United States Private Colleges Ranked by Smallest Enrollment

Below is a ranking of the 1262 private colleges in the United States with the smallest enrollment of full and part time students. The University of America leads the list with a population of 0 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 Smallest Enrollment
College	Enrollment
American University Washington, District Of Columbia	12,321
Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio	12,475
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide Daytona Beach, Florida	12,770
University of Denver Denver, Colorado	12,813
Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas	12,938
Excelsior University Albany, New York	12,941
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana	13,042
Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana	13,310
Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee	13,575
Tufts University Medford, Massachusetts	13,599
Pace University New York, New York	13,634
Wilmington University New Castle, Delaware	13,746
Bellevue University Bellevue, Nebraska	14,667
Howard University Washington, District Of Columbia	14,890
Emory University Atlanta, Georgia	15,175
Boston College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	15,432
Yale University New Haven, Connecticut	15,564
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	15,888

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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.