The 100 largest colleges in the United States

Ranked by the number of undergraduate students working towards a degree or certificate. Several of the largest teach mostly online.

Filter by name or city

Type

No.	College	Undergraduates	Admission rate	Net price a year	Graduation rate
1	Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · Private nonprofit	163,164	100%	$36,764	42%
2	Western Governors UniversitySalt Lake City, UT · Private nonprofit	155,088	not reported	$12,748	50%
3	University of Phoenix-ArizonaPhoenix, AZ · Private for-profit	85,991	not reported	$13,916	21%
4	Grand Canyon UniversityPhoenix, AZ · Private nonprofit	73,371	79%	$21,509	54%
5	Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, AZ · Public	64,674	90%	$14,694	67%
6	Texas A&M University-College StationCollege Station, TX · Public	59,615	57%	$21,527	85%
7	University of Central FloridaOrlando, FL · Public	59,146	40%	$11,516	78%
8	Arizona State University Digital ImmersionScottsdale, AZ · Public	53,782	67%	$11,594	not reported
9	Liberty UniversityLynchburg, VA · Private nonprofit	50,012	99%	$29,235	64%
10	University of Maryland Global CampusAdelphi, MD · Public	49,664	not reported	$23,144	34%
11	Ohio State University-Main CampusColumbus, OH · Public	45,638	61%	$17,269	87%
12	Lone Star College SystemThe Woodlands, TX · Public	45,188	not reported	$15,874	19%
13	Purdue University-Main CampusWest Lafayette, IN · Public	44,503	50%	$14,851	84%
14	Dallas CollegeDallas, TX · Public	43,869	not reported	$16,414	24%
15	The University of Texas at AustinAustin, TX · Public	42,855	27%	$18,554	89%
16	University of ArizonaTucson, AZ · Public	42,537	86%	$17,125	71%
17	Tarrant County College DistrictFort Worth, TX · Public	42,300	not reported	$3,775	30%
18	Pennsylvania State University-Main CampusUniversity Park, PA · Public	42,284	61%	$33,675	85%
19	Kennesaw State UniversityKennesaw, GA · Public	41,254	69%	$16,325	50%
20	Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI · Public	40,922	85%	$21,322	80%
21	Houston City CollegeHouston, TX · Public	40,503	not reported	$4,575	17%
22	American Public University SystemCharles Town, WV · Private for-profit	40,074	not reported	$11,116	60%
23	Florida International UniversityMiami, FL · Public	39,508	55%	$11,462	78%
24	California State University-FullertonFullerton, CA · Public	38,546	91%	$5,115	68%
25	University of HoustonHouston, TX · Public	38,380	74%	$11,439	66%
26	Indiana University-BloomingtonBloomington, IN · Public	37,806	78%	$16,003	80%
27	Rutgers University-New BrunswickNew Brunswick, NJ · Public	37,751	58%	$24,897	84%
28	University of South FloridaTampa, FL · Public	37,207	43%	$8,648	78%
29	University of Wisconsin-MadisonMadison, WI · Public	36,902	45%	$16,600	90%
30	University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL · Public	36,258	42%	$13,042	86%
31	Texas State UniversitySan Marcos, TX · Public	36,177	89%	$16,660	55%
32	California State University-Long BeachLong Beach, CA · Public	35,924	46%	$9,426	70%
33	University of FloridaGainesville, FL · Public	35,629	24%	$5,969	92%
34	San Diego State UniversitySan Diego, CA · Public	35,377	36%	$13,243	78%
35	University of California-San DiegoLa Jolla, CA · Public	34,948	27%	$14,794	86%
36	University of North TexasDenton, TX · Public	34,341	72%	$15,358	63%
37	University of Michigan-Ann ArborAnn Arbor, MI · Public	34,177	16%	$14,362	93%
38	Connecticut State Community CollegeNew Britain, CT · Public	33,645	not reported	$9,195	25%
39	University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA · Public	33,475	9.0%	$14,659	93%
40	The University of AlabamaTuscaloosa, AL · Public	33,227	77%	$20,202	74%
41	University of California-BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · Public	33,068	11%	$14,538	94%
42	Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale, VA · Public	33,048	not reported	$5,880	35%
43	Brigham Young UniversityProvo, UT · Private nonprofit	32,952	68%	$13,397	81%
44	California State University-NorthridgeNorthridge, CA · Public	32,691	93%	$6,346	57%
45	Texas Tech UniversityLubbock, TX · Public	32,394	73%	$19,890	70%
46	The University of Texas at ArlingtonArlington, TX · Public	32,294	80%	$17,040	51%
47	University of California-DavisDavis, CA · Public	32,253	42%	$14,318	86%
48	Florida State UniversityTallahassee, FL · Public	32,212	24%	$8,605	86%
49	University of GeorgiaAthens, GA · Public	32,137	38%	$13,636	89%
50	University of Washington-Seattle CampusSeattle, WA · Public	31,942	39%	$13,663	85%
51	University of Colorado BoulderBoulder, CO · Public	31,939	78%	$23,708	74%
52	University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesMinneapolis, MN · Public	31,855	80%	$17,330	85%
53	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBlacksburg, VA · Public	30,923	55%	$25,808	86%
54	University of Maryland-College ParkCollege Park, MD · Public	30,760	45%	$14,296	88%
55	Oregon State UniversityCorvallis, OR · Public	30,743	77%	$21,504	68%
56	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeBaton Rouge, LA · Public	30,594	73%	$19,286	68%
57	The University of Texas at San AntonioSan Antonio, TX · Public	30,580	87%	$9,872	52%
58	The University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleKnoxville, TN · Public	30,418	42%	$18,314	74%
59	University of California-IrvineIrvine, CA · Public	30,197	29%	$13,866	87%
60	Austin Community College DistrictAustin, TX · Public	30,189	not reported	$2,445	19%
61	University of Cincinnati-Main CampusCincinnati, OH · Public	29,882	85%	$24,917	75%
62	University of South Carolina-ColumbiaColumbia, SC · Public	29,820	60%	$22,197	79%
63	University of ArkansasFayetteville, AR · Public	28,677	74%	$17,571	71%
64	The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyEdinburg, TX · Public	28,666	94%	$4,858	55%
65	New York UniversityNew York, NY · Private nonprofit	28,663	9.2%	$35,737	88%
66	Utah Valley UniversityOrem, UT · Public	28,453	not reported	$17,558	47%
67	California State University-SacramentoSacramento, CA · Public	28,350	94%	$11,186	54%
68	Colorado Technical University-Colorado SpringsColorado Springs, CO · Private for-profit	28,086	not reported	$17,860	19%
69	George Mason UniversityFairfax, VA · Public	27,752	87%	$14,697	66%
70	San Jose State UniversitySan Jose, CA · Public	27,601	85%	$14,241	68%
71	North Carolina State University at RaleighRaleigh, NC · Public	27,371	42%	$16,486	85%
72	University of UtahSalt Lake City, UT · Public	27,264	86%	$27,314	66%
73	College of Southern NevadaLas Vegas, NV · Public	27,252	not reported	$6,016	22%
74	Auburn UniversityAuburn, AL · Public	26,816	46%	$25,424	82%
75	Georgia State UniversityAtlanta, GA · Public	26,623	55%	$12,365	51%
76	Collin County Community College DistrictMcKinney, TX · Public	26,449	not reported	$10,747	21%
77	Mt San Antonio CollegeWalnut, CA · Public	26,140	not reported	$1,676	45%
78	Full Sail UniversityWinter Park, FL · Private for-profit	25,777	not reported	$37,401	42%
79	American River CollegeSacramento, CA · Public	25,621	not reported	$5,730	39%
80	Colorado State University-Fort CollinsFort Collins, CO · Public	25,538	89%	$22,247	68%
81	Iowa State UniversityAmes, IA · Public	25,367	89%	$18,517	77%
82	California State Polytechnic University-PomonaPomona, CA · Public	25,042	75%	$9,404	68%
83	Broward CollegeFort Lauderdale, FL · Public	24,922	not reported	$7,989	40%
84	University of KentuckyLexington, KY · Public	24,763	93%	$18,868	72%
85	University of Nevada-Las VegasLas Vegas, NV · Public	24,622	96%	$11,062	52%
86	University of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlotte, NC · Public	24,453	80%	$15,142	68%
87	El Paso Community CollegeEl Paso, TX · Public	24,214	not reported	$6,869	25%
88	University of Missouri-ColumbiaColumbia, MO · Public	23,929	78%	$21,142	77%
89	Florida Atlantic UniversityBoca Raton, FL · Public	23,757	66%	$10,394	64%
90	University of Massachusetts-AmherstAmherst, MA · Public	23,671	60%	$22,857	81%
91	Clemson UniversityClemson, SC · Public	23,300	38%	$22,032	88%
92	University of California-Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA · Public	23,113	33%	$16,807	84%
93	San Jacinto Community CollegePasadena, TX · Public	22,969	not reported	$1,807	29%
94	Northern Arizona UniversityFlagstaff, AZ · Public	22,903	90%	$17,265	59%
95	University of Oklahoma-Norman CampusNorman, OK · Public	22,734	77%	$15,531	75%
96	University of the PeoplePasadena, CA · Private nonprofit	22,688	not reported	not reported	36%
97	University of California-RiversideRiverside, CA · Public	22,593	76%	$12,672	75%
98	University of IowaIowa City, IA · Public	22,264	84%	$22,508	76%
99	University of Illinois ChicagoChicago, IL · Public	22,170	77%	$9,540	61%
100	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoSan Luis Obispo, CA · Public	21,996	31%	$18,832	87%

