Largest universities by state

The table identifies the largest tracked postsecondary institution in each of the 50 states and DC by reported enrollment. Figures come from federal Clery Act campus-safety filings and are useful for a size comparison, not a quality or safety ranking.

Largest tracked university in each of 51 US states and DC by Clery-reported enrollment.

This hub lists the highest-enrollment Title IV institution in every state and DC from U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey filings, led here by Western Governors University in Utah at 210,208 students. Enrollment is institution-reported and can include multi-campus or online systems. The separate table below ranks state average safety scores; size and safety are different questions.

  • 51 states + DC
  • 210,208 top enrollment (UT)
  • OPE Clery survey source

Coverage status: all 50 states and DC appear in the enrollment table. Federal records for territories remain available in the state-safety comparison below but are outside this standard state-by-state view.

Source: the U.S. Department of Education's Campus Safety and Security Survey. Enrollment is institution-reported, so an online or multi-campus system can represent more students than a single physical campus; see the methodology for coverage and definitions.

State Largest tracked institution Reported enrollment
Alabama AL The University of Alabama 40,846
Alaska AK University of Alaska Anchorage 10,493
Arizona AZ Grand Canyon University 113,257
Arkansas AR University of Arkansas 33,610
California CA University of California-Los Angeles 47,335
Colorado CO University of Colorado Boulder 38,799
Connecticut CT Connecticut State Community College 36,315
Delaware DE University of Delaware 24,412
District of Columbia DC George Washington University 25,374
Florida FL University of Central Florida 69,713
Georgia GA Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus 53,363
Hawaii HI University of Hawaii at Manoa 20,028
Idaho ID Brigham Young University-Idaho 45,585
Illinois IL University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 59,238
Indiana IN Ivy Tech Community College 110,710
Iowa IA University of Iowa 30,779
Kansas KS University of Kansas 29,792
Kentucky KY University of Kentucky 34,709
Louisiana LA Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College 41,705
Maine ME University of Maine 12,029
Maryland MD University of Maryland Global Campus 63,012
Massachusetts MA Boston University 37,737
Michigan MI University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 52,855
Minnesota MN University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 56,666
Mississippi MS University of Mississippi 26,449
Missouri MO University of Missouri-Columbia 31,543
Montana MT Montana State University 17,135
Nebraska NE University of Nebraska-Lincoln 24,393
Nevada NV University of Nevada-Las Vegas 32,911
New Hampshire NH Southern New Hampshire University 189,531
New Jersey NJ Rutgers University-New Brunswick 52,269
New Mexico NM University of New Mexico-Main Campus 23,124
New York NY New York University 56,832
North Carolina NC North Carolina State University at Raleigh 38,464
North Dakota ND University of North Dakota 15,019
Ohio OH Ohio State University-Main Campus 61,443
Oklahoma OK University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus 30,851
Oregon OR Oregon State University 37,163
Pennsylvania PA Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus 50,737
Rhode Island RI University of Rhode Island 17,210
South Carolina SC University of South Carolina-Columbia 38,532
South Dakota SD South Dakota State University 12,056
Tennessee TN The University of Tennessee-Knoxville 38,728
Texas TX Texas A&M University-College Station 78,321
Utah UT Western Governors University 210,208
Vermont VT University of Vermont 14,476
Virginia VA Liberty University 104,327
Washington WA University of Washington-Seattle Campus 56,997
West Virginia WV American Public University System 50,715
Wisconsin WI University of Wisconsin-Madison 51,044
Wyoming WY University of Wyoming 10,813

Campus safety by state

For a separate comparison, these state averages use on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA reports per 1,000 students. Lower scores mean fewer included reports relative to enrollment.

Rank State Campuses scored Avg Safety Score
1 Marshall Islands MH 1 of 1 0.00
2 Northern Mariana Islands MP 1 of 1 0.00
3 Palau PW 1 of 1 0.00
4 Puerto Rico PR 118 of 120 0.33
5 Guam GU 3 of 3 0.58
6 Arizona AZ 95 of 95 0.58
7 New Jersey NJ 145 of 145 0.69
8 Idaho ID 31 of 31 0.77
9 Florida FL 291 of 294 0.78
10 Nevada NV 35 of 35 0.82
11 Utah UT 57 of 57 0.91
12 Arkansas AR 75 of 75 1.11
13 Federated States of Micronesia FM 1 of 1 1.16
14 South Dakota SD 21 of 21 1.17
15 Michigan MI 153 of 153 1.18
16 Louisiana LA 101 of 102 1.20
17 Ohio OH 257 of 257 1.34
18 Connecticut CT 50 of 50 1.48
19 Montana MT 26 of 26 1.57
20 Maine ME 33 of 33 1.60
21 Oklahoma OK 97 of 97 1.64
22 Georgia GA 132 of 132 1.66
23 U.S. Virgin Islands VI 1 of 1 1.67
24 Alabama AL 72 of 72 1.70
25 Wisconsin WI 79 of 79 1.75
26 South Carolina SC 85 of 85 1.82
27 Illinois IL 216 of 216 1.87
28 New York NY 384 of 384 1.95
29 Mississippi MS 49 of 50 2.00
30 Colorado CO 76 of 76 2.10
31 California CA 590 of 590 2.11
32 North Carolina NC 156 of 156 2.22
33 Virginia VA 131 of 131 2.23
34 Indiana IN 102 of 102 2.24
35 New Hampshire NH 29 of 29 2.27
36 Tennessee TN 134 of 134 2.31
37 Wyoming WY 10 of 10 2.32
38 American Samoa AS 1 of 1 2.37
39 North Dakota ND 25 of 25 2.38
40 Alaska AK 10 of 10 2.41
41 Nebraska NE 39 of 39 2.42
42 Massachusetts MA 133 of 134 2.43
43 Washington WA 91 of 91 2.46
44 Oregon OR 65 of 65 2.52
45 Texas TX 370 of 370 2.59
46 Maryland MD 71 of 72 2.65
47 Hawaii HI 19 of 20 2.75
48 Kentucky KY 84 of 84 3.45
49 Minnesota MN 87 of 87 3.73
50 Delaware DE 15 of 15 4.05
51 Missouri MO 130 of 130 4.22
52 Rhode Island RI 20 of 20 4.86
53 New Mexico NM 41 of 41 4.89
54 Iowa IA 75 of 75 5.37
55 Kansas KS 75 of 75 5.58
56 West Virginia WV 65 of 65 7.60
57 Pennsylvania PA 287 of 287 8.00
58 District of Columbia DC 19 of 19 8.54
59 Vermont VT 15 of 15 9.77

Safety score = on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA reports / (enrollment / 1,000). The average uses the scored campuses shown in each row; arrests and disciplinary referrals are excluded. Rank 1 has the lowest nonzero score.

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Download the institution extract behind this state hub: institutions.csv (same CSV as /data).