There are thousands of colleges and universities in the United States. However, their distribution across the country is very uneven. Some states, even geographically small ones like Massachusetts, can have significantly more colleges than a geographically large state like Nevada. Naturally, a state with a large population is likely to have more colleges than states with small populations. But the correlation between population and the number of colleges isn’t always directly related.
So, what state has the most colleges? BrokeScholar turned to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in order to answer this question. Based on the criteria of institutions awarding bachelor’s degrees and being either four-year public or four-year not-for-profit private schools, we have been able to discern which state has the most colleges.
Read on to find out which state has the most colleges as well as relevant details like the size of the student population, graduation rates, and more.
Table of Contents
- What state has the most colleges?
- New York
- California
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Ohio
- Florida
- Massachusetts
- Illinois
- North Carolina
- Georgia
- Washington
- Missouri
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Indiana
- The bottom line on the states with the most colleges
What State Has the Most Colleges?
We’ve compiled a list of the 15 states with the most four-year public and not-for-profit private colleges that award bachelor's degrees. To a large extent, the states with the largest populations also had the most colleges. The state with the most colleges is New York state, with 196 colleges and universities that are four-year public and nonprofit private institutions.
California, which is the largest state by population, came in second place with 154 institutions. Florida, the third largest state, came in sixth place with 92 colleges and universities. Meanwhile, Massachusetts, which doesn’t rank among the 10 states with the largest populations, came in seventh place with 78 institutions.
Below is the breakdown of the 15 states with the most colleges, including the number of colleges and universities plus a table displaying the top institutions in order of graduation rate. Not coincidentally, several of the colleges in these tables also rank among the hardest colleges to get into in the U.S.
1. New York
Number of colleges in New York: 196
Top New York Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
8,832 |
95% |
|
|
15,503 |
95% |
|
|
3,043 |
92% |
|
|
2,516 |
92% |
|
|
2,055 |
92% |
|
|
3,164 |
91% |
|
|
6,568 |
90% |
|
|
602 |
89% |
|
|
4,594 |
88% |
|
|
28,772 |
87% |
2. California
Number of colleges in California: 154
Top California Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
1,764 |
95% |
|
|
7,645 |
95% |
|
|
987 |
94% |
|
|
31,814 |
94% |
|
|
905 |
92% |
|
|
32,122 |
92% |
|
|
20,790 |
92% |
|
|
1,416 |
91% |
|
|
5,895 |
89% |
|
|
33,343 |
88% |
3. Pennsylvania
Number of colleges in Pennsylvania: 126
Top Pennsylvania Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
11,292 |
96% |
|
|
1,651 |
94% |
|
|
6,932 |
92% |
|
|
7,032 |
91% |
|
|
5,451 |
91% |
|
|
1,420 |
91% |
|
|
2,725 |
89% |
|
|
3,724 |
87% |
|
| Franklin and Marshall College | 2,145 | 86% |
|
2,180 |
84% |
|
| University of Pittsburgh | 23,885 | 84% |
3. Texas
Number of colleges in Pennsylvania: 110
Top Texas Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
51 |
100% |
|
|
4,247 |
92% |
|
|
40,916 |
88% |
|
|
56,723 |
83% |
|
|
10,222 |
83% |
|
|
15,191 |
82% |
|
|
6,908 |
82% |
|
|
2,527 |
80% |
|
|
1,504 |
74% |
|
|
466 |
73% |
5. Ohio
Number of colleges in Ohio: 104
Top Ohio Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
47,106 |
88% |
|
|
1,875 |
87% |
|
|
5,792 |
84% |
|
|
305 |
83% |
|
|
105 |
83% |
|
|
17,003 |
83% |
|
|
2,942 |
82% |
|
|
2,321 |
81% |
|
|
621 |
81% |
|
|
8,637 |
80% |
|
|
1,968 |
77% |
|
|
2,660 |
76% |
|
|
2,426 |
76% |
6. Florida
Number of colleges in Florida: 92
Top Florida Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
37 |
100% |
|
|
80 |
92% |
|
|
34,876 |
91% |
|
|
12,089 |
84% |
|
|
33,593 |
83% |
|
|
1,663 |
