Top 10 Largest Universities in the U.S by Enrollment (On-Campus for 2026)

When people talk about the “largest universities in America,” they often mean physical scale: packed lecture halls, massive dorm systems, and campuses that feel like small cities. This ranking focuses strictly on students studying on campus, excluding fully online enrollments that can dramatically inflate numbers.

Using the most recent published enrollment data available for the 2024–2025 academic year, which remains the accepted reference for 2026 planning and analysis, the list below highlights the 10 largest U.S. universities by on-campus student population only.

Read more: Top 10 Largest Universities in the U.S. by Enrollment (Online + On-Campus)

Largest Universities in the United States by On-Campus Enrollment

1. Arizona State University

• On-campus enrollment: ~75,000

• Founded: 1885

• Campuses: Tempe, Downtown Phoenix, Polytechnic, West

• Website: asu.edu

ASU is widely recognized as the largest on-campus university in the United States. Its size comes from a multi-campus model within the Phoenix metro area, allowing the university to scale without relying solely on online education.

Arizona State University (ASU)

2. University of Central Florida

• On-campus enrollment: ~69,000

• Founded: 1963

• Location: Orlando, Florida

• Website: ucf.edu

UCF has long branded itself as “America’s Space University.” Its single, enormous main campus is one of the largest in the country by acreage and student population.

University of Central Florida

3. Texas A&M University

• On-campus enrollment: ~67,000

• Founded: 1876

• Location: College Station, Texas

• Website: tamu.edu

Texas A&M’s main campus is often cited as the largest contiguous university campus in the U.S. The school combines military traditions, major research output, and one of the strongest alumni networks nationwide.

4. Ohio State University

• On-campus enrollment: ~66,000

• Founded: 1870

• Location: Columbus, Ohio

• Website: osu.edu

Ohio State is the flagship public university of Ohio and one of the most recognizable academic brands in the Midwest, balancing size with research intensity.

Read more: Top 10 Most Largest US Colleges/Universities - by Enrollment, Subscribers

The Ohio State University

5. Florida International University

• On-campus enrollment: ~56,000

• Founded: 1965

• Location: Miami, Florida

• Website: fiu.edu

FIU serves one of the most diverse student populations in the country and has grown rapidly alongside South Florida’s population boom.

6. University of Florida

• On-campus enrollment: ~55,000

• Founded: 1853

• Location: Gainesville, Florida

• Website: ufl.edu

Unlike many schools of similar size, UF combines massive enrollment with highly selective admissions and top-tier research rankings.

University of Florida - Best Public University in the U.S

7. University of Minnesota Twin Cities

• On-campus enrollment: ~54,000

• Founded: 1851

• Location: Minneapolis–Saint Paul

• Website: umn.edu

The Twin Cities campus anchors one of the largest public research universities in the Midwest and plays a major role in regional innovation.

Read more: US University Rankings 2026: Stability at the Top, Public Universities on the Rise

8. Michigan State University

• On-campus enrollment: ~50,000

• Founded: 1855

• Location: East Lansing, Michigan

• Website: msu.edu

Michigan State is known for its strengths in agriculture, business, and education, and for operating one of the largest residential campuses in the country.

9. Pennsylvania State University University Park

• On-campus enrollment: ~48,000 (University Park only)

• Founded: 1855

• Location: State College, Pennsylvania

• Website: psu.edu

Penn State is a multi-campus system, but University Park alone is large enough to rank among the biggest campuses nationwide.

10. University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas at Austin

• On-campus enrollment: ~52,000

• Founded: 1883

• Location: Austin, Texas

• Website: utexas.edu

UT Austin rounds out the top 10 with a balance of size, selectivity, and global academic reputation, particularly in engineering and business.

Bottom Line

If online students are excluded, America’s largest universities are dominated by public flagship institutions in fast-growing states. Their size reflects not just enrollment demand, but decades of public investment, land availability, and regional population growth.