Higher Education, One Chart One Decision, Uncategorized

Pie Chart – Headcount by Age

October 13, 2025

Allen Taylor

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Pie chart displaying headcount by age range divided into seven categories. The 18–24 group is about two-thirds of students while students aged 25+ make up roughly one-third.

The Chart

This is a pie chart, useful when you want to show how a small set of categories make up a single whole. Each slice represents a non-overlapping group (age band), so you can see the composition quickly. For readability, keep the number of slices to 6–7, label percentages directly, and use a restrained palette. Order the slices logically (youngest to oldest) and ensure bands are mutually exclusive.

What It Answers

What’s the composition of our campus by age, and should we plan services specifically for adult students?

Start by grouping the slices into 18–24 versus 25+. In this view, 18–24 is about 68%, while 25+ totals about 32%. That second share is big enough to influence scheduling, advising hours, modality options, and messaging. A common pitfall with pies is small differences between slices are hard to judge; if you need precise comparisons, switch to another chart.

Try it Yourself

You only need Student ID, date of birth (or age at census), and your census date. Calculate age at census, then bin students into agreed ranges. Filter to the same population and term so the denominator is total headcount. Count students in each band, divide by the total, and round percentages consistently. Build a pie with slices ordered by age and label percentages on or just outside the slices.

Allen Taylor

Senior Solutions Ambassador at Evisions | + posts

Allen Taylor is a self-proclaimed higher education and data science nerd. He currently serves as a Senior Solutions Ambassador at Evisions and is based out of Pennsylvania. With over 20 years of higher education experience at numerous public, private, small, and large institutions, Allen has successfully lead institution-wide initiatives in areas such as student success, enrollment management, advising, and technology and has presented at national and regional conferences on his experiences. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology from Western Carolina University, a Master of Science degree in College Student Personnel from The University of Tennessee, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Teaching, Learning, and Technology from Lehigh University. When he’s trying to avoid working on his dissertation, you can find him exploring the outdoors, traveling at home and abroad, or in the kitchen trying to coax an even better loaf of bread from the oven.