Mississippi ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Largest Universities in Mississippi

Every Mississippi college and university that reports 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.

26,449
Largest in Mississippi
49
Institutions reporting
1,978
Median Mississippi institution
#34
of 51 states by enrolment

University of Mississippi is the largest institution in Mississippi with 26,449 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, University of Mississippi leads Mississippi at 26,449 students, and the five largest hold 48% of state enrollment. This list covers all 49 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 Mississippi
26,449
Institutions reporting
49
State students in top 5
48%
Median Mississippi institution
1,978

Mississippi in one line

University of Mississippi is the largest institution in Mississippi with 26,449 students, about 13x the 1,978 of the median institution in the state. The five largest hold 48% of the state's students, a middling concentration: large institutions matter here without crowding out the rest.

26,449
students at University of Mississippi
48%
of state students, in the top 5
167,276
students enrolled across Mississippi
17
the #49 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

Among the 24 mid-to-large campuses on this Mississippi size list, 17 report below the 1.58 national median incident rate per 1,000, 1 also rank in the national safest-50, and the list averages 1.16 against that 1.58 median (University of Mississippi itself reports 3.02).

24
mid-to-large campuses on this list
17
below 1.58 national median /1k
1
also in national safest-50
3.02
University of Mississippi 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.

What this ranking shows about Mississippi

Mississippi ranks 34th by total enrolment among the states and DC, so even its largest institutions are modest against national leaders. 23 of the 49 institutions reporting enrolment here are public, an unusually public-heavy sector, so the top of this list is largely a map of the state's public systems.

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.

Every reporting institution in Mississippi is listed below. Here is how their enrollments spread:

Mississippi enrollment distribution

Clery-reported enrollment · 49 Mississippi institutions · 2024

17 Top 100% higher than 0% of 49 Mississippi institutions

Show national distribution 0–3,000: 33 Mississippi institutions (67%). This entry sits in this band. 3,000–6,000: 8 Mississippi institutions (16%). Above this entry. 6,000–9,000: 5 Mississippi institutions (10%). Above this entry. 9,000–12,000: 0 Mississippi institutions (0%). Above this entry. 12,000–15,000: 1 Mississippi institutions (2%). Above this entry. 15,000–18,000: 0 Mississippi institutions (0%). Above this entry. 18,000–21,000: 0 Mississippi institutions (0%). Above this entry. 21,000–24,000: 1 Mississippi institutions (2%). Above this entry. 24,000–27,000: 1 Mississippi institutions (2%). Above this entry. Smallest on list 0 27,000 every Mississippi institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more Mississippi 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

