Arkansas ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Largest Universities in Arkansas

The 50 largest of the 75 Arkansas colleges and universities that report an enrolment to the U.S. Department of Education, ranked biggest first. Total enrolment counts online and distance students, so an institution with a large virtual programme can outrank a bigger physical campus.

33,610
Largest in Arkansas
75
Institutions reporting
786
Median Arkansas institution
#35
of 51 states by enrolment

University of Arkansas is the largest institution in Arkansas with 33,610 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, University of Arkansas leads Arkansas at 33,610 students, and the five largest hold 48.2% of state enrollment. This list covers the 50 largest of 75 reporting institutions. Totals include online learners, so a large virtual programme can outrank a bigger physical campus.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

Largest in Arkansas
33,610
Institutions reporting
75
State students in top 5
48.2%
Median Arkansas institution
786

Arkansas in one line

University of Arkansas is the largest institution in Arkansas with 33,610 students, about 43x the 786 of the median institution in the state. The five largest hold 48.2% of the state's students, a middling concentration: large institutions matter here without crowding out the rest.

33,610
students at University of Arkansas
48.2%
of state students, in the top 5
158,912
students enrolled across Arkansas
241
the #50 cutoff

Enrollment is total students reported in the OPE campus-safety disclosure for 2024, including online and distance learners. IPEDS supplies institution location and sector. The incident column is reported on-campus Clery Act incidents per 1,000 enrolled students.

Size joined to safety

These 50 largest institutions enroll 98.8% of Arkansas's students; the other 25 reporting institutions hold the remaining 1.2%. Among the 18 mid-to-large campuses on this list, 9 sit below the 1.58 national median incident rate, and 1 also appear in the national safest-50.

98.8%
of state students, in these 50
9
below 1.58 national median /1k
1
also in national safest-50
1.79
University of Arkansas rate /1k

Incident rates are on-campus Clery Criminal Offenses and VAWA reports per 1,000 enrolled students for campuses with enrollment ≥ 2,000 and a national safety rank. A lower rate is not a personal safety verdict, reporting culture and online enrollment dilute raw counts. See /rankings/safest-campuses for the size-fair national list.

Showing the top 50 of 75 Arkansas institutions by enrollment (157,044 of 158,912 students, 98.8%). The remaining 25 reporting institutions enroll 1.2% of the state total and are omitted from this capped ranking, not from the underlying federal tables.

What this ranking shows about Arkansas

Arkansas ranks 35th by total enrolment among the states and DC, so even its largest institutions are modest against national leaders. 34 of the 75 institutions reporting enrolment here are public, an unusually public-heavy sector, so the top of this list is largely a map of the state's public systems.

Ranking by total enrolment puts institutions with large online programmes above institutions with larger physical campuses, because a virtual student body is not limited by classrooms or housing. A list of the biggest campuses by students physically present would order differently, and neither list is more correct, because they answer different questions. Enrolment here is the total headcount an institution reported to the federal OPE reporting cohort, which counts undergraduate and graduate students together and makes no distinction between full-time and part-time study. A university with a very large part-time or continuing-education population can therefore outrank one with more students on campus on any given weekday.

The incident-rate column is here because institution size changes how a raw incident count should be read, not because a larger university is more or less safe. Two institutions with the same number of reported incidents are not comparable if one enrols five times as many students, so the column expresses incidents per thousand enrolled. A rate still reflects reporting practice as much as underlying risk: an institution that encourages reporting and investigates thoroughly can record more incidents than one that does neither, and that is the opposite of what a naive reading suggests. Institutions where most students study online show diluted rates, because the denominator counts students who never set foot on a campus. Read the column as context for the size ranking, never as a safety verdict, and see our methodology for how both figures are assembled. For the same institutions ranked by cost rather than size, see the cheapest colleges rankings, or browse every institution we hold a record for.

Comparing states? See the 50 largest universities in the US, or this state's campus safety profile.

The bar to make Arkansas's top-50 list is 241 students. Here is where that cutoff sits among all 75 Arkansas institutions reporting enrollment:

The bar to make Arkansas's top-50 list

Clery-reported enrollment · 75 Arkansas institutions · 2024

241 Top 67% higher than 33% of 75 Arkansas institutions

Show national distribution 0–4,000: 65 Arkansas institutions (87%). This entry sits in this band. 4,000–8,000: 4 Arkansas institutions (5%). Above this entry. 8,000–12,000: 4 Arkansas institutions (5%). Above this entry. 12,000–16,000: 1 Arkansas institutions (1%). Above this entry. 16,000–20,000: 0 Arkansas institutions (0%). Above this entry. 20,000–24,000: 0 Arkansas institutions (0%). Above this entry. 24,000–28,000: 0 Arkansas institutions (0%). Above this entry. 28,000–32,000: 0 Arkansas institutions (0%). Above this entry. 32,000–36,000: 1 Arkansas institutions (1%). Above this entry. #50 cutoff 0 36,000 every Arkansas institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more Arkansas institutions. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey · 2024

