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

7
Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
15,432
Incidents /1k
1.94
8
Tufts UniversityMedford, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
13,599
Incidents /1k
2.94
20
MCPHS UniversityBoston, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,945
Incidents /1k
0.17
22
Merrimack CollegeNorth Andover, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,862
Incidents /1k
1.88
28
Emerson CollegeBoston, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,263
Incidents /1k
1.71
34
Endicott CollegeBeverly, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
4,394
Incidents /1k
3.19
38
Babson CollegeWellesley, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
3,932
Incidents /1k
10.68
39
Clark UniversityWorcester, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
3,925
Incidents /1k
3.82
45
Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,857
Incidents /1k
4.90
49
Lesley UniversityCambridge, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,557
Incidents /1k
1.96
50
Regis CollegeWeston, MA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,517
Incidents /1k
0.40
#InstitutionEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1Boston UniversityBoston, MA · Private nonprofit37,737100% of the leader · rank #11.67
2Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · Private nonprofit32,55386% of the leader · rank #21.38
3University of Massachusetts-AmherstAmherst, MA · Public31,72684% of the leader · rank #32.74
4Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private nonprofit30,25980% of the leader · rank #47.63
5University of Massachusetts-LowellLowell, MA · Public16,59844% of the leader · rank #52.77
6University of Massachusetts-BostonBoston, MA · Public15,57541% of the leader · rank #60.96
7Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · Private nonprofit15,43241% of the leader · rank #71.94
8Tufts UniversityMedford, MA · Private nonprofit13,59936% of the leader · rank #82.94
9Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private nonprofit11,88631% of the leader · rank #93.53
10Bunker Hill Community CollegeBoston, MA · Public9,87626% of the leader · rank #100.10
11Bridgewater State UniversityBridgewater, MA · Public9,72726% of the leader · rank #113.29
12Middlesex Community CollegeBedford, MA · Public9,37425% of the leader · rank #120.00
13Berklee College of MusicBoston, MA · Private nonprofit8,36922% of the leader · rank #134.06
14University of Massachusetts-DartmouthNorth Dartmouth, MA · Public7,96821% of the leader · rank #141.51
15Quinsigamond Community CollegeWorcester, MA · Public7,81121% of the leader · rank #150.00
16Worcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester, MA · Private nonprofit7,58420% of the leader · rank #162.37
17Bristol Community CollegeFall River, MA · Public6,95018% of the leader · rank #170.00
18Suffolk UniversityBoston, MA · Private nonprofit6,35617% of the leader · rank #181.42
19Salem State UniversitySalem, MA · Public6,23017% of the leader · rank #194.82
20MCPHS UniversityBoston, MA · Private nonprofit5,94516% of the leader · rank #200.17
21Fitchburg State UniversityFitchburg, MA · Public5,89216% of the leader · rank #211.87
22Merrimack CollegeNorth Andover, MA · Private nonprofit5,86216% of the leader · rank #221.88
23Worcester State UniversityWorcester, MA · Public5,74515% of the leader · rank #231.91
24North Shore Community CollegeDanvers, MA · Public5,74315% of the leader · rank #240.87
25Massasoit Community CollegeBrockton, MA · Public5,57415% of the leader · rank #250.18
26Springfield Technical Community CollegeSpringfield, MA · Public5,44714% of the leader · rank #260.55
27Bentley UniversityWaltham, MA · Private nonprofit5,33314% of the leader · rank #272.44
28Emerson CollegeBoston, MA · Private nonprofit5,26314% of the leader · rank #281.71
29Brandeis UniversityWaltham, MA · Private nonprofit5,20514% of the leader · rank #292.31
30Northern Essex Community CollegeHaverhill, MA · Public4,72113% of the leader · rank #300.42
31Simmons UniversityBoston, MA · Private nonprofit4,66612% of the leader · rank #313.64
32Westfield State UniversityWestfield, MA · Public4,58812% of the leader · rank #320.87
33Massachusetts Bay Community CollegeWellesley Hills, MA · Public4,57812% of the leader · rank #330.22
34Endicott CollegeBeverly, MA · Private nonprofit4,39412% of the leader · rank #343.19
35Holyoke Community CollegeHolyoke, MA · Public4,20011% of the leader · rank #350.24
36Wentworth Institute of TechnologyBoston, MA · Private nonprofit4,19111% of the leader · rank #369.31
37Framingham State UniversityFramingham, MA · Public4,00211% of the leader · rank #372.25
38Babson CollegeWellesley, MA · Private nonprofit3,93210% of the leader · rank #3810.68
39Clark UniversityWorcester, MA · Private nonprofit3,92510% of the leader · rank #393.82
40Mount Wachusett Community CollegeGardner, MA · Public3,69410% of the leader · rank #400.27
41Western New England UniversitySpringfield, MA · Private nonprofit3,67410% of the leader · rank #411.09
42Cape Cod Community CollegeWest Barnstable, MA · Public3,2609% of the leader · rank #420.31
43College of the Holy CrossWorcester, MA · Private nonprofit3,1268% of the leader · rank #436.72
44Quincy CollegeQuincy, MA · Public3,0228% of the leader · rank #440.99
45Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA · Private nonprofit2,8578% of the leader · rank #454.90
46Stonehill CollegeEaston, MA · Private nonprofit2,6747% of the leader · rank #465.98
47Bay Path UniversityLongmeadow, MA · Private nonprofit2,6057% of the leader · rank #470.00
48Springfield CollegeSpringfield, MA · Private nonprofit2,5997% of the leader · rank #489.23
49Lesley UniversityCambridge, MA · Private nonprofit2,5577% of the leader · rank #491.96
50Regis CollegeWeston, MA · Private nonprofit2,5177% of the leader · rank #500.40

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 2026-09-11.

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.