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 19 of 20Ventura College
Ventura, California
Vernon College
Vernon, Texas
Victor Valley College
Victorville, California
Victoria College
Victoria, Texas
Virginia Highlands Community College
Abingdon, Virginia
Virginia Peninsula Community College
Hampton, Virginia
Virginia Western Community College
Roanoke, Virginia
Volunteer State Community College
Gallatin, Tennessee
Wake Technical Community College
Raleigh, North Carolina
Walters State Community College
Morristown, Tennessee
Warren County Community College
Washington, New Jersey
Washington County Community College
Calais, Maine
Washington State College of Ohio
Marietta, Ohio
Washtenaw Community College
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Waubonsee Community College
Sugar Grove, Illinois
Waukesha County Technical College
Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Wayne Community College
Goldsboro, North Carolina
Wayne County Community College District
Detroit, Michigan
Weatherford College
Weatherford, Texas
West Georgia Technical College
Waco, Georgia
West Kentucky Community and Technical College
Paducah, Kentucky
West Shore Community College
Scottville, Michigan
West Valley College
Saratoga, California
West Virginia Junior College - Charleston
Cross Lanes, West Virginia
West Virginia Junior College - Morgantown
Morgantown, West Virginia
West Virginia Northern Community College
Wheeling, West Virginia
Western Dakota Technical College
Rapid City, South Dakota
Western Iowa Tech Community College
Sioux City, Iowa
Western Nebraska Community College
Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Western Oklahoma State College
Altus, Oklahoma
Western Piedmont Community College
Morganton, North Carolina
Western Technical College
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Western Texas College
Snyder, Texas
Western Wyoming Community College
Rock Springs, Wyoming
Westmoreland County Community College
Youngwood, Pennsylvania
Wharton County Junior College
Wharton, Texas
White Mountains Community College
Berlin, New Hampshire
Wichita State University - Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology
Wichita, Kansas
Wilkes Community College
Wilkesboro, North Carolina
William R Moore College of Technology
Memphis, Tennessee
William Rainey Harper College
Palatine, Illinois
Williamsburg Technical College
Kingstree, South Carolina
Williamson College of the Trades
Media, Pennsylvania
Williston State College
Williston, North Dakota
Wilson Community College
Wilson, North Carolina
Windward Community College
Kaneohe, Hawaii
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College
Valdosta, Georgia
Woodland Community College
Woodland, California
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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