NAFSA International Student Economic Value Tool

Analysis produced for NAFSA by JB International.

International student enrollment data is provided by the Open Doors report published by the Institute of International Education in partnership with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

Since 2013, we have used tuition and living expense data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center of Educational Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to calculate the total amount of economic benefit. NEW for 2025: IPEDS changed the timing of their cost data survey for Fall 2024, making the results unavailable in time for our analysis, requiring that we pivot to another reliable data source. We procured undergraduate tuition and living expense data from Petersons Data. To estimate graduate-level costs, we applied the incremental change observed in undergraduate costs and reviewed graduate level cost data from IPEDS collected over the prior three years. We acknowledge a marginal risk of variation between reporting to Petersons and IPEDS, as well as the assumption that graduate-level costs increased at the same rate as undergraduate costs. Once IPEDS cost data for Fall 2024 becomes available in early 2026, we will review and adjust our estimates as needed to ensure accuracy.

Also, each year, we account for U.S.-based funding allocated to international students, such as institution-funded scholarships or graduate-level assistantships, to reduce the overall economic impact appropriately. Open Doors is the primary source of funding data used in our calculations. Because not all institutions responding to Open Doors provide details on primary funding sources, we apply average funding percentages by academic level and Carnegie classification (e.g., research universities, community colleges, etc.) to fill those gaps. NEW for 2025: Some institutions not reporting to Open Doors may still provide international undergraduate funding data through the Common Data Set (CDS). Our methodology has been updated to incorporate this additional data source to enhance coverage and accuracy.

Data sets used to calculate the number of jobs created or supported comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce, specifically International Trade Administration and Bureau of Economic Analysis.

For a detailed discussion, see "The Economic Benefits of International Student Enrollment to the U.S. Economy."