Arizona ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Largest Universities in Arizona

The 50 largest of the 95 Arizona 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.

113,257
Largest in Arizona
95
Institutions reporting
657
Median Arizona institution
#8
of 51 states by enrolment

Grand Canyon University is the largest institution in Arizona with 113,257 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, Grand Canyon University leads Arizona at 113,257 students, and the five largest hold 64.7% of state enrollment. This list covers the 50 largest of 95 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 Arizona
113,257
Institutions reporting
95
State students in top 5
64.7%
Median Arizona institution
657

Arizona in one line

Grand Canyon University is the largest institution in Arizona with 113,257 students, about 172x the 657 of the median institution in the state. 64.7% of every student in the state is enrolled at just these five institutions, so Arizona's higher education is concentrated at the top.

113,257
students at Grand Canyon University
64.7%
of state students, in the top 5
601,052
students enrolled across Arizona
570
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 98.5% of Arizona's students; the other 45 reporting institutions hold the remaining 1.5%. Among the 29 mid-to-large campuses on this list, 25 sit below the 1.58 national median incident rate, and 1 also appear in the national safest-50.

98.5%
of state students, in these 50
25
below 1.58 national median /1k
1
also in national safest-50
3.73
Grand Canyon University 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 95 Arizona institutions by enrollment (591,949 of 601,052 students, 98.5%). The remaining 45 reporting institutions enroll 1.5% of the state total and are omitted from this capped ranking, not from the underlying federal tables.

What this ranking shows about Arizona

Arizona is the 8th largest US jurisdiction by total enrolment, teaching 3% of all reported US students. More than half of the 95 institutions reporting enrolment here are private for-profit (58 of them), largely small career and online schools, which is why Arizona reports so many institutions while its median enrolment stays low.

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 Arizona's top-50 list is 570 students. Here is where that cutoff sits among all 95 Arizona institutions reporting enrollment:

The bar to make Arizona's top-50 list

Clery-reported enrollment · 95 Arizona institutions · 2024

570 Top 53% higher than 47% of 95 Arizona institutions

Show national distribution 0–8,000: 82 Arizona institutions (86%). This entry sits in this band. 8,000–16,000: 5 Arizona institutions (5%). Above this entry. 16,000–24,000: 3 Arizona institutions (3%). Above this entry. 24,000–32,000: 1 Arizona institutions (1%). Above this entry. 32,000–40,000: 0 Arizona institutions (0%). Above this entry. 40,000–48,000: 0 Arizona institutions (0%). Above this entry. 48,000–56,000: 0 Arizona institutions (0%). Above this entry. 56,000–64,000: 1 Arizona institutions (1%). Above this entry. 64,000–72,000: 0 Arizona institutions (0%). Above this entry. 72,000–80,000: 3 Arizona institutions (3%). Above this entry. #50 cutoff 0 80,000 every Arizona institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more Arizona 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 Arizona's 95 institutions

