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 17 of 20Southeastern Community College
West Burlington, Iowa
Southeastern Community College
Whiteville, North Carolina
Southeastern Illinois College
Harrisburg, Illinois
Southeastern Technical College
Vidalia, Georgia
Southern Arkansas University Tech
Camden, Arkansas
Southern Crescent Technical College
Griffin, Georgia
Southern Maine Community College
South Portland, Maine
Southern Regional Technical College
Thomasville, Georgia
Southern State Community College
Hillsboro, Ohio
Southern Technical College
Orlando, Florida
Southern Union State Community College
Wadley, Alabama
Southern University at Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
Logan, West Virginia
Southside Virginia Community College
Alberta, Virginia
Southwest College for the Deaf
Big Spring, Texas
Southwest Mississippi Community College
Summit, Mississippi
Southwest Tennessee Community College
Memphis, Tennessee
Southwest Texas College
Uvalde, Texas
Southwest Virginia Community College
Cedar Bluff, Virginia
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College
Fennimore, Wisconsin
Southwestern College
Chula Vista, California
Southwestern Community College
Creston, Iowa
Southwestern Community College
Sylva, North Carolina
Southwestern Illinois College
Belleville, Illinois
Southwestern Michigan College
Dowagiac, Michigan
Southwestern Oregon Community College
Coos Bay, Oregon
SOWELA Technical Community College
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Spartanburg Community College
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg Methodist College
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spoon River College
Canton, Illinois
Springfield Technical Community College
Springfield, Massachusetts
St Charles Community College
Cottleville, Missouri
St Clair County Community College
Port Huron, Michigan
St Cloud Technical and Community College
Saint Cloud, Minnesota
St Philip's College
San Antonio, Texas
Stanly Community College
Albemarle, North Carolina
Stark State College
North Canton, Ohio
State Fair Community College
Sedalia, Missouri
State Technical College of Missouri
Linn, Missouri
Stautzenberger College - Brecksville
Brecksville, Ohio
Stautzenberger College - Maumee
Maumee, Ohio
Stautzenberger College - Rockford Career College
Rockford, Illinois
Suffolk County Community College
Selden, New York
Sullivan County Community College
Loch Sheldrake, New York
SUNY Adirondack
Queensbury, New York
SUNY Broome Community College
Binghamton, New York
SUNY Corning Community College
Corning, New York
SUNY Westchester Community College
Valhalla, New York
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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