United States Private Colleges Ranked by Largest Enrollment

Below is a ranking of the 1262 private colleges in the United States with the largest enrollment of full and part time students. Western Governors University leads the list with a population of 210,208 students.

Enrollment is a measure of the size of the student body. Larger schools are more likely to offer a wider range of programs and services while smaller schools may have a more intimate and personalized experience.

List of United States Private Colleges Ranked by Largest Enrollment
College	Enrollment
University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, Kentucky	22,120
National University San Diego, California	22,115
DePaul University Chicago, Illinois	21,210
Drexel University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	21,153
Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, Florida	20,910
Keiser University Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, Florida	20,888
Baylor University Waco, Texas	20,626
Georgetown University Washington, District Of Columbia	20,031
University of Miami Coral Gables, Florida	19,852
St. John's University New York Queens, New York	19,389
Stanford University Stanford, California	18,625
University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois	18,566
Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, Georgia	18,550
Duke University Durham, North Carolina	17,499
Loyola University Chicago Chicago, Illinois	17,384
Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, New York	17,098
Saint Louis University Saint Louis, Missouri	17,059
Long Island University Brookville, New York	16,689

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This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: March 15, 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.