California Public Colleges Ranked by Smallest Enrollment

Below is a ranking of the 148 public colleges in California with the smallest enrollment of full and part time students. California Indian Nations College leads the list with a population of 154 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 Public Colleges Ranked by Smallest Enrollment
College	Enrollment
San Diego Mesa College San Diego, California	19,212
City College of San Francisco San Francisco, California	19,267
Fullerton College Fullerton, California	19,521
Palomar College San Marcos, California	19,550
Sacramento City College Sacramento, California	19,920
University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California	19,938
Saddleback College Mission Viejo, California	20,764
San Joaquin Delta College Stockton, California	20,969
Southwestern College Chula Vista, California	20,986
El Camino Community College District Torrance, California	21,664
Riverside City College Riverside, California	21,730
Cerritos College Norwalk, California	21,859
Chaffey College Rancho Cucamonga, California	22,460
San Francisco State University San Francisco, California	22,563
California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, California	23,069
California State University Los Angeles Los Angeles, California	23,163
Santa Monica College Santa Monica, California	23,453
California State University Fresno Fresno, California	24,427

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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.