A staggering 8,227 rapes were reported at American colleges and universities during 2024, according
A staggering 8,227 rapes were reported at American colleges and universities during 2024, according to federal and state crime data reviewed by the New York Post. The figures show that elite institutions, including Columbia, Cornell, and NYU, recorded high numbers of sexual violence incidents, while public universities such as the University of Utah logged the highest single-school totals nationwide.
The University of Utah recorded 146 rape accusations in 2024, nearly double the count logged at the next-highest institution, according to data from the US Department of Education cited in the review. Most of those alleged attacks—122 in total—occurred in campus dormitories. Another 18 incidents took place in other campus buildings, and six occurred on off-campus property operated by the school or a student organization.
The University of Colorado Boulder recorded the second-highest count nationally with 96 reported rapes in 2024. Ohio State University followed with 67 reported cases. Other institutions in the national top ten included Penn State University with 57 cases, UCLA with 52, the University of California Santa Cruz with 46, the University of California Santa Barbara and Indiana University with 43 each, the University of Kansas with 39, and the University of Kentucky with 37.
Columbia University and New York State Data Highlights
In New York, Columbia University logged 262 reported incidents of sexual violence in 2024. While federal data specifically tracks rape, New York state reporting rules require colleges to publish a combined tally that includes sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. Within that total, Columbia recorded 21 campus rapes, all of which happened in residence halls.
An analysis by the New York Post found that Columbia recorded the worst record among large New York schools for investigating and taking disciplinary action. Of the 262 incidents reported to the university’s Title IX coordinator in 2024, only three were investigated, and a single case resulted in the expulsion of the accused student. Across a seven-year period from 2018 to 2024, Columbia investigated an average of nine percent of its 1,202 total reported cases, with disciplinary action resulting in just one percent, or 17 cases.
Other New York institutions also reported high numbers of sexual violence in 2024. NYU recorded 229 cases, investigating 28 and taking disciplinary action in 10. SUNY Albany reported 217 cases, SUNY Binghamton logged 198, and Cornell University recorded 166 cases during the year of a drug-fuelled gang rape incident at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October.
Past Campus Activism Highlights University Handling of Rape Allegations
The historical context of campus activism surrounding these numbers includes prominent cases such as that of Columbia student Emma Sulkowicz, who carried her mattress across campus to protest the university’s handling of her rape allegation before graduating in 2015. The student she accused was cleared following a university investigation.
At Cornell University, where 18 of the 166 reported 2024 cases were investigated and 11 resulted in disciplinary action—including three expulsions and four suspensions—the administration faced a lawsuit from an alleged victim arguing that some accused rapists were permitted to return to campus after submitting essays about the assault. Two individuals accused in the Chi Phi fraternity gang rape were expelled, while two others received one-year suspensions, according to the university president.
Reported sex offenses on college campuses have risen nearly fivefold over the past decade. Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, author of Therapy Nation, noted in the review that while numbers must be taken seriously, they represent reports rather than convictions or the total picture of unreported assaults, noting that reporting often carries social risks for students.