Massachusetts ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Biggest Colleges in Massachusetts

The 50 largest of the 133 Massachusetts 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.

37,737
Largest in Massachusetts
133
Institutions reporting
1,668
Median Massachusetts institution
#14
of 51 states by enrolment

Boston University is the largest institution in Massachusetts with 37,737 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, Boston University leads Massachusetts at 37,737 students, and the five largest hold 31.1% of state enrollment. This list covers the 50 largest of 133 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 Massachusetts
37,737
Institutions reporting
133
State students in top 5
31.1%
Median Massachusetts institution
1,668

Massachusetts in one line

Boston University is the largest institution in Massachusetts with 37,737 students, about 23x the 1,668 of the median institution in the state. The five largest hold 31.1% of the state's students, a middling concentration: large institutions matter here without crowding out the rest.

37,737
students at Boston University
31.1%
of state students, in the top 5
477,934
students enrolled across Massachusetts
2,517
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 87.3% of Massachusetts's students; the other 83 reporting institutions hold the remaining 12.7%. Among the 50 mid-to-large campuses on this list, 22 sit below the 1.58 national median incident rate, and 1 also appear in the national safest-50.

87.3%
of state students, in these 50
22
below 1.58 national median /1k
1
also in national safest-50
1.67
Boston 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 133 Massachusetts institutions by enrollment (417,401 of 477,934 students, 87.3%). The remaining 83 reporting institutions enroll 12.7% of the state total and are omitted from this capped ranking, not from the underlying federal tables.

What this ranking shows about Massachusetts

Massachusetts ranks 14th by total enrolment among the states and DC, roughly mid-table nationally. The 133 institutions reporting enrolment here split 40 public to 93 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 Massachusetts's top-50 list is 2,517 students. Here is where that cutoff sits among all 133 Massachusetts institutions reporting enrollment:

The bar to make Massachusetts's top-50 list

Clery-reported enrollment · 133 Massachusetts institutions · 2024

2,517 Top 38% higher than 62% of 133 Massachusetts institutions

Show national distribution 0–4,000: 96 Massachusetts institutions (72%). This entry sits in this band. 4,000–8,000: 24 Massachusetts institutions (18%). Above this entry. 8,000–12,000: 5 Massachusetts institutions (4%). Above this entry. 12,000–16,000: 3 Massachusetts institutions (2%). Above this entry. 16,000–20,000: 1 Massachusetts institutions (1%). Above this entry. 20,000–24,000: 0 Massachusetts institutions (0%). Above this entry. 24,000–28,000: 0 Massachusetts institutions (0%). Above this entry. 28,000–32,000: 2 Massachusetts institutions (2%). Above this entry. 32,000–36,000: 1 Massachusetts institutions (1%). Above this entry. 36,000–40,000: 1 Massachusetts institutions (1%). Above this entry. #50 cutoff 0 40,000 every Massachusetts institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts's 133 institutions

