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California ranking · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Largest Colleges in California

Looking for the largest colleges in California? Using College Scorecard data retrieved March-July 2026, these operating California campuses rank highest on reported undergraduate enrollment. Size is not quality - use it to find campuses with the scale you want, then compare earnings, net price, and graduation rates.

38,546
Largest undergraduate enrollment
100
California colleges ranked
7,620
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

The largest colleges in California on this list all report undergraduate enrollment of 7,620 or more. California State University-Fullerton leads at 38,546.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

38,546
#1 - California State University-Fullerton
7,620
#100 cutoff on this list
Scorecard
undergraduate enrollment field

Enrollment is the College Scorecard undergraduate headcount field; see methodology for vintage details.

Top 15 largest California colleges by undergraduate enrollment

Higher bars mean more enrolled undergraduates

undergrad enrollment

What this shows Flagship and large public campuses usually dominate California enrollment rankings - multi-campus systems can look larger than a single residential college.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals
# School Name Undergraduate enrollmentCity
1 California State University-Fullerton 38,546 Fullerton
2 California State University-Long Beach 35,924 Long Beach
3 San Diego State University 35,377 San Diego
4 University of California-San Diego 34,948 La Jolla
5 University of California-Los Angeles 33,475 Los Angeles
6 University of California-Berkeley 33,068 Berkeley
7 California State University-Northridge 32,691 Northridge
8 University of California-Davis 32,253 Davis
9 University of California-Irvine 30,197 Irvine
10 California State University-Sacramento 28,350 Sacramento
11 East Los Angeles College 27,753 Monterey Park
12 San Jose State University 27,601 San Jose
13 Mt San Antonio College 26,140 Walnut
14 American River College 25,621 Sacramento
15 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona 25,042 Pomona
16 University of California-Santa Barbara 23,113 Santa Barbara
17 University of the People 22,688 Pasadena
18 University of California-Riverside 22,593 Riverside
19 Santa Ana College 22,485 Santa Ana
20 Long Beach City College 22,427 Long Beach
21 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo 21,996 San Luis Obispo
22 California State University-Fresno 21,605 Fresno
23 Pasadena City College 21,466 Pasadena
24 Santa Monica College 21,440 Santa Monica
25 Fresno City College 21,251 Fresno
26 University of Southern California 20,443 Los Angeles
27 California State University-Los Angeles 19,562 Los Angeles
28 El Camino Community College District 19,210 Torrance
29 Cerritos College 18,870 Norwalk
30 San Francisco State University 18,639 San Francisco
31 Southwestern College 18,614 Chula Vista
32 Riverside City College 18,346 Riverside
33 Chaffey College 18,132 Rancho Cucamonga
34 University of California-Santa Cruz 17,940 Santa Cruz
35 Palomar College 17,712 San Marcos
36 Saddleback College 17,684 Mission Viejo
37 Sacramento City College 17,657 Sacramento
38 City College of San Francisco 17,348 San Francisco
39 Bakersfield College 17,280 Bakersfield
40 Fullerton College 17,121 Fullerton
41 San Diego Mesa College 16,098 San Diego
42 Orange Coast College 16,091 Costa Mesa
43 College of the Canyons 15,832 Santa Clarita
44 San Joaquin Delta College 15,781 Stockton
45 Rio Hondo College 15,684 Whittier
46 Diablo Valley College 15,358 Pleasant Hill
47 De Anza College 15,264 Cupertino
48 Mt San Jacinto Community College District 15,259 San Jacinto
49 Modesto Junior College 15,109 Modesto
50 Santa Rosa Junior College 15,080 Santa Rosa
51 California State University-San Bernardino 15,023 San Bernardino
52 California State University-San Marcos 14,877 San Marcos
53 Sierra College 14,122 Rocklin
54 Cosumnes River College 14,023 Sacramento
55 California State University-Chico 13,631 Chico
56 Los Angeles Pierce College 13,436 Woodland Hills
57 Cypress College 13,354 Cypress
58 Los Angeles Valley College 12,601 Valley Glen
59 California State University-Dominguez Hills 12,538 Carson
60 San Bernardino Valley College 12,234 San Bernardino
61 Grossmont College 12,163 El Cajon
62 Moorpark College 12,082 Moorpark
63 College of the Sequoias 11,562 Visalia
64 Antelope Valley Community College District 11,534 Lancaster
65 Chabot College 11,392 Hayward
66 San Diego Miramar College 11,271 San Diego
67 Los Angeles City College 11,198 Los Angeles
68 Foothill College 11,137 Los Altos Hills
69 National University 10,794 San Diego
70 Santiago Canyon College 10,579 Orange
71 Glendale Community College 10,509 Glendale
72 San Diego City College 10,441 San Diego
73 Irvine Valley College 10,286 Irvine
74 MiraCosta College 10,278 Oceanside
75 College of the Desert 10,207 Palm Desert
76 Ventura College 10,150 Ventura
77 Merced College 10,001 Merced
78 Los Angeles Trade Technical College 9,998 Los Angeles
79 Santa Barbara City College 9,889 Santa Barbara
80 California State University-East Bay 9,809 Hayward
81 Hartnell College 9,453 Salinas
82 Folsom Lake College 9,414 Folsom
83 Moreno Valley College 9,346 Moreno Valley
84 Golden West College 9,034 Huntington Beach
85 Butte College 8,890 Oroville
86 Norco College 8,779 Norco
87 California State University-Bakersfield 8,577 Bakersfield
88 California State University-Stanislaus 8,385 Turlock
89 University of California-Merced 8,372 Merced
90 Citrus College 8,286 Glendora
91 California Baptist University 8,179 Riverside
92 Solano Community College 8,061 Fairfield
93 Allan Hancock College 8,052 Santa Maria
94 Cabrillo College 8,002 Aptos
95 Los Angeles Mission College 7,999 Sylmar
96 College of San Mateo 7,977 San Mateo
97 Clovis Community College 7,956 Fresno
98 Evergreen Valley College 7,688 San Jose
99 Imperial Valley College 7,652 Imperial
100 Skyline College 7,620 San Bruno

About This Ranking

California schools are ranked by undergraduate enrollment from College Scorecard. Only operating colleges with a published enrollment figure are included. The national companion is our largest colleges list. See our methodology for source vintage and cohort definitions.

Caveats and limitations

Enrollment measures campus scale, not academic quality, selectivity, or affordability. A smaller college can still be a better fit on program mix, cost, or outcomes.

For earnings-adjusted value in California, see best colleges in California. For cheapest campuses, see cheapest colleges in California.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.