While Knoxville has the largest student population, it is not the city with the most colleges. Nashville has the highest number of colleges with 28 schools (55,773 students) in Tennessee. You can check the cities with the most colleges in Tennessee here.
The largest college in Knoxville is The University of Tennessee-Knoxville with 38,728 students enrolled.
Other top cities in Tennessee include
The following table lists cities with the largest student populations in Tennessee, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knoxville, TN10 Schools | 62,712 | 51,524 | 11,188 | 11,830 | 25,451 | 37,261 |
| Nashville, TN28 Schools | 55,773 | 42,144 | 13,629 | 7,453 | 21,597 | 34,176 |
| Memphis, TN24 Schools | 40,276 | 31,616 | 8,660 | 7,898 | 16,060 | 24,216 |
| Chattanooga, TN7 Schools | 24,641 | 22,743 | 1,898 | 7,356 | 8,796 | 15,845 |
| Murfreesboro, TN5 Schools | 21,700 | 19,258 | 2,442 | 3,076 | 10,027 | 11,673 |
| Johnson City, TN3 Schools | 13,915 | 11,018 | 2,897 | 2,762 | 5,326 | 8,589 |
| Cookeville, TN4 Schools | 11,165 | 9,844 | 1,321 | 1,033 | 5,689 | 5,476 |
| Clarksville, TN5 Schools | 11,099 | 9,590 | 1,509 | 3,025 | 4,376 | 6,723 |
| Jackson, TN5 Schools | 10,159 | 9,384 | 775 | 2,037 | 4,322 | 5,837 |
| Cleveland, TN5 Schools | 7,778 | 6,909 | 869 | 1,415 | 3,160 | 4,618 |