This is a list of the largest United States colleges and universities by enrollment for colleges and universities in the United States.
| This article needs to be updated. (December 2018) |
The ten largest colleges and universities by enrollment in the United States.
– Private
– Public
What this list includes:
- Colleges and universities within the United States
- University systems if the system is run under a single administration
- Enrollment is the sum of the headcount of undergraduate and graduate students
- Enrollment is counted by the Integrated Post-secondary Education System within the United States Department of Education.
- Enrollment is the 12-month unduplicated headcount, indicating the number of unique students who attended the university during the year.
What this list does not include:
- Any indication of how many of the enrolled students are full or part-time (e.g., some universities may have a high enrollment, but have most students enrolled in only a single class)
- Any indication of how many students are online-only.
For other lists that measure university enrollment, see the see also section below.
The United States Department of Education's Integrated Post-secondary Education Data System contains information on all 6,125 officially recognized institutions of higher education in the United States. The following is a list of the ten largest institutions of higher education by Fall 2020 enrollment, meaning it is the number of unique individuals who were enrolled in at least one class on the 21st day of the Fall 2020 semester. Whether a system of individual campuses is counted as one or multiple institutions depends on how that institution is accredited and chartered. All data can be verified on the IPEDS system website.[1] Since the Covid Pandemic, college enrollment has seen a decline.[2]
2020
More information U.S. Department of Education Fall 2020 Enrollment, Rank ...
U.S. Department of Education Fall 2020 Enrollment[3] |
Rank |
Name |
Classification |
Location |
Enrollment |
1 | Western Governors University | Private | Online | 147,866 |
2 | Southern New Hampshire University | Private, Non-profit | New Hampshire | 134,345 |
3 | Grand Canyon University | Private, For-profit | Arizona | 103,427 |
4 | Liberty University | Private | Virginia | 93,349 |
5 | The Pennsylvania State University | Public | Pennsylvania | 89,816 |
6 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | Private, For-profit | Arizona | 89,763 |
7 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | Public research university | Arizona | 74,795 |
8 | Dallas College | Public community college | Texas | 74,781 |
9 | University of Central Florida | Public | Florida | 71,881 |
10 | Texas A & M University-College Station | Public | Texas | 77,491 (as of 2023) |
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2013
More information U.S. Department of Education Fall 2013 Enrollment, Rank ...
U.S. Department of Education Fall 2013 Enrollment[4] |
Rank |
College |
Classification |
Location |
Enrollment |
1 | State University of New York System | Public | New York | 606,232 |
2 | California State University | Public | California | 477,466[5] |
3 | University of Phoenix | Private, For-profit | Arizona | 442,033 |
4 | University of California | Public | California | 226,449[6] |
5 | University of North Carolina System |
Public |
North Carolina |
222,322 |
6 | Ivy Tech Community College | Public | Indiana | 175,313 |
7 | Ashford University | Private, For-profit | Iowa | 169,843 |
8 | American Public University System | Private, For-profit | West Virginia | 110,644 |
9 | Liberty University | Private | Virginia | 110,000 |
10 | Miami Dade College | Public | Florida | 100,855 |
11 | Lone Star College System | Public | Texas | 98,313 |
12 | The Pennsylvania State University | Public | Pennsylvania | 94,441 |
13 | Houston Community College System | Public | Texas | 93,625 |
14 | Arizona State University | Public | Arizona | 81,789 |
15 | Kaplan University | Private, For-profit | Iowa | 77,566 |
16 | Northern Virginia Community College | Public | Virginia | 76,552 |
17 | Walden University | Private, For-profit | Minnesota | 75,895 |
18 | Tarrant County College District | Public | Texas | 75,547 |
19 | Wake Technical Community College | Public | North Carolina | 74,000[7] |
20 | Grand Canyon University | Private[Note 1] | Arizona | 71,712 |
21 | Austin Community College District | Public | Texas | 70,452 |
22 | University of Central Florida | Public | Florida | 69,086 |
23 | Ohio State University | Public | Ohio | 64,930 |
24 | University of Maryland | Public | Maryland | 64,737 |
25 | University of Minnesota | Public | Minnesota | 63,929 |
26 | Broward College | Public | Florida | 62,796 |
27 | Florida International University | Public | Florida | 60,592 |
28 | Valencia College | Public | Florida | 60,469 |
29 | University of Florida | Public | Florida | 56,683 |
30 | East Los Angeles College | Public | California | 56,395 |
31 | College of Southern Nevada | Public | Nevada | 56,364 |
32 | Rio Salado College | Public | Arizona | 56,031 |
33 | Capella University | Private, For-profit | Minnesota | 56,009 |
34 | Portland Community College | Public | Oregon | 55,558 |
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As of July 1, 2018, Grand Canyon University has transitioned from for-profit to nonprofit.