Universities with the greatest numbers of international students, 2019-20

New York University, with more than 21,000 international students in 2019-20, once again was the U.S. higher education institution with the most international students.

The 2020 Open Doors report from the International Institute of Education found that 1,075,496 students from other nations were enrolled at colleges and universities in the United States in 2019-20. That represents a 1.8% decline in the number of international students in the United States compared with 2018-19, but international students still account for 5.5% of all students in U.S. higher education.

As it has for several years, New York University topped the list of institutions with the most international students.

Here are the 10 U.S. universities with the greatest numbers of international students:

    Institution                                                Location                Number of international students

1 New York University                             New York NY         21,093

2 Northeastern University                      Boston MA              17,491

3 University of Southern California       Los Angeles CA     17,309

4 Columbia University                             New York NY         17,145

5 University of Illinois                              Champaign IL        13,962     

6 Arizona State University                      Tempe AZ              13,136

7 University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles CA     11,447

8 University of California San Diego     La Jolla CA             11,272

9 Purdue University                                 West Lafayette IN  11,173

10 Boston University                                Boston MA             11,158