California Private Colleges Ranked by Largest Enrollment

Below is a ranking of the 102 private colleges in California with the largest enrollment of full and part time students. University of Southern California leads the list with a population of 46,566 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 California Private Colleges Ranked by Largest Enrollment
College	Enrollment
California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks, California	3,351
The Chicago School at Los Angeles Los Angeles, California	3,344
Golden Gate University San Francisco, California	3,098
University of Redlands Redlands, California	3,087
Fresno Pacific University Fresno, California	2,879
The Master's University and Seminary Santa Clarita, California	2,860
Saint Mary's College of California Moraga, California	2,734
California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California	2,430
Touro University Worldwide Los Alamitos, California	2,358
Mount Saint Mary's University Los Angeles, California	2,312
Art Center College of Design Pasadena, California	2,308
Vanguard University of Southern California Costa Mesa, California	2,246
Samuel Merritt University Oakland, California	1,926
Dominican University of California San Rafael, California	1,900
Occidental College Los Angeles, California	1,881
Los Angeles Pacific University San Dimas, California	1,881
California Institute of Integral Studies San Francisco, California	1,874
William Jessup University Rocklin, California	1,865

Search and filter all 102 colleges

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.