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.
| College | Enrollment |
|---|---|
|
California Institute of Integral Studies
San Francisco, California |
1,874 |
|
Davidson College
Davidson, North Carolina |
1,869 |
|
William Jessup University
Rocklin, California |
1,865 |
|
University of Puget Sound
Tacoma, Washington |
1,864 |
|
AdventHealth University
Orlando, Florida |
1,861 |
|
Rhodes College
Memphis, Tennessee |
1,861 |
|
Ouachita Baptist University
Arkadelphia, Arkansas |
1,858 |
|
Piedmont University
Demorest, Georgia |
1,857 |
|
Grand View University
Des Moines, Iowa |
1,856 |
|
Virginia Wesleyan University
Virginia Beach, Virginia |
1,853 |
|
Claflin University
Orangeburg, South Carolina |
1,852 |
|
Crown College
Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota |
1,846 |
|
Hobart William Smith Colleges
Geneva, New York |
1,841 |
|
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois |
1,837 |
|
Cambridge College
Boston, Massachusetts |
1,835 |
|
Methodist University
Fayetteville, North Carolina |
1,822 |
|
Wofford College
Spartanburg, South Carolina |
1,817 |
|
East Texas Baptist University
Marshall, Texas |
1,813 |
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.