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 3 of 20Central Georgia Technical College
Warner Robins, Georgia
Central Lakes College - Brainerd
Brainerd, Minnesota
Central Maine Community College
Auburn, Maine
Central New Mexico Community College
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Central Ohio Technical College
Newark, Ohio
Central Oregon Community College
Bend, Oregon
Central Piedmont Community College
Charlotte, North Carolina
Central Texas College
Killeen, Texas
Central Virginia Community College
Lynchburg, Virginia
Central Wyoming College
Riverton, Wyoming
Centura College - Newport News
Newport News, Virginia
Century College
White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Cerritos College
Norwalk, California
Cerro Coso Community College
Ridgecrest, California
Chabot College
Hayward, California
Chaffey College
Rancho Cucamonga, California
Chandler - Gilbert Community College
Chandler, Arizona
Chattahoochee Technical College
Marietta, Georgia
Chattahoochee Valley Community College
Phenix City, Alabama
Chattanooga State Community College
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chemeketa Community College
Salem, Oregon
Chesapeake College
Wye Mills, Maryland
Chippewa Valley Technical College
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cisco College
Cisco, Texas
Citrus College
Glendora, California
City College of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
City College - Hollywood
Hollywood, Florida
City Colleges of Chicago - Harold Washington College
Chicago, Illinois
City Colleges of Chicago - Harry S Truman College
Chicago, Illinois
City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy - King College
Chicago, Illinois
City Colleges of Chicago - Malcolm X College
Chicago, Illinois
City Colleges of Chicago - Olive - Harvey College
Chicago, Illinois
City Colleges of Chicago - Richard J Daley College
Chicago, Illinois
City Colleges of Chicago - Wilbur Wright College
Chicago, Illinois
Clackamas Community College
Oregon City, Oregon
Clarendon College
Clarendon, Texas
Clark State College
Springfield, Ohio
Clatsop Community College
Astoria, Oregon
Cleveland Community College
Shelby, North Carolina
Cleveland State Community College
Cleveland, Tennessee
Clinton Community College
Plattsburgh, New York
Cloud County Community College
Concordia, Kansas
Clovis Community College
Clovis, New Mexico
Clovis Community College
Fresno, California
Coahoma Community College
Clarksdale, Mississippi
Coalinga College
Coalinga, California
Coastal Alabama Community College
Bay Minette, Alabama
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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