Community College institutions in the United States
Community colleges are public, two-year institutions whose highest award is an associate degree or certificate, classified under the Carnegie associate-degree categories. This dataset includes 920 U.S. institutions classified as Community College under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, maintained by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, enrolling about 5,368,457 students in total.
Of these, 826 are public and 94 private. The largest by enrollment include Ivy Tech Community College, Lone Star College System, and Dallas College. Among institutions that report the figure, the median graduation rate is 37% and the median average net price is $8,169.
R1 vs R2 vs Doctoral/Professional
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, maintained by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation, sorts doctoral universities into these research tiers.
| Tier | Research activity | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| R1 | Very high research activity | Doctoral universities with the highest level of research activity, the top Carnegie research tier (e.g. Harvard, MIT, most flagship state universities). |
| R2 | High research activity | Doctoral universities with high research activity, the second Carnegie research tier, below R1 but above the doctoral/professional category. |
| Doctoral/Professional | Doctoral or professional-practice degrees | Universities that award research or professional-practice doctorates but fall below the research-activity thresholds for R1 or R2. |
920 institutions
Page 16 of 20San Bernardino Valley College
San Bernardino, California
San Diego City College
San Diego, California
San Diego Miramar College
San Diego, California
San Jacinto Community College
Pasadena, Texas
San Joaquin Delta College
Stockton, California
San Joaquin Valley College - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
San Joaquin Valley College - Fresno
Fresno, California
San Joaquin Valley College - Hesperia
Hesperia, California
San Joaquin Valley College - Modesto
Salida, California
San Joaquin Valley College - Ontario
Ontario, California
San Joaquin Valley College - Temecula
Temecula, California
San Jose City College
San Jose, California
San Juan College
Farmington, New Mexico
Sandhills Community College
Pinehurst, North Carolina
Santa Barbara City College
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Fe Community College
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa, California
Santiago Canyon College
Orange, California
Sauk Valley Community College
Dixon, Illinois
Savannah Technical College
Savannah, Georgia
Schenectady County Community College
Schenectady, New York
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, Arizona
Seminole State College
Seminole, Oklahoma
Seward County Community College
Liberal, Kansas
Shawnee Community College
Ullin, Illinois
Shelton State Community College
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Shoreline Community College
Shoreline, Washington
Shorter College
N Little Rock, Arkansas
Sierra College
Rocklin, California
Sinclair Community College
Dayton, Ohio
Snead State Community College
Boaz, Alabama
Somerset Community College
Somerset, Kentucky
South Arkansas College
El Dorado, Arkansas
South Central College
North Mankato, Minnesota
South Georgia Technical College
Americus, Georgia
South Hills School of Business & Technology
State College, Pennsylvania
South Louisiana Community College
Lafayette, Louisiana
South Mountain Community College
Phoenix, Arizona
South Piedmont Community College
Polkton, North Carolina
South Plains College
Levelland, Texas
South Puget Sound Community College
Olympia, Washington
South Suburban College
South Holland, Illinois
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Southeast Arkansas College
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Southeast Community College Area
Lincoln, Nebraska
Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College
Cumberland, Kentucky
Southeast New Mexico College
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Southeast Technical College
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Community College institution under the Carnegie Classification?
- Community colleges are public, two-year institutions whose highest award is an associate degree or certificate, classified under the Carnegie associate-degree categories. This dataset tracks 920 of them in the United States.
- What are the largest Community College in the U.S.?
- By total enrollment, the largest are Ivy Tech Community College, Lone Star College System, Dallas College, NVCC, and Houston Community College.
- What is the typical graduation rate and net price for these institutions?
- The median graduation rate among institutions that report one is 37%, and the median average net price is $8,169. Figures come from IPEDS and College Scorecard.
Related categories
Browse by state
Data: IPEDS Fall 2025–26 provisional · College Scorecard (June 2026 release). All sources & release dates →
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