Ohio ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Largest Universities in Ohio

The 50 largest of the 257 Ohio 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.

61,443
Largest in Ohio
257
Institutions reporting
414
Median Ohio institution
#7
of 51 states by enrolment

Ohio State University-Main Campus is the largest institution in Ohio with 61,443 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, Ohio State University-Main Campus leads Ohio at 61,443 students, and the five largest hold 30% of state enrollment. This list covers the 50 largest of 257 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 Ohio
61,443
Institutions reporting
257
State students in top 5
30%
Median Ohio institution
414

Ohio in one line

Ohio State University-Main Campus is the largest institution in Ohio with 61,443 students, about 148x the 414 of the median institution in the state. The five largest hold 30% of the state's students, a middling concentration: large institutions matter here without crowding out the rest.

61,443
students at Ohio State University-Main Campus
30%
of state students, in the top 5
624,332
students enrolled across Ohio
2,394
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 81.7% of Ohio's students; the other 207 reporting institutions hold the remaining 18.3%. Among the 50 mid-to-large campuses on this list, 32 sit below the 1.58 national median incident rate, and 1 also appear in the national safest-50.

81.7%
of state students, in these 50
32
below 1.58 national median /1k
1
also in national safest-50
5.91
Ohio State University-Main Campus 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 257 Ohio institutions by enrollment (510,305 of 624,332 students, 81.7%). The remaining 207 reporting institutions enroll 18.3% of the state total and are omitted from this capped ranking, not from the underlying federal tables.

What this ranking shows about Ohio

Ohio is the 7th largest US jurisdiction by total enrolment, teaching 3.1% of all reported US students. The 257 institutions reporting enrolment here split 101 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 Ohio's top-50 list is 2,394 students. Here is where that cutoff sits among all 257 Ohio institutions reporting enrollment:

The bar to make Ohio's top-50 list

Clery-reported enrollment · 257 Ohio institutions · 2024

2,394 Top 19% higher than 81% of 257 Ohio institutions

Show national distribution 0–7,000: 234 Ohio institutions (91%). This entry sits in this band. 7,000–14,000: 12 Ohio institutions (5%). Above this entry. 14,000–21,000: 6 Ohio institutions (2%). Above this entry. 21,000–28,000: 2 Ohio institutions (1%). Above this entry. 28,000–35,000: 1 Ohio institutions (0%). Above this entry. 35,000–42,000: 0 Ohio institutions (0%). Above this entry. 42,000–49,000: 1 Ohio institutions (0%). Above this entry. 49,000–56,000: 0 Ohio institutions (0%). Above this entry. 56,000–63,000: 1 Ohio institutions (0%). Above this entry. #50 cutoff 0 63,000 every Ohio institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more Ohio 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 Ohio's 257 institutions

