What are the Largest HBCUs? The 10 largest historically black colleges account for 33% of HBCU students and are located in seven states throughout the Southeast.
The 10 largest historically black colleges account for 33% of HBCU students and are located in seven states throughout the Southeast.
Written By: Taylor Nichols Published: October 12, 2022
Historically Black colleges and universities have played a critical role in higher education and driven economic mobility for Black Americans for the last 150 years. Most were established in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the Southeast to educate African Americans after the Civil War. Some started as teaching schools, while others trained future ministers or seamstresses.
Today, earn their degree at an HBCU, and 10% of the Black student population attends an HBCU. The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that 338,339 students were enrolled at HBCUs in the 2020-21 school year.
One in three HBCU students attended one of the top 10 largest HBCUs in the country for the 2020-21 school year. Most of the largest HBCUs are public institutions in southern and southeastern states like Texas and North Carolina. Our list below highlights the 10 largest HBCUs based on the most recent enrollment data available.
Enrollment numbers include undergraduate, graduate, and first professional students for the 2020-21 school year and are sourced from the U.S. Department of Education through the IPEDS system. Admissions rates and Pell recipient rates come from the Postsecondary Value Commission. Federal earnings data and published tuition and fees also come from the U.S. Department of Education.
What are the 10 Largest HBCUs by Enrollment?
| School | State | Total Enrollment (2020-21) | In-state tuition and fees (2021-22) | Out-of-state tuition and fees (2021-22) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Philip鈥檚 College | TX | 21,431 | $6,592 | $14,122 |
| North Carolina A&T State University | NC | 14,121 | $6,733 | $20,243 |
| Howard University | DC | 11,633 | $28,916 | $28,916 |
| Prairie View A & M University | TX | 10,303 | $11,299 | $26,874 |
| Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | FL | 10,221 | $5,785 | $17,725 |
| North Carolina Central University | NC | 9,000 | $6,644 | $19,351 |
| Southern University and A & M College | LA | 8,749 | $9,842 | $17,192 |
| Fayetteville State University | NC | 8,658 | $5,379 | $16,987 |
| Virginia State University | VA | 8,654 | $9,154 | $20,909 |
| Tennessee State University | TN | 8,424 | $8,336 | $21,692 |
St. Philip's College
St. Philip's College is the only community college with enough students to make the top 10 HBCUs by enrollment size with nearly 21,500 students in the 2020-21 school year. While its size may be surprising, at least six other community colleges in Texas had far higher enrollment numbers.
Based in San Antonio, the public community college was founded in 1898 and started as an industrial school for girls offering a weekend sewing class. Today, a diverse student body of more than 12,500 attend the community college, which prides itself as being the only school with federal designation as both an HBCU and Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Alumni of its occupational and physical therapy assistant programs are top earners for their field of study.
North Carolina A&T State University
North Carolina A&T in Greensboro has been the largest four-year HBCU by enrollment since 2014. Its student body continued to grow during COVID-19, with over 14,000 students enrolled throughout the 2020-21 school year, according to data from IPEDS.
The public four-year university is fairly accessible for students, with a 61% admissions rate and tuition and fees below $7,000 for in-state students last year. Top majors for salary at North Carolina A&T include industrial engineering, chemical engineering, and teaching, where federal earnings data show recent bachelor's graduates are highly paid for their field of study.
Howard University
Howard University in Washington, D.C. is the third largest HBCU in the country and has been recognized as a top HBCU in college rankings. It was home to more than 11,000 students in the 2020-21 school year, an 18% enrollment increase from the year before. The private research university was founded in 1867 and is known today for its excellence in STEM. It's also one of the top HBCUs for finance and chemical engineering salaries. The university serves a higher rate of graduate students than other HBCUs on this list, with 3,200 enrolled in 2020-21.
The university is fairly selective, with an admission rate of 32% and tuition and fees just under $29,000 in 2021-22. It serves fewer low-income students than other HBCUs, with 44% of students receiving the Pell Grant. However, this number is still high compared to many predominantly white institutions.
