Illinois ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Biggest Colleges in Illinois

The 50 largest of the 216 Illinois 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.

59,238
Largest in Illinois
216
Institutions reporting
682
Median Illinois institution
#5
of 51 states by enrolment

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the largest institution in Illinois with 59,238 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign leads Illinois at 59,238 students, and the five largest hold 25% of state enrollment. This list covers the 50 largest of 216 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 Illinois
59,238
Institutions reporting
216
State students in top 5
25%
Median Illinois institution
682

Illinois in one line

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the largest institution in Illinois with 59,238 students, about 87x the 682 of the median institution in the state. The five largest hold only 25% of the state's students, so enrolment is spread widely across many smaller institutions rather than gathered into a few.

59,238
students at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
25%
of state students, in the top 5
735,384
students enrolled across Illinois
3,960
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 80.9% of Illinois's students; the other 166 reporting institutions hold the remaining 19.1%. Among the 50 mid-to-large campuses on this list, 34 sit below the 1.58 national median incident rate, and 3 also appear in the national safest-50.

80.9%
of state students, in these 50
34
below 1.58 national median /1k
3
also in national safest-50
4.19
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 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 216 Illinois institutions by enrollment (595,141 of 735,384 students, 80.9%). The remaining 166 reporting institutions enroll 19.1% of the state total and are omitted from this capped ranking, not from the underlying federal tables.

What this ranking shows about Illinois

Illinois is the 5th largest US jurisdiction by total enrolment, teaching 3.7% of all reported US students. The 216 institutions reporting enrolment here split 59 public to 156 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 Illinois's top-50 list is 3,960 students. Here is where that cutoff sits among all 216 Illinois institutions reporting enrollment:

The bar to make Illinois's top-50 list

Clery-reported enrollment · 216 Illinois institutions · 2024

3,960 Top 23% higher than 77% of 216 Illinois institutions

Show national distribution 0–6,000: 181 Illinois institutions (84%). This entry sits in this band. 6,000–12,000: 21 Illinois institutions (10%). Above this entry. 12,000–18,000: 5 Illinois institutions (2%). Above this entry. 18,000–24,000: 4 Illinois institutions (2%). Above this entry. 24,000–30,000: 1 Illinois institutions (0%). Above this entry. 30,000–36,000: 3 Illinois institutions (1%). Above this entry. 36,000–42,000: 0 Illinois institutions (0%). Above this entry. 42,000–48,000: 0 Illinois institutions (0%). Above this entry. 48,000–54,000: 0 Illinois institutions (0%). Above this entry. 54,000–60,000: 1 Illinois institutions (0%). Above this entry. #50 cutoff 0 60,000 every Illinois institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more Illinois 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 Illinois's 216 institutions

