Pennsylvania ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Biggest Colleges in Pennsylvania

The 50 largest of the 287 Pennsylvania 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.

50,737
Largest in Pennsylvania
287
Institutions reporting
449
Median Pennsylvania institution
#6
of 51 states by enrolment

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus is the largest institution in Pennsylvania with 50,737 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus leads Pennsylvania at 50,737 students, and the five largest hold 26.3% of state enrollment. This list covers the 50 largest of 287 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 Pennsylvania
50,737
Institutions reporting
287
State students in top 5
26.3%
Median Pennsylvania institution
449

Pennsylvania in one line

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus is the largest institution in Pennsylvania with 50,737 students, about 113x the 449 of the median institution in the state. The five largest hold only 26.3% of the state's students, so enrolment is spread widely across many smaller institutions rather than gathered into a few.

50,737
students at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
26.3%
of state students, in the top 5
632,720
students enrolled across Pennsylvania
2,972
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 75% of Pennsylvania's students; the other 237 reporting institutions hold the remaining 25%. Among the 50 mid-to-large campuses on this list, 23 sit below the 1.58 national median incident rate, and 3 also appear in the national safest-50.

75%
of state students, in these 50
23
below 1.58 national median /1k
3
also in national safest-50
4.22
Pennsylvania 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 287 Pennsylvania institutions by enrollment (474,829 of 632,720 students, 75%). The remaining 237 reporting institutions enroll 25% of the state total and are omitted from this capped ranking, not from the underlying federal tables.

What this ranking shows about Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is the 6th largest US jurisdiction by total enrolment, teaching 3.2% of all reported US students. The 287 institutions reporting enrolment here split 82 public to 205 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 Pennsylvania's top-50 list is 2,972 students. Here is where that cutoff sits among all 287 Pennsylvania institutions reporting enrollment:

The bar to make Pennsylvania's top-50 list

Clery-reported enrollment · 287 Pennsylvania institutions · 2024

2,972 Top 17% higher than 83% of 287 Pennsylvania institutions

Show national distribution 0–6,000: 260 Pennsylvania institutions (91%). This entry sits in this band. 6,000–12,000: 18 Pennsylvania institutions (6%). Above this entry. 12,000–18,000: 4 Pennsylvania institutions (1%). Above this entry. 18,000–24,000: 1 Pennsylvania institutions (0%). Above this entry. 24,000–30,000: 2 Pennsylvania institutions (1%). Above this entry. 30,000–36,000: 1 Pennsylvania institutions (0%). Above this entry. 36,000–42,000: 0 Pennsylvania institutions (0%). Above this entry. 42,000–48,000: 0 Pennsylvania institutions (0%). Above this entry. 48,000–54,000: 1 Pennsylvania institutions (0%). Above this entry. #50 cutoff 0 54,000 every Pennsylvania institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania's 287 institutions