The 50 largest of Arkansas's 75 institutions

9
Harding University Searcy, AR · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
4,696
Incidents /1k
1.06
32
Hendrix College Conway, AR · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
1,110
Incidents /1k
3.60
33
Ozarka College Melbourne, AR · Public
Enrollment
1,069
Incidents /1k
0.00
42
Lyon College Batesville, AR · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
659
Incidents /1k
15.17
48
Shorter College N Little Rock, AR · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
287
Incidents /1k
0.00
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR · Public 33,610 100% of the leader · rank #1 1.79
2 Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR · Public 15,726 47% of the leader · rank #2 1.53
3 University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR · Public 10,112 30% of the leader · rank #3 3.66
4 Arkansas Tech University Russellville, AR · Public 8,746 26% of the leader · rank #4 2.06
5 NorthWest Arkansas Community College Bentonville, AR · Public 8,412 25% of the leader · rank #5 0.12
6 University of Arkansas at Little Rock Little Rock, AR · Public 8,216 24% of the leader · rank #6 0.97
7 University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Fort Smith, AR · Public 5,496 16% of the leader · rank #7 1.46
8 Southern Arkansas University Main Campus Magnolia, AR · Public 4,732 14% of the leader · rank #8 2.11
9 Harding University Searcy, AR · Private nonprofit 4,696 14% of the leader · rank #9 1.06
10 University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College North Little Rock, AR · Public 4,478 13% of the leader · rank #10 0.00
11 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR · Public 3,485 10% of the leader · rank #11 5.17
12 Arkansas State University-Beebe Beebe, AR · Public 3,277 10% of the leader · rank #12 0.00
13 University of Arkansas at Monticello Monticello, AR · Public 2,856 8% of the leader · rank #13 2.10
14 John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR · Private nonprofit 2,350 7% of the leader · rank #14 1.70
15 University of Arkansas Community College-Morrilton Morrilton, AR · Public 2,248 7% of the leader · rank #15 0.00
16 North Arkansas College Harrison, AR · Public 2,089 6% of the leader · rank #16 0.00
17 Henderson State University Arkadelphia, AR · Public 2,055 6% of the leader · rank #17 1.95
18 University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Pine Bluff, AR · Public 2,005 6% of the leader · rank #18 21.45
19 Arkansas State University Three Rivers Malvern, AR · Public 1,983 6% of the leader · rank #19 0.00
20 Arkansas State University-Newport Newport, AR · Public 1,868 6% of the leader · rank #20 0.00
21 Ouachita Baptist University Arkadelphia, AR · Private nonprofit 1,858 6% of the leader · rank #21 2.15
22 National Park College Hot Springs, AR · Public 1,805 5% of the leader · rank #22 0.00
23 Black River Technical College Pocahontas, AR · Public 1,705 5% of the leader · rank #23 0.59
24 Arkansas Northeastern College Blytheville, AR · Public 1,461 4% of the leader · rank #24 0.00
25 East Arkansas Community College Forrest City, AR · Public 1,401 4% of the leader · rank #25 0.00
26 Arkansas State University-Mountain Home Mountain Home, AR · Public 1,315 4% of the leader · rank #26 0.00
27 Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas De Queen, AR · Public 1,312 4% of the leader · rank #27 0.00
28 University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana Hope, AR · Public 1,305 4% of the leader · rank #28 0.00
29 South Arkansas College El Dorado, AR · Public 1,207 4% of the leader · rank #29 0.00
30 Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas Helena, AR · Public 1,199 4% of the leader · rank #30 0.00
31 University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville Batesville, AR · Public 1,192 4% of the leader · rank #31 0.00
32 Hendrix College Conway, AR · Private nonprofit 1,110 4% of the leader · rank #32 3.60
33 Ozarka College Melbourne, AR · Public 1,069 4% of the leader · rank #33 0.00
34 Arkansas State University Mid-South West Memphis, AR · Public 1,022 4% of the leader · rank #34 0.00
35 Southern Arkansas University Tech Camden, AR · Public 991 4% of the leader · rank #35 1.01
36 Southeast Arkansas College Pine Bluff, AR · Public 916 4% of the leader · rank #36 1.09
37 Arkansas Colleges of Health Education Fort Smith, AR · Private nonprofit 870 4% of the leader · rank #37 0.00
38 University of Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain Mena, AR · Public 786 4% of the leader · rank #38 0.00
39 Philander Smith University Little Rock, AR · Private nonprofit 780 4% of the leader · rank #39 0.00
40 University of the Ozarks Clarksville, AR · Private nonprofit 778 4% of the leader · rank #40 6.43
41 Strayer University-Arkansas Little Rock, AR · Private for-profit 741 4% of the leader · rank #41 0.00
42 Lyon College Batesville, AR · Private nonprofit 659 4% of the leader · rank #42 15.17
43 Baptist Health College Little Rock Little Rock, AR · Private nonprofit 583 4% of the leader · rank #43 0.00
44 Central Baptist College Conway, AR · Private nonprofit 547 4% of the leader · rank #44 0.00
45 Williams Baptist University Walnut Ridge, AR · Private nonprofit 517 4% of the leader · rank #45 0.00
46 Paul Mitchell the School-Little Rock North Little Rock, AR · Private for-profit 360 4% of the leader · rank #46 0.00
47 Arkansas Baptist College Little Rock, AR · Private nonprofit 342 4% of the leader · rank #47 5.85
48 Shorter College N Little Rock, AR · Private nonprofit 287 4% of the leader · rank #48 0.00
49 Career Academy of Hair Design Springdale, AR · Private for-profit 245 4% of the leader · rank #49 0.00
50 Crowley's Ridge College Paragould, AR · Private nonprofit 241 4% of the leader · rank #50 0.00

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for Arkansas, not a verdict on any institution.

Institutions below the reporting floor, or without enrolment in the Campus Safety and Security Survey cohort for 2024, do not appear on this list. IPEDS supplies classification and location.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education Campus Safety and Security Survey (enrollment and Clery disclosures), joined to the IPEDS institutional directory (location and classification)

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Every figure on this page is computed at request time from the federal source tables; no ranking position or count is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-10-26.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.