In California, there are a total of 2,733,301 students enrolled in higher education institutions. Of these, 2,219,443 attend public colleges and universities, while 513,858 are enrolled in private institutions. This comprehensive overview highlights the scale and diversity of college enrollment in California, helping prospective students and families understand their options among the largest educational institutions.
Explore Largest California Public Colleges with the Most Students, where 47,335 students are enrolled at University of California-Los Angeles, making it the largest institution in terms of enrollment.
Following closely, University of California-Berkeley ranks second with 45,882 students, while University of California-San Diego holds the third spot at 44,256. These institutions set the benchmark for large-scale education.
The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $33,783 and graduate tuition & fees is $24,838 for the academic year 2024-2025.
Our analysis includes colleges with at least 1,000 total enrollments and excludes online universities to provide a balanced overview. For a comprehensive list of online universities, visit the largest California public online colleges.
| School Name | Total Population | Undergraduate | Graduate | Men | Women | Online Enrollment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - | University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CAPublic, 4-year | 47,335 657 | 33,475 (70.72%) | 13,860 (29.28%) | 20,430 (43.16%) | 26,905 (56.84%) | 785 (1.66%) |
| 2 - | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CAPublic, 4-year | 45,882 183 | 33,070 (72.08%) | 12,812 (27.92%) | 21,140 (46.07%) | 24,742 (53.93%) | 1,793 (3.91%) |
| 3 - | University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CAPublic, 4-year | 44,256 1,880 | 34,955 (78.98%) | 9,301 (21.02%) | 20,975 (47.39%) | 23,281 (52.61%) | 236 (0.53%) |
| 4 - | California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CAPublic, 4-year | 43,662 1,700 | 38,760 (88.77%) | 4,902 (11.23%) | 18,958 (43.42%) | 24,704 (56.58%) | 3,776 (8.65%) |
| 5 - | California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CAPublic, 4-year | 42,003 1,725 | 36,082 (85.90%) | 5,921 (14.10%) | 17,258 (41.09%) | 24,745 (58.91%) | 2,404 (5.72%) |
| 6 1 | San Diego State University San Diego, CAPublic, 4-year | 41,137 1,896 | 35,782 (86.98%) | 5,355 (13.02%) | 17,570 (42.71%) | 23,567 (57.29%) | 2,454 (5.97%) |
| 7 1 | University of California-Davis Davis, CAPublic, 4-year | 40,065 358 | 32,273 (80.55%) | 7,792 (19.45%) | 16,798 (41.93%) | 23,267 (58.07%) | 336 (0.84%) |
| 8 - | California State University-Northridge Northridge, CAPublic, 4-year | 38,313 553 | 32,756 (85.50%) | 5,557 (14.50%) | 17,530 (45.75%) | 20,783 (54.25%) | 2,866 (7.48%) |
| 9 1 | San Jose State University San Jose, CAPublic, 4-year | 37,661 1,599 | 28,008 (74.37%) | 9,653 (25.63%) | 18,280 (48.54%) | 19,381 (51.46%) | 6,027 (16.00%) |
| 10 1 | University of California-Irvine Irvine, CAPublic, 4-year | 37,297 715 | 30,204 (80.98%) | 7,093 (19.02%) | 16,711 (44.81%) | 20,586 (55.19%) | 614 (1.65%) |
| Average | 41,761 | 33,537 (80.31%) | 8,225 (19.69%) | 18,565 (44.46%) | 23,196 (55.54%) | 2,129 (5.10%) |