National ranking · Clery Act 2023

The 50 Safest Large U.S. College Campuses

According to the U.S. Department of Education's Clery Act filings, ranked by the lowest reported on-campus incident rate per 1,000 enrolled students, among campuses with 2,000 or more students. Lower is safer.

0.03
Safest campus rate
50
Campuses ranked
0.13
#50 cutoff rate
1,807
Total ranked

The list in one line

Every campus on this list reports under 0.13 on-campus Clery incidents per 1,000 students, a fraction of the 1.08 national median, and the #1 campus reports just 0.03.

0.03
safest campus, per 1,000
0.13
rate to make this top 50
1.08
national median, per 1,000
Top 20%
even the #50 campus, nationally

Safety score = reported on-campus Clery incidents per 1,000 enrolled students. A score of 0 can reflect genuinely few incidents or under-reporting; read alongside enrollment and reporting culture.

Even the 50th-safest campus is well below the typical campus. Here is where the #50 cutoff (0.13 per 1,000) lands among all 1,807 ranked campuses:

The bar to make this top-50 list

On-campus Clery incidents per 1,000 students, every ranked campus with 2,000+ students, 2023

0 Among the safest safer than 80% of 1,807 ranked campuses

0–1: 874 ranked campuses (48%). This entry sits in this band. 1–2: 281 ranked campuses (16%). Above this entry. 2–3: 186 ranked campuses (10%). Above this entry. 3–4: 135 ranked campuses (7%). Above this entry. 4–5: 84 ranked campuses (5%). Above this entry. 5–6: 71 ranked campuses (4%). Above this entry. 6–7: 36 ranked campuses (2%). Above this entry. 7–8: 37 ranked campuses (2%). Above this entry. 8–9: 103 ranked campuses (6%). Above this entry. #50 cutoff 0 9 every ranked campus, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more ranked campuses. 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, Campus Safety & Security Survey (Clery Act) · 2023

The full top 50

# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD · Public 60,084 0.03 25% of the leader · rank #1
2 Full Sail University Winter Park, FL · Private for-profit 26,421 0.04 28% of the leader · rank #2
3 Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, FL · Public 24,369 0.04 31% of the leader · rank #3
4 Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC · Public 22,763 0.04 33% of the leader · rank #4
5 Front Range Community College Westminster, CO · Public 21,096 0.05 35% of the leader · rank #5
6 University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY · Private nonprofit 20,327 0.05 37% of the leader · rank #6
7 Hillsborough Community College Tampa, FL · Public 20,004 0.05 37% of the leader · rank #7
8 Rio Hondo College Whittier, CA · Public 17,193 0.06 44% of the leader · rank #8
9 Tidewater Community College Norfolk, VA · Public 15,912 0.06 47% of the leader · rank #9
10 Georgia State University-Perimeter College Clarkston, GA · Public 15,522 0.06 48% of the leader · rank #10
11 Cape Fear Community College Wilmington, NC · Public 14,119 0.07 53% of the leader · rank #11
12 Seminole State College of Florida Sanford, FL · Public 14,104 0.07 53% of the leader · rank #12
13 Florida SouthWestern State College Fort Myers, FL · Public 13,860 0.07 54% of the leader · rank #13
14 NUC University Bayamon, PR · Private for-profit 27,423 0.07 55% of the leader · rank #14
15 San Diego Miramar College San Diego, CA · Public 13,569 0.07 55% of the leader · rank #15
16 Foothill College Los Altos Hills, CA · Public 12,931 0.08 58% of the leader · rank #16
17 CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY · Public 12,894 0.08 58% of the leader · rank #17
18 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide Kirtland Afb, NM · Private nonprofit 12,268 0.08 61% of the leader · rank #18
19 Merced College Merced, CA · Public 11,835 0.08 63% of the leader · rank #19
20 Bergen Community College Paramus, NJ · Public 11,801 0.08 63% of the leader · rank #20
21 Middlesex College Edison, NJ · Public 11,471 0.09 65% of the leader · rank #21
22 Henry Ford College Dearborn, MI · Public 11,239 0.09 67% of the leader · rank #22
23 Glendale Community College Glendale, CA · Public 11,176 0.09 67% of the leader · rank #23
24 Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit 184,099 0.09 69% of the leader · rank #24
25 Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Green Bay, WI · Public 10,815 0.09 69% of the leader · rank #25
26 Norco College Norco, CA · Public 10,787 0.09 69% of the leader · rank #26
27 Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID · Private nonprofit 42,996 0.09 70% of the leader · rank #27
28 Washtenaw Community College Ann Arbor, MI · Public 10,756 0.09 70% of the leader · rank #28
29 Laredo College Laredo, TX · Public 10,191 0.10 73% of the leader · rank #29
30 Estrella Mountain Community College Avondale, AZ · Public 10,069 0.10 74% of the leader · rank #30
31 Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL · Private nonprofit 20,102 0.10 74% of the leader · rank #31
32 Southeast Community College Area Lincoln, NE · Public 9,799 0.10 76% of the leader · rank #32
33 Elgin Community College Elgin, IL · Public 9,614 0.10 78% of the leader · rank #33
34 Stark State College North Canton, OH · Public 9,616 0.10 78% of the leader · rank #34
35 Sacramento City College Sacramento, CA · Public 19,031 0.11 79% of the leader · rank #35
36 Skyline College San Bruno, CA · Public 9,428 0.11 79% of the leader · rank #36
37 Lorain County Community College Elyria, OH · Public 9,410 0.11 80% of the leader · rank #37
38 Lansing Community College Lansing, MI · Public 9,207 0.11 81% of the leader · rank #38
39 Lone Star College System The Woodlands, TX · Public 70,991 0.11 84% of the leader · rank #39
40 John C Calhoun State Community College Tanner, AL · Public 8,736 0.11 86% of the leader · rank #40
41 Coastline Community College Garden Grove, CA · Public 8,576 0.12 87% of the leader · rank #41
42 Modesto Junior College Modesto, CA · Public 17,152 0.12 87% of the leader · rank #42
43 Middlesex Community College Bedford, MA · Public 8,280 0.12 90% of the leader · rank #43
44 National Louis University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit 8,270 0.12 90% of the leader · rank #44
45 Monroe College Bronx, NY · Private for-profit 7,924 0.13 94% of the leader · rank #45
46 Anoka-Ramsey Community College Coon Rapids, MN · Public 7,843 0.13 95% of the leader · rank #46
47 Camden County College Blackwood, NJ · Public 7,591 0.13 99% of the leader · rank #47
48 Thomas Edison State University Trenton, NJ · Public 7,587 0.13 99% of the leader · rank #48
49 Northwest Mississippi Community College Senatobia, MS · Public 7,520 0.13 99% of the leader · rank #49
50 American River College Sacramento, CA · Public 29,908 0.13 100% of the leader · rank #50

Safety score = total on-campus Clery Act incidents divided by enrollment, per 1,000 students. Lower is safer. Only campuses with enrollment ≥ 2,000 and a reported safety score are included.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act disclosures) U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act disclosures)

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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.