25
Xavier UniversityCincinnati, OH · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,501
Incidents /1k
5.82
42
Oberlin CollegeOberlin, OH · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,909
Incidents /1k
3.78
#InstitutionEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1Ohio State University-Main CampusColumbus, OH · Public61,443100% of the leader · rank #15.91
2University of Cincinnati-Main CampusCincinnati, OH · Public45,02673% of the leader · rank #23.73
3Columbus State Community CollegeColumbus, OH · Public28,08146% of the leader · rank #30.36
4Kent State University at KentKent, OH · Public26,37443% of the leader · rank #42.20
5Ohio University-Main CampusAthens, OH · Public26,32343% of the leader · rank #53.08
6Sinclair Community CollegeDayton, OH · Public19,41532% of the leader · rank #60.46
7Miami University-OxfordOxford, OH · Public18,83831% of the leader · rank #74.14
8Cuyahoga Community College DistrictCleveland, OH · Public17,84029% of the leader · rank #80.67
9Bowling Green State University-Main CampusBowling Green, OH · Public17,59429% of the leader · rank #91.14
10University of ToledoToledo, OH · Public14,35823% of the leader · rank #102.16
11Cleveland State UniversityCleveland, OH · Public14,07423% of the leader · rank #113.84
12University of Akron Main CampusAkron, OH · Public13,33222% of the leader · rank #123.75
13Case Western Reserve UniversityCleveland, OH · Private nonprofit12,47520% of the leader · rank #134.57
14Youngstown State UniversityYoungstown, OH · Public12,20420% of the leader · rank #141.39
15Wright State University-Main CampusDayton, OH · Public10,60317% of the leader · rank #152.36
16University of DaytonDayton, OH · Private nonprofit10,50617% of the leader · rank #1610.09
17Stark State CollegeNorth Canton, OH · Public10,12816% of the leader · rank #170.10
18Cincinnati State Technical and Community CollegeCincinnati, OH · Public9,68316% of the leader · rank #180.00
19University of Cincinnati-Clermont CollegeBatavia, OH · Public9,47915% of the leader · rank #190.00
20Franklin UniversityColumbus, OH · Private nonprofit9,45715% of the leader · rank #200.00
21Lorain County Community CollegeElyria, OH · Public9,35015% of the leader · rank #210.96
22Owens Community CollegePerrysburg, OH · Public7,85413% of the leader · rank #220.00
23University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash CollegeBlue Ash, OH · Public7,78713% of the leader · rank #230.00
24Cedarville UniversityCedarville, OH · Private nonprofit6,31810% of the leader · rank #240.63
25Xavier UniversityCincinnati, OH · Private nonprofit5,5019% of the leader · rank #255.82
26Clark State CollegeSpringfield, OH · Public5,0778% of the leader · rank #260.00
27The University of FindlayFindlay, OH · Private nonprofit5,0168% of the leader · rank #271.79
28Edison State Community CollegePiqua, OH · Public4,6248% of the leader · rank #280.00
29Lakeland Community CollegeKirtland, OH · Public4,3587% of the leader · rank #290.00
30James A. Rhodes State CollegeLima, OH · Public4,1247% of the leader · rank #300.00
31Ashland UniversityAshland, OH · Private nonprofit4,1067% of the leader · rank #310.73
32Northwest State Community CollegeArchbold, OH · Public4,0827% of the leader · rank #320.24
33Franciscan University of SteubenvilleSteubenville, OH · Private nonprofit3,9766% of the leader · rank #332.77
34Hondros College of NursingWesterville, OH · Private for-profit3,8576% of the leader · rank #340.00
35Tiffin UniversityTiffin, OH · Private nonprofit3,8316% of the leader · rank #353.39
36Kent State University at StarkNorth Canton, OH · Public3,5696% of the leader · rank #360.56
37Marion Technical CollegeMarion, OH · Public3,3465% of the leader · rank #371.20
38Baldwin Wallace UniversityBerea, OH · Private nonprofit3,3055% of the leader · rank #380.91
39Shawnee State UniversityPortsmouth, OH · Public3,2315% of the leader · rank #391.55
40Central Ohio Technical CollegeNewark, OH · Public3,1825% of the leader · rank #400.63
41Ohio Northern UniversityAda, OH · Private nonprofit3,1405% of the leader · rank #412.87
42Oberlin CollegeOberlin, OH · Private nonprofit2,9095% of the leader · rank #423.78
43John Carroll UniversityUniversity Heights, OH · Private nonprofit2,8645% of the leader · rank #431.05
44Central State UniversityWilberforce, OH · Public2,7084% of the leader · rank #441.11
45North Central State CollegeMansfield, OH · Public2,5534% of the leader · rank #450.39
46Ohio State University-Newark CampusNewark, OH · Public2,5444% of the leader · rank #461.18
47University of Northwestern OhioLima, OH · Private nonprofit2,5254% of the leader · rank #470.79
48Miami University-HamiltonHamilton, OH · Public2,4804% of the leader · rank #480.81
49University of Mount UnionAlliance, OH · Private nonprofit2,4614% of the leader · rank #490.41
50Denison UniversityGranville, OH · Private nonprofit2,3944% of the leader · rank #5011.28

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for Ohio, 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.