While Raleigh has the largest student population, it is not the city with the most colleges. Charlotte has the highest number of colleges with 18 schools (57,341 students) in North Carolina. You can check the cities with the most colleges in North Carolina here.
The largest college in Raleigh is North Carolina State University at Raleigh with 38,464 students enrolled.
Other top cities in North Carolina include
The following table lists cities with the largest student populations in North Carolina, including the total number of schools, total enrollment, undergraduate and graduate students , along with the distribution of men and women students across institutions. Click on any city to explore detailed information about colleges in that area. Each page also includes information about community colleges and trade schoools in the metropolitan region and nearby cities.
| City | Total Enrollment | Undergraduate | Graduate | Online Enrollment | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, NC17 Schools | 68,816 | 58,434 | 10,382 | 15,463 | 32,940 | 35,876 |
| Charlotte, NC18 Schools | 57,341 | 50,666 | 6,675 | 10,874 | 25,759 | 31,582 |
| Greensboro, NC11 Schools | 39,000 | 33,112 | 5,888 | 9,634 | 13,225 | 25,775 |
| Wilmington, NC4 Schools | 33,108 | 29,517 | 3,591 | 8,741 | 13,285 | 19,823 |
| Chapel Hill, NC2 Schools | 32,636 | 21,084 | 11,552 | 1,858 | 12,827 | 19,809 |
| Durham, NC6 Schools | 31,485 | 18,529 | 12,956 | 6,459 | 12,186 | 19,299 |
| Greenville, NC2 Schools | 26,995 | 21,501 | 5,494 | 8,356 | 10,632 | 16,363 |
| Winston-Salem, NC7 Schools | 24,741 | 19,817 | 4,924 | 6,535 | 9,039 | 15,702 |
| Fayetteville, NC8 Schools | 21,680 | 20,176 | 1,504 | 9,293 | 8,132 | 13,548 |
| Boone, NC1 School | 21,570 | 19,560 | 2,010 | 2,551 | 9,329 | 12,241 |