HVAC enrollment at two-year colleges jumped 17% this spring

U.S. enrollment in HVAC-specific programs at public two-year colleges this spring grew double-digits for the second consecutive year.

What’s happening: Roughly 30,500 students were enrolled in such programs during the spring 2026 semester, a 16.7 percent year-over-year increase, according to a Thursday report published by the National Student Clearinghouse, which collects and analyzes postsecondary enrollment data. 

• That follows a 30 percent jump from spring 2024 to spring 2025. 

Zoom out: Compared to the spring semester of 2021, when just over 18,600 students were enrolled in HVAC programs at public two-year colleges, the figure is up 64 percent. 

• Of note: The National Student Clearinghouse publishes two enrollment reports a year, one in January covering the previous fall semester, and the other in June covering the previous spring. 

Why it matters: Driven in part by a wave of expected retirements, about 40,000 annual job openings for HVAC technicians and installers are projected from 2024 to 2034, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (The BLS is expected to release updated figures in late August or early September.)

The big picture: The enrollment surge reflects the growing interest in skilled trade jobs across the U.S., particularly among Gen Zers seeking alternative routes to stable, well-paying careers, as AI anxiety hangs over the white-collar workforce.

Case in point: U.S. trade and technical schools posted $5.1 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 41 percent from four years earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing federal data. 

• Universal Technical Institute — one of the nation’s largest for-profit operators, which offers HVAC and electrical training among its programs and plans to open more than six new campuses over the next three years — last year saw enrollment and revenue grow nearly 11 and 14 percent, respectively. 

What they’re saying: “What I do, I don’t know if it will exist in 10 years,” said education analyst Ariel Sokol. “But you’re still going to need your HVAC repair person.”

Looking ahead: The National Student Clearinghouse will release fall 2026 enrollment figures in January 2027.