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 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 Southern California ranks second with 46,566 students, while University of California-Berkeley holds the third spot at 45,882. These institutions set the benchmark for large-scale education.
The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $36,284 and graduate tuition & fees is $28,996 for the academic year 2024-2025.
For these well-regarded Largest California Colleges with the Most Students, the average acceptance rate is 44.93% and the average SAT score is 1,500, indicating a moderately selective admissions process.
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 online colleges.
| School Name | Total Population | Undergraduate | Graduate | Men | Women | Online Enrollment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 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 1 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CAPrivate, 4-year | 46,566 581 | 20,630 (44.30%) | 25,936 (55.70%) | 21,836 (46.89%) | 24,730 (53.11%) | 6,077 (13.05%) |
| 3 - | 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%) |
| 4 - | 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%) |
| 5 - | 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%) |
| 6 - | 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%) |
| 7 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%) |
| 8 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%) |
| 9 - | 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%) |
| 10 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%) |
| Average | 42,688 | 32,579 (76.32%) | 10,109 (23.68%) | 19,078 (44.69%) | 23,611 (55.31%) | 2,675 (6.27%) |