8
DePaul University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
21,210
Incidents /1k
2.07
19
Triton College River Grove, IL · Public
Enrollment
9,842
Incidents /1k
0.00
26
Oakton College Des Plaines, IL · Public
Enrollment
8,329
Incidents /1k
0.12
30
Lewis University Romeoville, IL · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
7,011
Incidents /1k
0.86
35
Parkland College Champaign, IL · Public
Enrollment
6,014
Incidents /1k
1.33
37
Aurora University Aurora, IL · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,923
Incidents /1k
0.68
42
Bradley University Peoria, IL · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
4,777
Incidents /1k
5.44
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public 59,238 100% of the leader · rank #1 4.19
2 University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL · Public 33,906 57% of the leader · rank #2 6.87
3 Chamberlain University-Illinois Addison, IL · Private for-profit 32,944 56% of the leader · rank #3 0.00
4 DeVry University-Illinois Lisle, IL · Private for-profit 31,296 53% of the leader · rank #4 0.00
5 College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL · Public 26,224 44% of the leader · rank #5 0.08
6 Northwestern University Evanston, IL · Private nonprofit 23,856 40% of the leader · rank #6 6.50
7 Illinois State University Normal, IL · Public 21,546 36% of the leader · rank #7 3.20
8 DePaul University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit 21,210 36% of the leader · rank #8 2.07
9 University of Chicago Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit 18,566 31% of the leader · rank #9 3.72
10 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit 17,384 29% of the leader · rank #10 2.36
11 Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL · Public 15,414 26% of the leader · rank #11 9.60
12 Joliet Junior College Joliet, IL · Public 14,414 24% of the leader · rank #12 0.00
13 William Rainey Harper College Palatine, IL · Public 13,988 24% of the leader · rank #13 0.29
14 College of Lake County Grayslake, IL · Public 12,530 21% of the leader · rank #14 0.56
15 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL · Public 11,893 20% of the leader · rank #15 1.01
16 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL · Public 11,790 20% of the leader · rank #16 3.56
17 Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills, IL · Public 11,296 19% of the leader · rank #17 1.15
18 Elgin Community College Elgin, IL · Public 10,251 17% of the leader · rank #18 0.00
19 Triton College River Grove, IL · Public 9,842 17% of the leader · rank #19 0.00
20 McHenry County College Crystal Lake, IL · Public 9,399 16% of the leader · rank #20 0.00
21 City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College Chicago, IL · Public 9,303 16% of the leader · rank #21 0.43
22 National Louis University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit 8,915 15% of the leader · rank #22 0.00
23 Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit 8,834 15% of the leader · rank #23 1.25
24 Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL · Public 8,505 14% of the leader · rank #24 4.47
25 Southwestern Illinois College Belleville, IL · Public 8,492 14% of the leader · rank #25 1.53
26 Oakton College Des Plaines, IL · Public 8,329 14% of the leader · rank #26 0.12
27 Waubonsee Community College Sugar Grove, IL · Public 8,305 14% of the leader · rank #27 0.12
28 Illinois Central College East Peoria, IL · Public 7,906 13% of the leader · rank #28 1.52
29 City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College Chicago, IL · Public 7,798 13% of the leader · rank #29 0.64
30 Lewis University Romeoville, IL · Private nonprofit 7,011 12% of the leader · rank #30 0.86
31 City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman College Chicago, IL · Public 6,839 12% of the leader · rank #31 0.58
32 Western Illinois University Macomb, IL · Public 6,332 11% of the leader · rank #32 3.63
33 City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College Chicago, IL · Public 6,296 11% of the leader · rank #33 0.79
34 City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College Chicago, IL · Public 6,121 10% of the leader · rank #34 1.47
35 Parkland College Champaign, IL · Public 6,014 10% of the leader · rank #35 1.33
36 Rock Valley College Rockford, IL · Public 5,978 10% of the leader · rank #36 0.33
37 Aurora University Aurora, IL · Private nonprofit 5,923 10% of the leader · rank #37 0.68
38 Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL · Public 5,734 10% of the leader · rank #38 1.57
39 Lincoln Land Community College Springfield, IL · Public 5,677 10% of the leader · rank #39 0.53
40 Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit 5,570 9% of the leader · rank #40 3.23
41 Heartland Community College Normal, IL · Public 4,855 8% of the leader · rank #41 0.62
42 Bradley University Peoria, IL · Private nonprofit 4,777 8% of the leader · rank #42 5.44
43 Concordia University-Chicago River Forest, IL · Private nonprofit 4,770 8% of the leader · rank #43 1.68
44 University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL · Public 4,628 8% of the leader · rank #44 1.94
45 Lewis and Clark Community College Godfrey, IL · Public 4,606 8% of the leader · rank #45 0.22
46 Governors State University University Park, IL · Public 4,397 7% of the leader · rank #46 0.23
47 Roosevelt University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit 4,281 7% of the leader · rank #47 0.70
48 Black Hawk College Moline, IL · Public 4,001 7% of the leader · rank #48 0.75
49 Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL · Private nonprofit 3,997 7% of the leader · rank #49 4.25
50 Lake Land College Mattoon, IL · Public 3,960 7% of the leader · rank #50 0.00

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for Illinois, 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.