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
- California State Univers…
California State University-Fullerton
38,546 undergrad enrollment
- California State Univers…
California State University-Long Beach
35,924 undergrad enrollment
- San Diego State University
San Diego State University
35,377 undergrad enrollment
- University of California…
University of California-San Diego
34,948 undergrad enrollment
- University of California…
University of California-Los Angeles
33,475 undergrad enrollment
- University of California…
University of California-Berkeley
33,068 undergrad enrollment
- California State Univers…
California State University-Northridge
32,691 undergrad enrollment
- University of California…
University of California-Davis
32,253 undergrad enrollment
- University of California…
University of California-Irvine
30,197 undergrad enrollment
- California State Univers…
California State University-Sacramento
28,350 undergrad enrollment
- East Los Angeles College
East Los Angeles College
27,753 undergrad enrollment
- San Jose State University
San Jose State University
27,601 undergrad enrollment
- Mt San Antonio College
Mt San Antonio College
26,140 undergrad enrollment
- American River College
American River College
25,621 undergrad enrollment
- California State Polytec…
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
25,042 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.
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.