Who Receives Pell Grants? Full Statistics

The government gives Pell Grants to over 6 million students yearly. Learn how many people get Pell Grants by state, income, school type, and more.

Higher Education Research Analyst

Lyss Welding is a higher education analyst and senior editor for BestColleges who specializes in translating massive data sets and finding statistics that matter to students. Lyss has worked in academic research, curriculum design, and program evalua.

Reece Johnson is the editorial director for news and data. He writes about the future of work and higher education, student political activism, and expanding educational opportunities. Reece holds a master's degree from Columbia University and a bach.

Higher Education Research Analyst

Lyss Welding is a higher education analyst and senior editor for BestColleges who specializes in translating massive data sets and finding statistics that matter to students. Lyss has worked in academic research, curriculum design, and program evalua.

Reece Johnson is the editorial director for news and data. He writes about the future of work and higher education, student political activism, and expanding educational opportunities. Reece holds a master's degree from Columbia University and a bach.

Data Summary

In August 2022, President Biden announced a plan to forgive $10,000 of student loan debt for some borrowers and $20,000 of student loan debt for Pell Grant recipients.

That's good news for you if you received a Pell Grant. It also benefits millions of students who receive billions of dollars yearly from the program.

The government looks at a student's income or their family's to determine who gets a Pell Grant and how much they receive. This report explores Pell Grants by the numbers and answers how many people receive these grants by income, state, and other factors.

Table of Contents

• How Many People Receive Pell Grants?
• Pell Grant Recipients by Income
• Pell Grant Recipients by Race
• Pell Grant Recipients by School Type
• Pell Grant Recipients and Dependency Status
• Pell Grant Recipients and Incarceration Status
• Pell Grant Recipients by State
• References

How Many People Receive Pell Grants?

The number of Pell Grant recipients has generally declined over the past decade. Note Reference [1]

• The U.S. Department of Education (ED) reported that about 6.1 million students received Pell Grants in the 2021-2022 school year. Note Reference [2]
• The highest number of Pell Grants was awarded in 2011-2012. Over 9.4 million students (45%) received Pell Grants. Note Reference [1]
• About 30-40% of undergraduates receive some Pell Grant funding in a given year. Note Reference [1]
• In 2020-2021, 33% of undergraduates received some Pell Grant funding. [6]

Pell Grant Recipients by Income

According to the ED, in 2020-2021: Note Reference [3]

• 97% of Pell Grant recipients came from families earning less than $70,000 a year.
• More than three-quarters (77%) of Pell Grant recipients came from families earning less than $40,000 a year.
• About half (47%) made less than $20,000 a year.

Pell Grant Recipients by Race

In 2015-2016 — the latest year this data is available from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): Note Reference [4]

• The majority of full-time Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Latino/a, and Pacific Islander students (59-72%) received some amount of Pell Grant funding.
• About half (48%) of full-time students of two or more races received a Pell Grant.
• Just over one third of Asian students (36%) and white students (34%) received a Pell Grant.

Note that Asian and white households tend to hold more wealth than Black and Latino/a households, according to Census Bureau Data. [8] Additionally, researchers at the Federal Reserve reported in 2021 that the average Black or Latino/a household earns around half as much as the average white household and has about 15-20% as much net wealth. [9]

Pell Grant Recipients by School Type

• In 2020-2021, 69% of Pell Grant recipients attended public colleges and universities. [11]
• For reference, about 73% of all students attended public colleges. Note Reference [6]

Pell Grant Recipients and Dependency Status

Pell Grants go to nearly 38,000 independent students — that is, students who do not rely on their families for any financial support.

• Roughly 42% of Pell Grant recipients are independent, meaning they depend only on themselves financially.
• Almost 12% are independent and have a dependent — someone, usually a child, who depends on them financially.
• About 58% are dependent on someone else financially. The government uses their family's income to determine how much grant money they receive.

Pell Grant Recipients and Incarceration Status

Federal financial aid is typically unavailable for incarcerated students. However, the Second Chance Pell Experiment allows some incarcerated students to access Pell Grants to pay for school.

• The program began in 2015 during the Obama administration. Note Reference [5]
• According to the ED, it has helped incarcerated students earn over 7,000 credentials. Note Reference [5]
• In July 2022, the program expanded to include 73 new colleges and universities, for a total of 200 participating schools.

Pell Grant Recipients by State

States with the most Pell Grant recipients tend to be the states with the highest populations. So, we looked at the rate of Pell Grant recipients by population, also called the per capita rate.

States with the most Pell Grant recipients per capita are: [13], [14]

• Mississippi (2.48% of the population received Pell Grants in 2020)
• Georgia (2.42%)
• Louisiana (2.39%)

States with the fewest Pell Grant recipients per capita are: Note Reference [13], Note Reference [14]

• New Hampshire (1.05% per capita)
• North Dakota (1.15%)
• Vermont (1.16%)

The government offered a far smaller number of Pell Grants to some international students studying in the U.S., including: Note Reference [13]

• 652 Pell Grant recipients from Canada
• 739 recipients from Mexico (about 0.01% of all Pell Grant recipients)

References

1. Federal Pell Grant Program 2017-2018 End of Year Research Table 001. U.S. Department of Education. Accessed November 2022. (back to content ⤶)
2. Title IV Program Volume Reports: Grant Programs. Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. July 2022. (back to content ⤶)
3. Title IV Program Volume Reports: Award Year Summaries: Pell End-of-Year Reports: Table 002. Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. Accessed November 2022. (back to content ⤶)
4. Table 331.35. Percentage of full-time, full-year undergraduates receiving financial aid, and average annual amount received, by type and source of aid and selected student characteristics: Selected years, 1999-2000 through 2015-16. March 2022. (back to content ⤶)
5. U.S. Department of Education Announces Expansion of Second Chance Pell Experiment and Actions to Help Incarcerated Individuals Resume Educational Journeys and Reduce Recidivism. U.S. Department of Education. April 2022. (back to content ⤶)
6. Table 303.10. Total fall enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by attendance status, sex of student, and control of institution: Selected years, 1947 through 2030. National Center for Education Statistics. November 2021. (back to content ⤶)
7. Title IV Program Volume Reports: Pell End-of-Year Reports: Table 001. Federal Student Aid, an Office of the U.S. Department of Education. Accessed October 2022. (back to content ⤶)
8. Bennett, N., Hays, D., Sullivan, B., Wealth Inequality in the U.S. by Household Type. U.S. Census Bureau. August 2022. (back to content ⤶)
9. Aladangady, A., Forde, A., Wealth Inequality and the Racial Wealth Gap. The Federal Reserve. October 2021. (back to content ⤶)
10. Table 331.37 Percentage of part-time or part-year undergraduates receiving financial aid, and average annual amount received, by type and source of aid and selected student characteristics: Selected years, 1999-2000 through 2015-16. National Center for Education Statistics. October 2019. (back to content ⤶)
11. Title IV Program Volume Reports: Award Year Summaries: Pell End-of-Year Reports:Table 019. Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. Accessed November 2022. (back to content ⤶)
12. Title IV Program Volume Reports: Award Year Summaries: Pell End-of-Year Reports. Table 014. Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. Accessed November 2022. (back to content ⤶)
13. Title IV Program Volume Reports: Award Year Summaries: Pell End-of-Year Reports: Table 022. Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. Accessed November 2022. (back to content ⤶)
14. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021 (NST-EST2021-POP). U.S. Census Bureau. December 2021. (back to content ⤶)