80% |
|
|
59,996 |
75% |
|
|
38,011 |
75% |
|
|
5,168 |
72% |
|
|
2,510 |
71% |
7. Massachusetts
Number of colleges in Massachusetts: 78
Top Massachusetts Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
1,038 |
100% |
|
|
382 |
97% |
|
|
9,579 |
97% |
|
|
4,638 |
96% |
|
|
2,576 |
94% |
|
|
6,676 |
94% |
|
|
2,174 |
94% |
|
|
3,029 |
93% |
|
|
1,971 |
92% |
|
|
2,461 |
92% |
|
|
9,955 |
91% |
|
|
15,747 |
91% |
|
|
2,566 |
91% |
|
|
18,229 |
89% |
|
|
3,996 |
88% |
|
|
3,591 |
88% |
8. Illinois
Number of colleges in Illinois: 73
Top Illinois Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
189 |
100% |
|
|
108 |
100% |
|
|
737 |
99% |
|
|
7,636 |
96% |
|
|
8,847 |
95% |
|
|
2,341 |
88% |
|
|
321 |
86% |
|
|
34,779 |
85% |
|
|
1,653 |
81% |
|
|
2,338 |
79% |
|
|
4,331 |
76% |
9. North Carolina
Number of colleges in North Carolina: 63
Top North Carolina Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
6,883 |
96% |
|
|
1,973 |
90% |
|
|
19,845 |
90% |
|
|
5,472 |
90% |
|
|
26,505 |
84% |
|
|
6,302 |
83% |
|
|
438 |
79% |
|
|
184 |
75% |
|
|
18,555 |
73% |
|
|
14,488 |
72% |
|
|
4,910 |
70% |
|
|
938 |
70% |
|
|
1,427 |
68% |
10. Georgia
Number of colleges in Georgia: 57
Top Georgia Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
17,461 |
92% |
|
|
7,130 |
90% |
|
|
30,166 |
88% |
|
|
2,417 |
76% |
|
|
1,063 |
75% |
|
|
4,941 |
74% |
|
|
872 |
73% |
|
|
2,172 |
72% |
|
|
12,772 |
71% |
|
|
5,586 |
62% |
11. Washington
Number of colleges in Washington: 56
Top Washington Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
1,559 |
89% |
|
|
4,986 |
85% |
|
|
36,201 |
84% |
|
|
4,241 |
75% |
|
|
2,309 |
75% |
|
|
1,866 |
74% |
|
|
2,373 |
69% |
|
|
14,019 |
68% |
|
|
2,640 |
66% |
|
|
5,454 |
66% |
|
|
1,402 |
64% |
|
|
1,358 |
61% |
12. Missouri
Number of colleges in Missouri: 55
Top Missouri Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences |
158 |
100% |
|
8,034 |
93% |
|
|
8,745 |
80% |
|
|
255 |
77% |
|
|
2,704 |
74% |
|
|
5,685 |
73% |
|
|
23,696 |
73% |
|
|
3,890 |
72% |
|
|
303 |
67% |
|
|
559 |
66% |
|
|
1,826 |
65% |
|
|
779 |
65% |
13. Michigan
Number of colleges in Michigan: 53
Top Michigan Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
190 |
100% |
|
|
32,282 |
94% |
|
|
1,515 |
88% |
|
|
38,574 |
82% |
|
|
3,132 |
81% |
|
|
74 |
78% |
|
|
3,068 |
77% |
|
|
1,241 |
76% |
|
|
1,358 |
72% |
|
|
1,516 |
70% |
14. New Jersey
Number of colleges in New Jersey: 52
Top New Jersey Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
5,321 |
97% |
|
|
4,064 |
88% |
|
|
6,959 |
86% |
|
|
36,152 |
84% |
|
|
8,392 |
76% |
|
|
1,634 |
74% |
|
|
9,183 |
74% |
|
|
6,063 |
72% |
|
|
5,145 |
70% |
|
|
1,631 |
68% |
15. Indiana
Number of colleges in Indiana: 52
Top Indiana Colleges by Graduation Rate:
|
College or University |
Undergraduate Population |
Graduation Rate |
|
8,973 |
96% |
|
|
37,806 |
83% |
|
|
4,537 |
81% |
|
|
34,253 |
81% |
|
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 2,081 | 81% |
|
1,724 |
79% |
|
|
1,944 |
78% |
|
|
840 |
75% |
|
|
1,402 |
75% |
|
|
658 |
75% |
The Bottom Line on the States With the Most Colleges
Thus, when it comes to the question, “what state has the most colleges?”, the answer is New York state. California has the second greatest number of colleges, followed by Pennsylvania and Texas, which both have 110. There are several schools that have 100% graduation rates, but they are also specialized schools with very few undergraduate students.
Many topnotch public and private colleges rank among the schools with the highest graduation rates. And many of the nation’s best schools can be found in states with the most colleges. Many of these schools have scholarships that you can find on BrokeScholar, which, if you win them, can seriously reduce the cost of attending college there.
Methodology
In order to determine which states have the most colleges, we sourced data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In order to qualify for our list, institutions had to:
- Award bachelor’s degrees (at a minimum)
- Be a four-year public college or university, or
- Be a four-year private, not-for-profit college or university
