Nebraska ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Largest Universities in Nebraska

Every Nebraska 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.

24,393
Largest in Nebraska
39
Institutions reporting
1,121
Median Nebraska institution
#36
of 51 states by enrolment

University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the largest institution in Nebraska with 24,393 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, University of Nebraska-Lincoln leads Nebraska at 24,393 students, and the five largest hold 57.7% of state enrollment. This list covers all 39 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 Nebraska
24,393
Institutions reporting
39
State students in top 5
57.7%
Median Nebraska institution
1,121

Nebraska in one line

University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the largest institution in Nebraska with 24,393 students, about 22x the 1,121 of the median institution in the state. 57.7% of every student in the state is enrolled at just these five institutions, so Nebraska's higher education is concentrated at the top.

24,393
students at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
57.7%
of state students, in the top 5
141,114
students enrolled across Nebraska
12
the #39 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 14 mid-to-large campuses on this Nebraska size list, 7 report below the 1.58 national median incident rate per 1,000, 0 also rank in the national safest-50, and the list averages 2.09 against that 1.58 median (University of Nebraska-Lincoln itself reports 2.83).

14
mid-to-large campuses on this list
7
below 1.58 national median /1k
0
also in national safest-50
2.83
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 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 Nebraska

Nebraska ranks 36th by total enrolment among the states and DC, so even its largest institutions are modest against national leaders. The 39 institutions reporting enrolment here split 16 public to 23 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.

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

Nebraska enrollment distribution

Clery-reported enrollment · 39 Nebraska institutions · 2024

12 Top 100% higher than 0% of 39 Nebraska institutions

Show national distribution 0–3,000: 27 Nebraska institutions (69%). This entry sits in this band. 3,000–6,000: 5 Nebraska institutions (13%). Above this entry. 6,000–9,000: 2 Nebraska institutions (5%). Above this entry. 9,000–12,000: 1 Nebraska institutions (3%). Above this entry. 12,000–15,000: 2 Nebraska institutions (5%). Above this entry. 15,000–18,000: 1 Nebraska institutions (3%). Above this entry. 18,000–21,000: 0 Nebraska institutions (0%). Above this entry. 21,000–24,000: 0 Nebraska institutions (0%). Above this entry. 24,000–27,000: 1 Nebraska institutions (3%). Above this entry. Smallest on list 0 27,000 every Nebraska institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more Nebraska 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 39 ranked institutions in Nebraska

15
Doane University Crete, NE · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
1,985
Incidents /1k
6.05
18
Midland University Fremont, NE · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
1,558
Incidents /1k
3.21
20
Clarkson College Omaha, NE · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
1,121
Incidents /1k
1.78
22
Hastings College Hastings, NE · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
956
Incidents /1k
2.09
27
York University York, NE · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
532
Incidents /1k
0.00
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE · Public 24,393 100% of the leader · rank #1 2.83
2 Metropolitan Community College Area Omaha, NE · Public 16,642 68% of the leader · rank #2 0.24
3 University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE · Public 14,972 61% of the leader · rank #3 2.00
4 Bellevue University Bellevue, NE · Private nonprofit 14,667 60% of the leader · rank #4 0.00
5 Southeast Community College Area Lincoln, NE · Public 10,816 44% of the leader · rank #5 0.37
6 Creighton University Omaha, NE · Private nonprofit 8,581 35% of the leader · rank #6 6.29
7 Central Community College Grand Island, NE · Public 6,927 28% of the leader · rank #7 0.14
8 University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, NE · Public 5,881 24% of the leader · rank #8 3.74
9 Northeast Community College Norfolk, NE · Public 5,720 23% of the leader · rank #9 0.00
10 Wayne State College Wayne, NE · Public 4,666 19% of the leader · rank #10 1.93
11 University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE · Public 3,988 16% of the leader · rank #11 5.01
12 Concordia University-Nebraska Seward, NE · Private nonprofit 3,479 14% of the leader · rank #12 0.00
13 Mid-Plains Community College North Platte, NE · Public 2,140 9% of the leader · rank #13 0.47
14 Chadron State College Chadron, NE · Public 2,098 9% of the leader · rank #14 6.20
15 Doane University Crete, NE · Private nonprofit 1,985 8% of the leader · rank #15 6.05
16 Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, NE · Private nonprofit 1,654 7% of the leader · rank #16 19.35
17 Western Nebraska Community College Scottsbluff, NE · Public 1,569 6% of the leader · rank #17 1.27
18 Midland University Fremont, NE · Private nonprofit 1,558 6% of the leader · rank #18 3.21
19 Peru State College Peru, NE · Public 1,492 6% of the leader · rank #19 4.69
20 Clarkson College Omaha, NE · Private nonprofit 1,121 5% of the leader · rank #20 1.78
21 Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health Omaha, NE · Private nonprofit 1,067 4% of the leader · rank #21 0.00
22 Hastings College Hastings, NE · Private nonprofit 956 4% of the leader · rank #22 2.09
23 College of Saint Mary Omaha, NE · Private nonprofit 786 4% of the leader · rank #23 0.00
24 Bryan College of Health Sciences Lincoln, NE · Private nonprofit 765 4% of the leader · rank #24 22.22
25 Union Adventist University Lincoln, NE · Private nonprofit 729 4% of the leader · rank #25 0.00
26 Nebraska Indian Community College Macy, NE · Public 620 4% of the leader · rank #26 0.00
27 York University York, NE · Private nonprofit 532 4% of the leader · rank #27 0.00
28 Xenon A Stephanie Moss Academy Omaha, NE · Private for-profit 241 4% of the leader · rank #28 0.00
29 Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture Curtis, NE · Public 222 4% of the leader · rank #29 4.50
30 Little Priest Tribal College Winnebago, NE · Public 218 4% of the leader · rank #30 0.00
31 Capitol Beauty School Omaha, NE · Private for-profit 161 4% of the leader · rank #31 0.00
32 College of Hair Design-East Campus Lincoln, NE · Private for-profit 125 4% of the leader · rank #32 0.00
33 Entourage Institute of Beauty and Esthetics Lincoln, NE · Private for-profit 99 4% of the leader · rank #33 0.00
34 Joseph's College Cosmetology Lincoln, NE · Private for-profit 92 4% of the leader · rank #34 0.00
35 College of Hair Design-Downtown Lincoln, NE · Private for-profit 53 4% of the leader · rank #35 0.00
36 Summit Christian College Gering, NE · Private nonprofit 32 4% of the leader · rank #36 0.00
37 CHI Health School of Radiologic Technology Omaha, NE · Private nonprofit 29 4% of the leader · rank #37 0.00
38 Universal College of Healing Arts Omaha, NE · Private for-profit 26 4% of the leader · rank #38 0.00
39 Myotherapy Institute Lincoln, NE · Private for-profit 12 4% of the leader · rank #39 0.00

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for Nebraska, 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.