businesses must focus on keeping those students in town after they graduate to solve the region’s workforce needs, according to an economic report from the Baton Rouge Area Chamber.

In all, 58,641 students were enrolled across LSU, Southern University, Baton Rouge Community College, River Parishes Community College and Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University, according to BRAC’s 2023 Economic Outlook, released Tuesday. That figure is up from 55,025 in fall 2021 and 48,556 in fall 2018.


The bulk of those students — 37,354 of them — are at LSU. The university’s enrollment hovered around 30,000 to 31,000 from 2017 to 2019 before a burst to 34,290 in fall 2020.

Southern University’s population hit 7,846 this fall, up from 7,091 two years ago. BRCC has 9,684 enrollees this year, up from 7,742 last year.

Meanwhile, for the third straight year, workforce issues topped the list of potential impediments to growth, according to business leaders surveyed by BRAC. Some 30% of survey respondents listed workforce troubles as a top concern, followed by crime rates (19%) and traffic (8%).

BRAC officials said the report shows, “to no one’s surprise,” that workforce needs will be a top priority in 2023.

“The good news is that net migration is rapidly improving, and we continue to see an increase in Capital Region population growth and expect a steady increase through 2025,” BRAC President and CEO Adam Knapp said in a statement.

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