The higher-education institutions listed below represent the biggest colleges and universities in the United States by enrollment. The 2010 AS&U Higher Education 20 — a compilation of the nation's 20 largest higher education institutions — also provides the following data:
| Rank | Institution | Location | Enrollment (2008-09) | Enrollment (2007-08) | 1-Year Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Phoenix-Online | Online | 301,323 | 224,880 | 33.99% |
| 2 | Arizona State University | Tempe, Ariz. | 67,082 | 51,481 | 30.30% |
| 3 | Miami-Dade College | Miami, Fla. | 57,222 | 54,094 | 5.78% |
| 4 | Ohio State University | Columbus, Ohio | 53,715 | 52,568 | 2.18% |
| 5 | University of Florida | Gainesville, Fla. | 51,474 | 51,725 | -0.49% |
| 6 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | Minneapolis, Minn. | 51,140 | 50,883 | 0.51% |
| 7 | University of Central Florida | Orlando, Fla. | 50,121 | 48,398 | 3.56% |
| 8 | University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas | 49,984 | 50,170 | -0.37% |
| 9 | Houston Community College System | Houston, Texas | 48,169 | 43,518 | 10.69% |
| 10 | Texas A&M University | College Station, Texas | 48,039 | 46,542 | 3.22% |
| 11 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, Mich. | 46,510 | 46,045 | 1.01% |
| 12 | University of South Florida | Tampa, Fla. | 46,189 | 44,870 | 2.94% |
| 13 | Strayer University | Online | 45,491 | 35,754 | 27.23% |
| 14 | Kaplan University | Online | 45,153 | 32,734 | 37.94% |
| 15 | Pennsylvania State University | University Park, Pa. | 44,406 | 43,252 | 2.67% |
| 16 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Urbana, Ill. | 43,246 | 42,326 | 2.17% |
| 17 | Northern Virginia Community College | Annandale, Va. | 42,663 | 41,266 | 3.39% |
| 18 | New York University | New York City, N.Y. | 42,189 | 41,783 | 0.97% |
| 19 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison, Wis. | 41,620 | 41,563 | 0.14% |
| 20 | Purdue University | West Lafayette, Ind. | 41,433 | 40,534 | 2.22% |
| 21 | Lone Star College System | The Woodlands, Texas | 41,345 | 39,756 | 4.00% |
| 22 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, Mich. | 41,028 | 41,042 | -0.03% |
| 23 | Indiana University-Bloomington | Bloomington, Ind. | 40,354 | 38,990 | 3.50% |
| 24 | College of Southern Nevada | North Las Vegas, Nev. | 40,310 | 37,758 | 6.76% |
| 25 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Seattle, Wash. | 39,675 | 40,218 | -1.35% |
| 26 | Tarrant County College District | Fort Worth, Texas | 39,596 | 37,948 | 4.34% |
| 27 | Florida International University | Miami, Fla. | 38,759 | 38,182 | 1.51% |
| 28 | Florida State University | Coral Gables, Fla. | 38,682 | 40,555 | -4.62% |
| 29 | University of California-Los Angeles | Los Angeles, Calif. | 38,220 | 37,476 | 1.99% |
| 30 | University of Arizona | Tucson, Ariz. | 38,057 | 37,217 | 2.26% |
| 31 | California State University Long Beach | Long Beach, Calif. | 37,891 | 36,868 | 2.77% |
| 32 | University of Maryland-College Park | College Park, Md. | 37,000 | 36,014 | 2.74% |
| 33 | California State University Fullerton | Fullerton, Calif. | 36,996 | 37,130 | -0.36% |
| 34 | California State University-Northridge | Northridge, Calif. | 36,208 | 35,446 | 2.15% |
| 35 | Riverside Community College | Riverside, Calif. | 36,146 | 30,961 | 16.75% |
| 36 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | New Brunswick, N.J. | 36,041 | 34,804 | 3.55% |
| 37 | University of Houston | Houston, Texas | 36,014 | 34,663 | 3.90% |
| 38 | Austin Community College District | Austin, Texas | 35,798 | 33,508 | 6.83% |
| 39 | Temple University | Philadelphia, Pa. | 35,490 | 34,696 | 2.29% |
| 40 | Valencia Community College | Orlando, Fla. | 35,460 | 32,870 | 7.88% |
| 41 | University of California-Berkeley | Berkeley, Calif. | 35,396 | 34,940 | 1.31% |
| 42 | San Diego State University | San Diego, Calif. | 34,889 | 35,695 | -2.26% |
| 43 | City College of San Francisco | San Francisco, Calif. | 34,868 | 46,411 | -24.87% |
| 44 | University of North Texas | Denton, Texas | 34,830 | 34,710 | 0.35% |
| 45 | American River College | Sacramento, Calif. | 34,610 | 33,821 | 2.33% |
| 46 | Brigham Young University | Provo, Utah | 34,244 | 34,174 | 0.20% |
| 47 | University of Georgia | Athen, Ga. | 34,180 | 33,831 | 1.03% |
| 48 | University of Maryland-University College | Adelphi, Md. | 34,172 | 32,540 | 5.02% |
| 49 | Pima Community College | Tucson, Ariz. | 34,136 | 32,982 | 3.50% |
| 50 | East Los Angeles College | Los Angeles, Calif. | 34,065 | 28,889 | 17.92% |