11
Phoenix College Phoenix, AZ · Public
Enrollment
10,660
Incidents /1k
0.94
14
Yavapai College Prescott, AZ · Public
Enrollment
7,428
Incidents /1k
0.00
24
Aspen University Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit
Enrollment
3,511
Incidents /1k
0.00
29
Bryan University Tempe, AZ · Private for-profit
Enrollment
2,519
Incidents /1k
0.00
31
Dine College Tsaile, AZ · Public
Enrollment
1,434
Incidents /1k
4.18
41
Prescott College Prescott, AZ · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
867
Incidents /1k
1.15
48
UEI College-Mesa Mesa, AZ · Private for-profit
Enrollment
657
Incidents /1k
0.00
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 113,257 100% of the leader · rank #1 3.73
2 University of Phoenix-Arizona Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 111,248 98% of the leader · rank #2 0.00
3 Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public 79,818 70% of the leader · rank #3 5.21
4 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public 56,365 50% of the leader · rank #4 3.51
5 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ · Public 28,467 25% of the leader · rank #5 8.11
6 Rio Salado College Tempe, AZ · Public 18,841 17% of the leader · rank #6 0.21
7 Mesa Community College Mesa, AZ · Public 17,077 15% of the leader · rank #7 0.47
8 Pima Community College Tucson, AZ · Public 16,283 14% of the leader · rank #8 0.31
9 Chandler-Gilbert Community College Chandler, AZ · Public 15,085 13% of the leader · rank #9 0.20
10 Glendale Community College Glendale, AZ · Public 13,914 12% of the leader · rank #10 0.57
11 Phoenix College Phoenix, AZ · Public 10,660 9% of the leader · rank #11 0.94
12 Estrella Mountain Community College Avondale, AZ · Public 10,109 9% of the leader · rank #12 0.20
13 Arizona Western College Yuma, AZ · Public 8,964 8% of the leader · rank #13 0.11
14 Yavapai College Prescott, AZ · Public 7,428 7% of the leader · rank #14 0.00
15 Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ · Public 7,065 6% of the leader · rank #15 0.00
16 Paradise Valley Community College Phoenix, AZ · Public 6,148 5% of the leader · rank #16 0.16
17 GateWay Community College Phoenix, AZ · Public 5,553 5% of the leader · rank #17 1.08
18 Eastern Arizona College Thatcher, AZ · Public 5,213 5% of the leader · rank #18 0.38
19 Central Arizona College Coolidge, AZ · Public 5,053 4% of the leader · rank #19 0.79
20 Mohave Community College Kingman, AZ · Public 4,619 4% of the leader · rank #20 0.00
21 South Mountain Community College Phoenix, AZ · Public 4,516 4% of the leader · rank #21 1.11
22 Cochise County Community College District Sierra Vista, AZ · Public 3,905 4% of the leader · rank #22 0.00
23 Midwestern University-Glendale Glendale, AZ · Private nonprofit 3,738 4% of the leader · rank #23 0.00
24 Aspen University Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 3,511 4% of the leader · rank #24 0.00
25 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Prescott, AZ · Private nonprofit 3,264 4% of the leader · rank #25 0.61
26 Northland Pioneer College Holbrook, AZ · Public 3,158 4% of the leader · rank #26 0.00
27 Pima Medical Institute-Tucson Tucson, AZ · Private for-profit 2,676 4% of the leader · rank #27 0.00
28 Coconino Community College Flagstaff, AZ · Public 2,524 4% of the leader · rank #28 0.00
29 Bryan University Tempe, AZ · Private for-profit 2,519 4% of the leader · rank #29 0.00
30 Universal Technical Institute of Arizona Inc Avondale, AZ · Private for-profit 1,957 4% of the leader · rank #30 0.00
31 Dine College Tsaile, AZ · Public 1,434 4% of the leader · rank #31 4.18
32 Arizona Christian University Glendale, AZ · Private nonprofit 1,421 4% of the leader · rank #32 0.70
33 Refrigeration School Inc Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 1,417 4% of the leader · rank #33 0.71
34 UEI College-Phoenix Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 1,234 4% of the leader · rank #34 2.43
35 Arizona College of Nursing-Phoenix Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 1,229 4% of the leader · rank #35 0.00
36 Arizona College of Nursing-Tempe Tempe, AZ · Private for-profit 1,202 4% of the leader · rank #36 0.00
37 Tohono O'odham Community College Sells, AZ · Public 1,165 4% of the leader · rank #37 0.00
38 Carrington College-Phoenix North Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 1,080 4% of the leader · rank #38 1.85
39 University of Advancing Technology Tempe, AZ · Private for-profit 933 4% of the leader · rank #39 0.00
40 Ottawa University-Surprise Surprise, AZ · Private nonprofit 912 4% of the leader · rank #40 6.58
41 Prescott College Prescott, AZ · Private nonprofit 867 4% of the leader · rank #41 1.15
42 Pima Medical Institute-Phoenix Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 780 4% of the leader · rank #42 0.00
43 Brookline College-Phoenix Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 739 4% of the leader · rank #43 0.00
44 Pima Medical Institute-Mesa Mesa, AZ · Private for-profit 705 4% of the leader · rank #44 0.00
45 Chamberlain University-Arizona Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit 693 4% of the leader · rank #45 0.00
46 Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences Tempe, AZ · Private for-profit 692 4% of the leader · rank #46 0.00
47 Miller-Motte College-Arizona Automotive Institute Glendale, AZ · Private for-profit 689 4% of the leader · rank #47 0.00
48 UEI College-Mesa Mesa, AZ · Private for-profit 657 4% of the leader · rank #48 0.00
49 GateWay Community College-Central City Phoenix, AZ · Public 595 4% of the leader · rank #49 0.00
50 Studio Academy of Beauty Chandler, AZ · Private for-profit 570 4% of the leader · rank #50 0.00

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for Arizona, 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.