How Many College Students Study in Greater Boston?

Brookline is surrounded by colleges and universities. We counted how many students were enrolled at colleges and universities in the three counties around Brookline and within 5 miles of it, using federal enrollment data, and how many psychologists list a practice address in each city and town, using the federal registry of health care providers.

Key numbers

Students in Suffolk, Middlesex and Norfolk counties

In fall 2024, 55 degree-granting colleges and universities in the three counties enrolled 294,974 students: 181,011 undergraduates and 113,963 graduate students. That is 61.2% of all students at degree-granting colleges in Massachusetts. Suffolk County has the most. Of the total, 47,918 were enrolled only in online courses; the other 247,056 took at least some of their classes in person.

Fall 2024 enrollment, all students, at degree-granting institutions whose IPEDS address is in each county. Exclusively online: enrolled only in distance education courses. Source: NCES IPEDS, fall 2024 (provisional).

Within 5 miles of Brookline

30 of these colleges and universities are within 5 miles of the Census Bureau's center point for Brookline, with 189,135 students between them. Nearly half (47.6%) are graduate students, a larger share than in the three counties as a whole (38.6%). Boston University is the largest, with 37,737 students.

Straight-line distance from the Census Bureau's center point for Brookline to each institution's address in IPEDS (our calculation). Students are counted at the institution, not where they live. Source: NCES IPEDS, fall 2024 (provisional).

How many psychologists practice nearby?

The federal NPI registry lists 7,238 psychologists with a main practice address in Massachusetts, 10.1 for every 10,000 residents. Brookline has 303, or 47.8 per 10,000 residents, the second highest rate among the 22 Inner Core cities and towns after Belmont (78.5). Cambridge (42.3), Newton (35.0) and Boston (21.8) are also above the state rate; Somerville (8.7) is below it.

Belmont78.5

Brookline47.8

Cambridge42.3

Newton35.0

Arlington28.8

Needham25.8

Boston21.8

Waltham11.7

Watertown10.6

Somerville8.7

Quincy8.0

Medford7.4

Milton5.6

Melrose5.1

Lynn4.3

Chelsea3.2

Dedham3.1

Winthrop2.7

Malden2.4

Revere1.8

Everett0.9

Saugus0.0

Bars start at zero; the black line marks Massachusetts (10.1). Brookline in tan; Boston, Cambridge, Newton and Somerville in dark green. Psychologists counted by the ZIP code of their main practice address. Source: CMS NPPES, file dated November 2, 2026; Census Bureau population estimates, 2025.

Psychologists: individual providers with a psychologist taxonomy code and a main practice address in the city or town, NPPES file dated November 2, 2026. Residents: Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2025. Chestnut Hill (ZIP 02467) is split between Brookline, Newton and Boston, so its 38 psychologists are counted in none of the three. Source: CMS NPPES, file dated November 2, 2026; Census Bureau population estimates, 2025.

By county, Suffolk has the most psychologists for its population and Norfolk, which includes Brookline, the fewest of the three.

Psychologists assigned to a county by the ZIP code of their main practice address. Source: CMS NPPES, file dated November 2, 2026; Census Bureau population estimates, 2025.

National context: how college students are doing

We found no public survey that reports the mental health of Boston-area college students as a group, so we show national figures separately. In the American College Health Association's spring 2026 survey of 57,211 students at 86 U.S. colleges, 45.4% screened positive for loneliness on a short three-question scale (a score of 6 or more out of 9), and 18.9% reported serious psychological distress (a Kessler 6 score of 13 or more out of 24).

These figures describe students at the colleges that chose to take part, not a random sample of all U.S. students, and they should not be read as rates for any Boston-area school. The loneliness scale is also different from the CDC question in our Greater Boston loneliness study, so the two cannot be compared.

What this means for students and families looking for support

• You are far from the only student here. 189,135 students were enrolled within 5 miles of Brookline in fall 2024, and nearly half of them were in graduate or professional programs. The pressures of graduate school, research and clinical training are a normal reason to look for support.
• Campus counseling is a good first stop. Ask your school's counseling center what it offers and how it refers students who want ongoing or off-campus therapy.
• A count of psychologists is not a waitlist. The registry shows where psychologists list their practice. It does not show who is taking new clients, who sees students or which insurance they accept, so it is fine to ask about all three when you reach out.
• Telehealth widens the choice. Dr. Rabin sees college students, graduate students and adults in person in Brookline and by telehealth anywhere in Massachusetts, and the first consultation is free.

Method

Students: we used the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics: fall 2024 enrollment (the latest, a provisional release), the institutional directory and the distance education file. We counted every degree-granting institution whose IPEDS address is in Suffolk, Middlesex or Norfolk County and that reported fall enrollment (55 institutions), and summed all students, undergraduates and graduate students. Distances are straight lines from the Census Bureau's internal point for Brookline to each institution's latitude and longitude in IPEDS.

Psychologists: we read the full NPPES downloadable file from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (file dated November 2, 2026) and kept individual providers with any psychologist taxonomy code (codes beginning 103T) and a main practice address in Massachusetts, leaving out deactivated records. We counted them by the ZIP code of that address. A ZIP code counts toward a city or town when at least 90% of its land is in that town, using the Census Bureau's 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files; we also used those files to place each ZIP code in a county. Rates use the Census Bureau's population estimates for July 1, 2025.

As a check, a separate script re-counted the students from a different IPEDS table and re-counted Brookline's psychologists, record by record, in the live NPI Registry.

Limits of the data

• Students are counted where they enroll, not where they live. Each institution reports at its IPEDS address. A few universities include students at other campuses, and 47,918 students in the three counties were enrolled only online and may live anywhere.
• Provisional enrollment data. Fall 2024 figures come from the provisional IPEDS release and can be revised in the final release.
• The registry is self-reported. Psychologists enter their own practice address and taxonomy, and not everyone updates them. The count includes psychologists who work in hospitals, universities and research, and some who have retired, so it is a measure of where psychologists are based, not of how many see clients.
• ZIP codes do not follow town lines. Chestnut Hill (ZIP 02467) is about 59.0% Brookline, 29.0% Newton and 12.1% Boston by land, so its 38 psychologists are counted in no town. Statewide, 302 psychologists in ZIP codes split between towns and 85 in post office box and other ZIP codes with no map area are counted only in the state and county figures.
• National figures are context only. The ACHA survey covers colleges that chose to take part, and its measures differ from the CDC's, so the national figures say nothing about any one Boston-area school.

Sources

• National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): Fall Enrollment 2024 (EF2024A and EF2024A_DIST, provisional), Institutional Characteristics directory 2024 (HD2024), and derived enrollment variables (DRVEF2024, used for the check): nces.ed.gov/ipeds
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, NPPES downloadable file, November 2026 (file dated November 2, 2026): download.cms.gov/nppes; NPI Registry: npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov
• U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates, Vintage 2025: cities and towns and counties
• U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files: census.gov relationship files; 2025 Gazetteer files: census.gov gazetteer files
• American College Health Association, National College Health Assessment III, Spring 2026 Reference Group: Executive Summary and Data Report

Cite this study

This page reports public, population-level data. It is general information, not medical advice or a diagnosis. If you are in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.