Reading this list

The count covers undergraduates only. Graduate students are not included.
A branch campus is counted separately from its main campus where the Department of Education reports it separately.

What the list is made of

The 100 colleges are in 35 states and territories; the most are in California (18), Texas (17), Florida (8) and Arizona (6). By type, 89 public, 7 private nonprofit and 4 private for-profit. Sizes run from 163,164 undergraduates down to 21,996. Together the 100 colleges teach about 3,631,172 undergraduates.

What else the figures show

Large colleges are mostly easy to enter: the median admission rate among those that report one is 71%. 22 report none, 22 of them because they have an open admission policy. The median net price is $14,851 a year (all colleges: $17,357). Graduation rates differ widely among them, from 94% at University of California-Berkeley to 17% at Houston City College.

Using the list

The filter above the table narrows the list by name, city or type of college. Open a college to see its costs by family income, its results next to the state and national medians, and other colleges of a similar size in the same state. A place on a list like this is a starting point for questions, not a verdict on a college: each column counts a particular group of students, explained in how to read the figures.

Source: College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education, data released on 2 November 2026; checked in November 2026. Net price, debt and earnings describe students who received US federal aid. Costs change each year. This is official data for general information, not advice: confirm costs and admission rules on the college's own website and at collegescorecard.ed.gov.