1
Boston University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
37,737
Incidents /1k
1.67
4
Harvard University Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
30,259
Incidents /1k
7.63
7
Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
15,432
Incidents /1k
1.94
8
Tufts University Medford, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
13,599
Incidents /1k
2.94
18
Suffolk University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
6,356
Incidents /1k
1.42
20
MCPHS University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,945
Incidents /1k
0.17
22
Merrimack College North Andover, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,862
Incidents /1k
1.88
27
Bentley University Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,333
Incidents /1k
2.44
28
Emerson College Boston, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,263
Incidents /1k
1.71
31
Simmons University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
4,666
Incidents /1k
3.64
34
Endicott College Beverly, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
4,394
Incidents /1k
3.19
38
Babson College Wellesley, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
3,932
Incidents /1k
10.68
39
Clark University Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
3,925
Incidents /1k
3.82
44
Quincy College Quincy, MA · Public
Enrollment
3,022
Incidents /1k
0.99
45
Smith College Northampton, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,857
Incidents /1k
4.90
46
Stonehill College Easton, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,674
Incidents /1k
5.98
47
Bay Path University Longmeadow, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,605
Incidents /1k
0.00
48
Springfield College Springfield, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,599
Incidents /1k
9.23
49
Lesley University Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,557
Incidents /1k
1.96
50
Regis College Weston, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,517
Incidents /1k
0.40
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 Boston University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit 37,737 100% of the leader · rank #1 1.67
2 Northeastern University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit 32,553 86% of the leader · rank #2 1.38
3 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA · Public 31,726 84% of the leader · rank #3 2.74
4 Harvard University Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit 30,259 80% of the leader · rank #4 7.63
5 University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA · Public 16,598 44% of the leader · rank #5 2.77
6 University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA · Public 15,575 41% of the leader · rank #6 0.96
7 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA · Private nonprofit 15,432 41% of the leader · rank #7 1.94
8 Tufts University Medford, MA · Private nonprofit 13,599 36% of the leader · rank #8 2.94
9 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit 11,886 31% of the leader · rank #9 3.53
10 Bunker Hill Community College Boston, MA · Public 9,876 26% of the leader · rank #10 0.10
11 Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA · Public 9,727 26% of the leader · rank #11 3.29
12 Middlesex Community College Bedford, MA · Public 9,374 25% of the leader · rank #12 0.00
13 Berklee College of Music Boston, MA · Private nonprofit 8,369 22% of the leader · rank #13 4.06
14 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA · Public 7,968 21% of the leader · rank #14 1.51
15 Quinsigamond Community College Worcester, MA · Public 7,811 21% of the leader · rank #15 0.00
16 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit 7,584 20% of the leader · rank #16 2.37
17 Bristol Community College Fall River, MA · Public 6,950 18% of the leader · rank #17 0.00
18 Suffolk University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit 6,356 17% of the leader · rank #18 1.42
19 Salem State University Salem, MA · Public 6,230 17% of the leader · rank #19 4.82
20 MCPHS University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit 5,945 16% of the leader · rank #20 0.17
21 Fitchburg State University Fitchburg, MA · Public 5,892 16% of the leader · rank #21 1.87
22 Merrimack College North Andover, MA · Private nonprofit 5,862 16% of the leader · rank #22 1.88
23 Worcester State University Worcester, MA · Public 5,745 15% of the leader · rank #23 1.91
24 North Shore Community College Danvers, MA · Public 5,743 15% of the leader · rank #24 0.87
25 Massasoit Community College Brockton, MA · Public 5,574 15% of the leader · rank #25 0.18
26 Springfield Technical Community College Springfield, MA · Public 5,447 14% of the leader · rank #26 0.55
27 Bentley University Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit 5,333 14% of the leader · rank #27 2.44
28 Emerson College Boston, MA · Private nonprofit 5,263 14% of the leader · rank #28 1.71
29 Brandeis University Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit 5,205 14% of the leader · rank #29 2.31
30 Northern Essex Community College Haverhill, MA · Public 4,721 13% of the leader · rank #30 0.42
31 Simmons University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit 4,666 12% of the leader · rank #31 3.64
32 Westfield State University Westfield, MA · Public 4,588 12% of the leader · rank #32 0.87
33 Massachusetts Bay Community College Wellesley Hills, MA · Public 4,578 12% of the leader · rank #33 0.22
34 Endicott College Beverly, MA · Private nonprofit 4,394 12% of the leader · rank #34 3.19
35 Holyoke Community College Holyoke, MA · Public 4,200 11% of the leader · rank #35 0.24
36 Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA · Private nonprofit 4,191 11% of the leader · rank #36 9.31
37 Framingham State University Framingham, MA · Public 4,002 11% of the leader · rank #37 2.25
38 Babson College Wellesley, MA · Private nonprofit 3,932 10% of the leader · rank #38 10.68
39 Clark University Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit 3,925 10% of the leader · rank #39 3.82
40 Mount Wachusett Community College Gardner, MA · Public 3,694 10% of the leader · rank #40 0.27
41 Western New England University Springfield, MA · Private nonprofit 3,674 10% of the leader · rank #41 1.09
42 Cape Cod Community College West Barnstable, MA · Public 3,260 9% of the leader · rank #42 0.31
43 College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit 3,126 8% of the leader · rank #43 6.72
44 Quincy College Quincy, MA · Public 3,022 8% of the leader · rank #44 0.99
45 Smith College Northampton, MA · Private nonprofit 2,857 8% of the leader · rank #45 4.90
46 Stonehill College Easton, MA · Private nonprofit 2,674 7% of the leader · rank #46 5.98
47 Bay Path University Longmeadow, MA · Private nonprofit 2,605 7% of the leader · rank #47 0.00
48 Springfield College Springfield, MA · Private nonprofit 2,599 7% of the leader · rank #48 9.23
49 Lesley University Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit 2,557 7% of the leader · rank #49 1.96
50 Regis College Weston, MA · Private nonprofit 2,517 7% of the leader · rank #50 0.40

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for Massachusetts, 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.