The higher-education institutions listed below represent the biggest colleges and universities in the United States by enrollment. The 2011 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 (Fall 2009) |
|---|
| 1 | University of Phoenix | Online | 380,232 |
| 2 | Kaplan University | Online | 71,011 |
| 3 | Arizona State University | Tempe | 68,064 |
| 4 | Miami Dade College | Miami | 59,120 |
| 5 | Ohio State University | Columbus | 55,014 |
| 6 | Houston Community College | Houston | 54,942 |
| 7 | Strayer University | Online | 54,325 |
| 8 | University of Central Florida | Orlando | 53,401 |
| 9 | University of Minnesota | Twin Cities | 51,659 |
| 10 | University of Texas at Austin | Austin | 50,995 |
| 11 | University of Florida | Gainesville | 50,691 |
| 12 | Texas A & M University | College Station | 48,702 |
| 13 | Michigan State University | East Lansing | 47,071 |
| 14 | Ashford University | Online | 46,835 |
| 15 | Northern Virginia Community College | Annandale | 46,619 |
| 16 | Lone Star College System | The Woodlands, Texas | 46,504 |
| 17 | Liberty University | Online/Lynchburg, Va | 46,312 |
| 18 | University of Washington | Seattle | 45,943 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania State University | University Park | 45,185 |
| 20 | Tarrant County College District | Fort Worth, Texas | 44,355 |
| 21 | University of Illinois | Urbana-Champaign | 43,881 |
| 22 | New York University | New York City | 43,404 |
| 23 | Indiana University | Bloomington | 42,347 |
| 24 | College of Southern Nevada | North Las Vegas | 42,108 |
| 25 | University of Michigan | Ann Arbor | 41,674 |
| 26 | University of Wisconsin | Madison | 41,654 |
| 27 | Purdue University | West Lafayette, Ind. | 41,052 |
| 28 | Walden University | Online | 40,714 |
| 29 | Austin Community College District | Austin, Texas | 40,248 |
| 30 | University of South Florida | Tampa | 40,222 |
| 31 | Florida State University | Coral Gables | 39,785 |
| 32 | Florida International University | Miami | 39,610 |
| 33 | Valencia Community College | Orlando | 39,008 |
| 34 | University of Arizona | Tucson | 38,767 |
| 35 | University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles | 38,550 |
| 36 | Rutgers University | New Brunswick | 37,366 |
| 37 | Broward College | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | 37,360 |
| 38 | University of Maryland, University College | Online/Adelphi, Md. | 37,347 |
| 39 | University of Maryland, College Park | College Park | 37,195 |
| 40 | University of Houston | Houston | 37,000 |
| 41 | Riverside Community College | Riverside, Calif. | 36,586 |
| 42 | Temple University | Philadelphia | 36,507 |
| 43 | California State University, Fullerton | Fullerton | 36,262 |
| 44 | Pima Community College | Tucson, Ariz | 35,880 |
| 45 | University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley | 35,830 |
| 46 | East Los Angeles College | Los Angeles | 35,717 |
| 47 | California State University, Long Beach | Long Beach | 35,557 |
| 48 | American River College | Sacramento, Calif. | 35,413 |
| 49 | California State University, Northridge | Northridge | 35,198 |
| 50 | University of North Texas | Denton | 35,003 |
