United States Public Colleges Ranked by Largest Enrollment

Below is a ranking of the 1538 public colleges in the United States with the largest enrollment of full and part time students. Ivy Tech Community College leads the list with a population of 110,710 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 Public Colleges Ranked by Largest Enrollment
College	Enrollment
Iowa Central Community College Fort Dodge, Iowa	4,949
University of South Carolina Upstate Spartanburg, South Carolina	4,916
Catawba Valley Community College Hickory, North Carolina	4,904
Winthrop University Rock Hill, South Carolina	4,894
Owensboro Community and Technical College Owensboro, Kentucky	4,875
South Puget Sound Community College Olympia, Washington	4,871
Heartland Community College Normal, Illinois	4,855
Napa Valley College Napa, California	4,844
College of Marin Kentfield, California	4,838
Alamance Community College Graham, North Carolina	4,827
Northeast Iowa Community College Calmar, Iowa	4,808
Porterville College Porterville, California	4,784
Passaic County Community College Paterson, New Jersey	4,782
Winston Salem State University Winston-Salem, North Carolina	4,782
York Technical College Rock Hill, South Carolina	4,771
Central Maine Community College Auburn, Maine	4,754
Jones County Junior College Ellisville, Mississippi	4,753
Northwest Florida State College Niceville, Florida	4,752

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

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