California ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Largest Universities in California

The 50 largest of the 590 California 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.

47,335
Largest in California
590
Institutions reporting
570
Median California institution
#1
of 51 states by enrolment

University of California-Los Angeles is the largest institution in California with 47,335 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, University of California-Los Angeles leads California at 47,335 students, and the five largest hold 8.5% of state enrollment. This list covers the 50 largest of 590 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 California
47,335
Institutions reporting
590
State students in top 5
8.5%
Median California institution
570

California in one line

University of California-Los Angeles is the largest institution in California with 47,335 students, about 83x the 570 of the median institution in the state. The five largest hold only 8.5% of the state's students, so enrolment is spread widely across many smaller institutions rather than gathered into a few.

47,335
students at University of California-Los Angeles
8.5%
of state students, in the top 5
2,666,243
students enrolled across California
17,441
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 50.9% of California's students; the other 540 reporting institutions hold the remaining 49.1%. Among the 50 mid-to-large campuses on this list, 31 sit below the 1.58 national median incident rate, and 2 also appear in the national safest-50.

50.9%
of state students, in these 50
31
below 1.58 national median /1k
2
also in national safest-50
9.38
University of California-Los Angeles 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 590 California institutions by enrollment (1,358,157 of 2,666,243 students, 50.9%). The remaining 540 reporting institutions enroll 49.1% of the state total and are omitted from this capped ranking, not from the underlying federal tables.

What this ranking shows about California

California is the 1st largest US jurisdiction by total enrolment, teaching 13.4% of all reported US students. The 590 institutions reporting enrolment here split 164 public to 425 private, so neither sector defines the top of this list on its own.

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 California's top-50 list is 17,441 students. Here is where that cutoff sits among all 590 California institutions reporting enrollment:

The bar to make California's top-50 list

Clery-reported enrollment · 590 California institutions · 2024

17,441 Top 8% higher than 92% of 590 California institutions

Show national distribution 0–5,000: 443 California institutions (75%). Below this entry. 5,000–10,000: 53 California institutions (9%). Below this entry. 10,000–15,000: 34 California institutions (6%). Below this entry. 15,000–20,000: 24 California institutions (4%). This entry sits in this band. 20,000–25,000: 15 California institutions (3%). Above this entry. 25,000–30,000: 6 California institutions (1%). Above this entry. 30,000–35,000: 4 California institutions (1%). Above this entry. 35,000–40,000: 3 California institutions (1%). Above this entry. 40,000–45,000: 5 California institutions (1%). Above this entry. 45,000–50,000: 3 California institutions (1%). Above this entry. #50 cutoff 0 50,000 every California institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more California 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 California's 590 institutions

29
Chaffey College Rancho Cucamonga, CA · Public
Enrollment
22,460
Incidents /1k
0.62
30
National University San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
22,115
Incidents /1k
0.00
31
Cerritos College Norwalk, CA · Public
Enrollment
21,859
Incidents /1k
0.37
39
Palomar College San Marcos, CA · Public
Enrollment
19,550
Incidents /1k
0.31
43
Sierra College Rocklin, CA · Public
Enrollment
19,125
Incidents /1k
0.16
44
Stanford University Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
18,625
Incidents /1k
21.26
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public 47,335 100% of the leader · rank #1 9.38
2 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit 46,566 98% of the leader · rank #2 9.64
3 University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA · Public 45,882 97% of the leader · rank #3 14.19
4 University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA · Public 44,256 93% of the leader · rank #4 13.49
5 California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA · Public 43,662 92% of the leader · rank #5 1.51
6 California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public 42,003 89% of the leader · rank #6 1.17
7 San Diego State University San Diego, CA · Public 41,137 87% of the leader · rank #7 1.36
8 University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public 40,065 85% of the leader · rank #8 15.52
9 California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA · Public 38,313 81% of the leader · rank #9 3.55
10 San Jose State University San Jose, CA · Public 37,661 80% of the leader · rank #10 2.28
11 University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA · Public 37,297 79% of the leader · rank #11 10.13
12 East Los Angeles College Monterey Park, CA · Public 33,677 71% of the leader · rank #12 0.36
13 California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA · Public 31,943 67% of the leader · rank #13 3.73
14 Bakersfield College Bakersfield, CA · Public 30,746 65% of the leader · rank #14 1.04
15 American River College Sacramento, CA · Public 30,462 64% of the leader · rank #15 0.13
16 Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA · Public 29,971 63% of the leader · rank #16 0.30
17 Fresno City College Fresno, CA · Public 28,071 59% of the leader · rank #17 1.10
18 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA · Public 27,636 58% of the leader · rank #18 2.53
19 Santa Ana College Santa Ana, CA · Public 27,248 58% of the leader · rank #19 0.11
20 University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA · Public 26,384 56% of the leader · rank #20 19.25
21 University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA · Public 26,133 55% of the leader · rank #21 11.71
22 Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA · Public 24,985 53% of the leader · rank #22 0.08
23 Pasadena City College Pasadena, CA · Public 24,597 52% of the leader · rank #23 1.06
24 California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA · Public 24,427 52% of the leader · rank #24 8.23
25 Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA · Public 23,453 50% of the leader · rank #25 0.47
26 California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public 23,163 49% of the leader · rank #26 2.76
27 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA · Public 23,069 49% of the leader · rank #27 5.51
28 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA · Public 22,563 48% of the leader · rank #28 3.41
29 Chaffey College Rancho Cucamonga, CA · Public 22,460 47% of the leader · rank #29 0.62
30 National University San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit 22,115 47% of the leader · rank #30 0.00
31 Cerritos College Norwalk, CA · Public 21,859 46% of the leader · rank #31 0.37
32 Riverside City College Riverside, CA · Public 21,730 46% of the leader · rank #32 0.46
33 El Camino Community College District Torrance, CA · Public 21,664 46% of the leader · rank #33 1.57
34 Southwestern College Chula Vista, CA · Public 20,986 44% of the leader · rank #34 0.76
35 San Joaquin Delta College Stockton, CA · Public 20,969 44% of the leader · rank #35 0.48
36 Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA · Public 20,764 44% of the leader · rank #36 0.82
37 University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · Public 19,938 42% of the leader · rank #37 7.67
38 Sacramento City College Sacramento, CA · Public 19,920 42% of the leader · rank #38 0.25
39 Palomar College San Marcos, CA · Public 19,550 41% of the leader · rank #39 0.31
40 Fullerton College Fullerton, CA · Public 19,521 41% of the leader · rank #40 0.41
41 City College of San Francisco San Francisco, CA · Public 19,267 41% of the leader · rank #41 1.04
42 San Diego Mesa College San Diego, CA · Public 19,212 41% of the leader · rank #42 0.36
43 Sierra College Rocklin, CA · Public 19,125 40% of the leader · rank #43 0.16
44 Stanford University Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit 18,625 39% of the leader · rank #44 21.26
45 California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA · Public 18,492 39% of the leader · rank #45 2.00
46 Modesto Junior College Modesto, CA · Public 18,258 39% of the leader · rank #46 0.00
47 College of the Canyons Santa Clarita, CA · Public 18,075 38% of the leader · rank #47 0.17
48 Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA · Public 17,854 38% of the leader · rank #48 0.73
49 Mt San Jacinto Community College District San Jacinto, CA · Public 17,627 37% of the leader · rank #49 0.17
50 Rio Hondo College Whittier, CA · Public 17,441 37% of the leader · rank #50 0.17

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for California, 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.