Prairie View A&M University
Texas public college Prairie View A&M enrolled over 10,000 students in 2020-21, making it the fourth largest HBCU. It's one of the oldest public colleges in Texas and the first publicly-funded school to educate Black students in the state. Today, PVAMU continues to play an important role in its community by offering an accessible education, especially for low-income students. Two-thirds of its student body are Pell recipients, and the university has an admissions rate of 74%.
For Texas residents, tuition and fees were $11,299 last year, which is more expensive than many public four-years but below the median for private HBCUs. PVAMU is also one of the top HBCUs for mechanical engineering and chemical engineering salaries.
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Florida A&M University, a public school in Tallahassee, is the fifth largest HBCU, with 10,221 students enrolled in the 2020-21 school year. It's been the only public HBCU in Florida since it was founded in 1887. Today the college serves more than 8,000 undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 graduate students. It鈥檚 similar in size to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and The University of Tampa.
FAMU is one of the top HBCUs for financial payoff, with a median alumni salary $3,626 higher than other Black graduates in the state. The university is somewhat selective with an admissions rate of 39% and boasts one of the lowest default rates for HBCUs at 7%. In-state tuition and fees were $5,785 in 2021-22.
North Carolina Central University
NC Central in Durham, North Carolina, serves a student body of 9,000. The university was founded in 1910 and, for a time, was focused on educating Black teachers and principals. It was also the first state-supported liberal arts college for Black students. Today it is part of the University of North Carolina System and home to more than 6,700 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students. The university has a notably low default rate at 8% and an admissions rate of 47%. Tuition and fees for the 2021-22 school year were under $6,644.
Southern University and A&M College
With 8,749 students enrolled in the 2020-21 school year, Southern University is the seventh largest HBCU in the country. The public college, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, opened in 1881 to educate Black students in the state. Today it's one of only 11 HBCUs to be recognized as a research university by the Carnegie classification system, alongside schools like Baylor University and the City College of New York.
Southern is fairly selective with an admissions rate of 37%, and nearly one in seven students are Pell recipients, according to data from the Postsecondary Value Commission. Alumni of the university's mechanical engineering, communication disorders, and biology majors are top earners for their field of study. Tuition and fees were just under $10,000 for in-state students, which is a bit higher than the median for public four-year HBCUs.
Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville State is the third North Carolina university to make this list and served more than 8,500 students in the 2020-21 school year. Fayetteville was founded in 1867 and is one of the oldest public colleges in the state.
The university is an accessible option for four-year degrees with an admissions rate of 68%. Tuition and fees were under $5,500 last year for in-state students, and just over half of students are Pell Grant recipients.
Virginia State University
Virginia State University was founded in 1882 and opened its doors a year later to its first students. A total of seven Black faculty members served 126 students on a $20,000 budget that year.
In the 2020-21 school year, the university served a student body of 8,654, making it the largest HBCU in Virginia. The public school is highly accessible with an acceptance rate of 91%.The university serves a high rate of students from lower-income families, with 71% of students receiving the Pell Grant. Tuition and fees for Virginia students were just over $9,000 for the 2021-22 school year.
VSU students from the liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities majors tend to earn more for their field of study than other graduates. Federal earnings data shows computer engineering technicians there also tend to be highly paid for their major.
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University in Nashville is home to more than 6,400 undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 master's and doctoral students. Founded in 1912, the university is the only public HBCU in the state. Tuition and fees for in-state students cost $8,336 in the 2021-22 school year.
Tennessee State's strongest bachelor's programs for alumni salary include biology and social work. Graduates of these majors tend to earn higher salaries than alumni of the same programs from other schools.
HBCUs see enrollment growth during COVID-19
According to data from the , HBCUs have seen an 11% increase in Black enrollment since 1976. That trend has continued during the pandemic despite overall college enrollment declines since 2020. HBCUs continued to see a significant increase in applications and enrollment numbers in many cases. Previous articles have highlighted a number of causes that have driven interest in HBCUs. The Black Lives Matter movement, racial tensions, safety concerns for Black students, high profile alumni in the spotlight, and significant donations in recent years have all played a part, according to reporting from and .
HBCUs are uniquely equipped to support Black college students in navigating the barriers they often face in higher education, which predominantly white schools have historically struggled to address. Financial considerations are also often a factor for students applying to HBCUs, which are typically more affordable than other colleges.