All 49 ranked institutions in Mississippi

28
Tougaloo College Tougaloo, MS · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
1,301
Incidents /1k
3.84
30
Millsaps College Jackson, MS · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
593
Incidents /1k
15.18
31
Rust College Holly Springs, MS · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
467
Incidents /1k
27.84
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 University of Mississippi University, MS · Public 26,449 100% of the leader · rank #1 3.02
2 Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS · Public 23,150 88% of the leader · rank #2 1.43
3 University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS · Public 13,170 50% of the leader · rank #3 0.84
4 Hinds Community College Raymond, MS · Public 8,859 33% of the leader · rank #4 0.11
5 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Perkinston, MS · Public 8,694 33% of the leader · rank #5 1.15
6 Northwest Mississippi Community College Senatobia, MS · Public 7,867 30% of the leader · rank #6 0.51
7 Jackson State University Jackson, MS · Public 6,326 24% of the leader · rank #7 3.95
8 Pearl River Community College Poplarville, MS · Public 6,011 23% of the leader · rank #8 0.00
9 William Carey University Hattiesburg, MS · Private nonprofit 5,321 20% of the leader · rank #9 0.19
10 Itawamba Community College Fulton, MS · Public 5,139 19% of the leader · rank #10 0.78
11 Holmes Community College Goodman, MS · Public 5,039 19% of the leader · rank #11 0.40
12 Jones County Junior College Ellisville, MS · Public 4,753 18% of the leader · rank #12 0.00
13 Belhaven University Jackson, MS · Private nonprofit 4,213 16% of the leader · rank #13 0.24
14 Mississippi College Clinton, MS · Private nonprofit 4,164 16% of the leader · rank #14 1.92
15 East Mississippi Community College Scooba, MS · Public 3,841 15% of the leader · rank #15 0.00
16 Northeast Mississippi Community College Booneville, MS · Public 3,442 13% of the leader · rank #16 0.87
17 Alcorn State University Alcorn State, MS · Public 2,995 11% of the leader · rank #17 2.34
18 Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wesson, MS · Public 2,932 11% of the leader · rank #18 0.00
19 East Central Community College Decatur, MS · Public 2,785 11% of the leader · rank #19 1.80
20 Meridian Community College Meridian, MS · Public 2,780 11% of the leader · rank #20 2.88
21 Delta State University Cleveland, MS · Public 2,654 10% of the leader · rank #21 0.38
22 Delta Technical College-Mississippi Horn Lake, MS · Private for-profit 2,307 9% of the leader · rank #22 0.43
23 Mississippi Valley State University Itta Bena, MS · Public 2,205 8% of the leader · rank #23 4.08
24 Mississippi University for Women Columbus, MS · Public 2,193 8% of the leader · rank #24 0.46
25 Mississippi Delta Community College Moorhead, MS · Public 1,978 7% of the leader · rank #25 0.51
26 Southwest Mississippi Community College Summit, MS · Public 1,758 7% of the leader · rank #26 0.00
27 Coahoma Community College Clarksdale, MS · Public 1,633 6% of the leader · rank #27 3.06
28 Tougaloo College Tougaloo, MS · Private nonprofit 1,301 5% of the leader · rank #28 3.84
29 Blue Mountain Christian University Blue Mountain, MS · Private nonprofit 968 4% of the leader · rank #29 0.00
30 Millsaps College Jackson, MS · Private nonprofit 593 4% of the leader · rank #30 15.18
31 Rust College Holly Springs, MS · Private nonprofit 467 4% of the leader · rank #31 27.84
32 Blue Cliff College-Gulfport Gulfport, MS · Private for-profit 200 4% of the leader · rank #32 0.00
33 Wesley Biblical Seminary Ridgeland, MS · Private nonprofit 170 4% of the leader · rank #33 0.00
34 Concorde Career College-Southaven Southaven, MS · Private for-profit 115 4% of the leader · rank #34 8.70
35 Traxlers School of Hair Jackson, MS · Private for-profit 98 4% of the leader · rank #35 0.00
36 Southeastern Baptist College Laurel, MS · Private nonprofit 93 4% of the leader · rank #36 0.00
37 Corinth Academy of Cosmetology Corinth, MS · Private for-profit 90 4% of the leader · rank #37 11.11
38 Chris Beauty College Gulfport, MS · Private for-profit 73 4% of the leader · rank #38 0.00
39 Academy of Hair Design-Jackson Jackson, MS · Private for-profit 71 4% of the leader · rank #39 0.00
40 Vaughn Beauty College Aberdeen, MS · Private for-profit 63 4% of the leader · rank #40 0.00
41 KC's School of Hair Design Pontotoc, MS · Private for-profit 58 4% of the leader · rank #41 0.00
42 Hatfield's Mississippi College of Beauty Culture Laurel, MS · Private for-profit 57 4% of the leader · rank #42 0.00
43 Academy of Hair Design-Pearl Pearl, MS · Private for-profit 43 4% of the leader · rank #43 0.00
44 The Academy of Hair Design Six Hattiesburg, MS · Private for-profit 37 4% of the leader · rank #44 0.00
45 C N K Barber College Tupelo, MS · - 31 4% of the leader · rank #45 0.00
46 Unlimited Cosmetology School Hattiesburg, MS · Private for-profit 29 4% of the leader · rank #46 0.00
47 Fosters Cosmetology College Ripley, MS · Private for-profit 23 4% of the leader · rank #47 0.00
48 Academy of Hair Design-Grenada Grenada, MS · Private for-profit 21 4% of the leader · rank #48 0.00
49 Upper Kutz Barber & Style College Greenville, MS · Private for-profit 17 4% of the leader · rank #49 0.00

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for Mississippi, 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.