5
Drexel UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
21,153
Incidents /1k
2.22
21
Lehigh UniversityBethlehem, PA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
7,692
Incidents /1k
2.21
30
Wilkes UniversityWilkes-Barre, PA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
5,381
Incidents /1k
2.04
46
Messiah UniversityMechanicsburg, PA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
3,373
Incidents /1k
10.97
50
DeSales UniversityCenter Valley, PA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,972
Incidents /1k
3.36
#InstitutionEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1Pennsylvania State University-Main CampusUniversity Park, PA · Public50,737100% of the leader · rank #14.22
2University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh CampusPittsburgh, PA · Public35,72470% of the leader · rank #22.44
3Temple UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · Public29,64058% of the leader · rank #31.89
4University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA · Private nonprofit29,10957% of the leader · rank #46.46
5Drexel UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · Private nonprofit21,15342% of the leader · rank #52.22
6West Chester University of PennsylvaniaWest Chester, PA · Public17,17134% of the leader · rank #62.50
7Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit15,88831% of the leader · rank #71.45
8Community College of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA · Public12,92625% of the leader · rank #80.08
9Harrisburg Area Community CollegeHarrisburg, PA · Public12,58525% of the leader · rank #90.08
10Commonwealth University of PennsylvaniaBloomsburg, PA · Public11,09222% of the leader · rank #102.70
11Pennsylvania Western UniversityCalifornia, PA · Public10,83421% of the leader · rank #111.29
12Community College of Allegheny CountyPittsburgh, PA · Public10,60921% of the leader · rank #120.47
13Villanova UniversityVillanova, PA · Private nonprofit10,04120% of the leader · rank #131.89
14Montgomery County Community CollegeBlue Bell, PA · Public9,27818% of the leader · rank #140.11
15Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main CampusIndiana, PA · Public9,07318% of the leader · rank #153.20
16Northampton County Area Community CollegeBethlehem, PA · Public8,81017% of the leader · rank #163.75
17Eastern UniversitySaint Davids, PA · Private nonprofit8,72717% of the leader · rank #171.26
18Slippery Rock University of PennsylvaniaSlippery Rock, PA · Public8,37617% of the leader · rank #180.96
19Thomas Jefferson UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · Private nonprofit8,23816% of the leader · rank #193.52
20Duquesne UniversityPittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit8,23416% of the leader · rank #200.85
21Lehigh UniversityBethlehem, PA · Private nonprofit7,69215% of the leader · rank #212.21
22Kutztown University of PennsylvaniaKutztown, PA · Public7,46715% of the leader · rank #222.95
23Delaware County Community CollegeMedia, PA · Public7,40215% of the leader · rank #230.27
24Saint Joseph's University - PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA · Private nonprofit7,15914% of the leader · rank #243.07
25Millersville University of PennsylvaniaMillersville, PA · Public6,97514% of the leader · rank #251.15
26Bucks County Community CollegeNewtown, PA · Public6,23212% of the leader · rank #260.00
27Lehigh Carbon Community CollegeSchnecksville, PA · Public6,22112% of the leader · rank #270.16
28Widener UniversityChester, PA · Private nonprofit5,71311% of the leader · rank #286.65
29East Stroudsburg University of PennsylvaniaEast Stroudsburg, PA · Public5,63311% of the leader · rank #295.86
30Wilkes UniversityWilkes-Barre, PA · Private nonprofit5,38111% of the leader · rank #302.04
31Reading Area Community CollegeReading, PA · Public5,36911% of the leader · rank #310.74
32Robert Morris UniversityMoon Township, PA · Private nonprofit5,27510% of the leader · rank #321.14
33Shippensburg University of PennsylvaniaShippensburg, PA · Public5,16110% of the leader · rank #331.55
34University of ScrantonScranton, PA · Private nonprofit4,7249% of the leader · rank #342.54
35Pennsylvania College of TechnologyWilliamsport, PA · Public4,5759% of the leader · rank #350.66
36Pennsylvania State University-Penn State HarrisburgMiddletown, PA · Public4,4789% of the leader · rank #363.57
37Luzerne County Community CollegeNanticoke, PA · Public4,4609% of the leader · rank #370.00
38Gannon UniversityErie, PA · Private nonprofit4,1898% of the leader · rank #381.19
39Lake Erie College of Osteopathic MedicineErie, PA · Private nonprofit4,1338% of the leader · rank #392.18
40Westmoreland County Community CollegeYoungwood, PA · Public3,9908% of the leader · rank #400.00
41Bucknell UniversityLewisburg, PA · Private nonprofit3,9698% of the leader · rank #417.81
42York College of PennsylvaniaYork, PA · Private nonprofit3,8258% of the leader · rank #424.44
43Harrisburg University of Science and TechnologyHarrisburg, PA · Private nonprofit3,6507% of the leader · rank #430.27
44Point Park UniversityPittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit3,4487% of the leader · rank #440.29
45Arcadia UniversityGlenside, PA · Private nonprofit3,4047% of the leader · rank #452.94
46Messiah UniversityMechanicsburg, PA · Private nonprofit3,3737% of the leader · rank #4610.97
47Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend CollegeErie, PA · Public3,3367% of the leader · rank #476.00
48Holy Family UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · Private nonprofit3,2256% of the leader · rank #480.62
49La Salle UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · Private nonprofit3,1536% of the leader · rank #4912.05
50DeSales UniversityCenter Valley, PA · Private nonprofit2,9726% of the leader · rank #503.36

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for Pennsylvania, 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.