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

19
Triton CollegeRiver Grove, IL · Public
Enrollment
9,842
Incidents /1k
0.00
26
Oakton CollegeDes Plaines, IL · Public
Enrollment
8,329
Incidents /1k
0.12
30
Lewis UniversityRomeoville, IL · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
7,011
Incidents /1k
0.86
#InstitutionEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL · Public59,238100% of the leader · rank #14.19
2University of Illinois ChicagoChicago, IL · Public33,90657% of the leader · rank #26.87
3Chamberlain University-IllinoisAddison, IL · Private for-profit32,94456% of the leader · rank #30.00
4DeVry University-IllinoisLisle, IL · Private for-profit31,29653% of the leader · rank #40.00
5College of DuPageGlen Ellyn, IL · Public26,22444% of the leader · rank #50.08
6Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · Private nonprofit23,85640% of the leader · rank #66.50
7Illinois State UniversityNormal, IL · Public21,54636% of the leader · rank #73.20
8DePaul UniversityChicago, IL · Private nonprofit21,21036% of the leader · rank #82.07
9University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private nonprofit18,56631% of the leader · rank #93.72
10Loyola University ChicagoChicago, IL · Private nonprofit17,38429% of the leader · rank #102.36
11Northern Illinois UniversityDekalb, IL · Public15,41426% of the leader · rank #119.60
12Joliet Junior CollegeJoliet, IL · Public14,41424% of the leader · rank #120.00
13William Rainey Harper CollegePalatine, IL · Public13,98824% of the leader · rank #130.29
14College of Lake CountyGrayslake, IL · Public12,53021% of the leader · rank #140.56
15Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleEdwardsville, IL · Public11,89320% of the leader · rank #151.01
16Southern Illinois University-CarbondaleCarbondale, IL · Public11,79020% of the leader · rank #163.56
17Moraine Valley Community CollegePalos Hills, IL · Public11,29619% of the leader · rank #171.15
18Elgin Community CollegeElgin, IL · Public10,25117% of the leader · rank #180.00
19Triton CollegeRiver Grove, IL · Public9,84217% of the leader · rank #190.00
20McHenry County CollegeCrystal Lake, IL · Public9,39916% of the leader · rank #200.00
21City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X CollegeChicago, IL · Public9,30316% of the leader · rank #210.43
22National Louis UniversityChicago, IL · Private nonprofit8,91515% of the leader · rank #220.00
23Illinois Institute of TechnologyChicago, IL · Private nonprofit8,83415% of the leader · rank #231.25
24Eastern Illinois UniversityCharleston, IL · Public8,50514% of the leader · rank #244.47
25Southwestern Illinois CollegeBelleville, IL · Public8,49214% of the leader · rank #251.53
26Oakton CollegeDes Plaines, IL · Public8,32914% of the leader · rank #260.12
27Waubonsee Community CollegeSugar Grove, IL · Public8,30514% of the leader · rank #270.12
28Illinois Central CollegeEast Peoria, IL · Public7,90613% of the leader · rank #281.52
29City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright CollegeChicago, IL · Public7,79813% of the leader · rank #290.64
30Lewis UniversityRomeoville, IL · Private nonprofit7,01112% of the leader · rank #300.86
31City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman CollegeChicago, IL · Public6,83912% of the leader · rank #310.58
32Western Illinois UniversityMacomb, IL · Public6,33211% of the leader · rank #323.63
33City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley CollegeChicago, IL · Public6,29611% of the leader · rank #330.79
34City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington CollegeChicago, IL · Public6,12110% of the leader · rank #341.47
35Parkland CollegeChampaign, IL · Public6,01410% of the leader · rank #351.33
36Rock Valley CollegeRockford, IL · Public5,97810% of the leader · rank #360.33
37Aurora UniversityAurora, IL · Private nonprofit5,92310% of the leader · rank #370.68
38Northeastern Illinois UniversityChicago, IL · Public5,73410% of the leader · rank #381.57
39Lincoln Land Community CollegeSpringfield, IL · Public5,67710% of the leader · rank #390.53
40Columbia College ChicagoChicago, IL · Private nonprofit5,5709% of the leader · rank #403.23
41Heartland Community CollegeNormal, IL · Public4,8558% of the leader · rank #410.62
42Bradley UniversityPeoria, IL · Private nonprofit4,7778% of the leader · rank #425.44
43Concordia University-ChicagoRiver Forest, IL · Private nonprofit4,7708% of the leader · rank #431.68
44University of Illinois SpringfieldSpringfield, IL · Public4,6288% of the leader · rank #441.94
45Lewis and Clark Community CollegeGodfrey, IL · Public4,6068% of the leader · rank #450.22
46Governors State UniversityUniversity Park, IL · Public4,3977% of the leader · rank #460.23
47Roosevelt UniversityChicago, IL · Private nonprofit4,2817% of the leader · rank #470.70
48Black Hawk CollegeMoline, IL · Public4,0017% of the leader · rank #480.75
49Elmhurst UniversityElmhurst, IL · Private nonprofit3,9977% of the leader · rank #494.25
50Lake Land CollegeMattoon, IL · Public3,9607% of the leader · rank #500.00

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 2026-09-11.

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.