U.S. colleges reported a 17% decline in new international student enrollment this year — the steepest drop outside the pandemic — costing nearly $1 billion in local economic activity and roughly 7,300 jobs, according to an economic impact analysis. Restaurants, retail, property rentals and auto repair sectors in college towns absorbed the brunt of the losses. The change reflects visa challenges, shifting global mobility, and policy uncertainty. The reduction in new international enrollments also has direct institutional effects: tuition revenue declines and reduced cultural and research exchange, particularly for campuses that rely heavily on international tuition streams. University CFOs and enrollment leaders will need urgent contingency plans for revenue, local partnerships to stabilize town economies, and intensified international recruitment strategies to blunt further declines.