DegreeMappercommunity colleges, mapped

Largest community colleges in Massachusetts

Community colleges in Massachusetts ranked by total student enrollment, largest first. Bigger institutions generally offer broader program catalogs, more sections per term, more transfer agreements, and deeper student-services staffing — but smaller colleges often win on advisor attention, classroom intimacy, and faculty access.

  1. Bunker Hill Community CollegeBoston, MA8,612
  2. Quinsigamond Community CollegeWorcester, MA6,447
  3. Bristol Community CollegeFall River, MA6,083
  4. Middlesex Community CollegeBedford, MA5,412
  5. Springfield Technical Community CollegeSpringfield, MA4,759
  6. North Shore Community CollegeDanvers, MA4,393
  7. Massasoit Community CollegeBrockton, MA4,235
  8. Massachusetts Bay Community CollegeWellesley Hills, MA3,837
  9. Northern Essex Community CollegeHaverhill, MA3,685
  10. Holyoke Community CollegeHolyoke, MA3,591
  11. Mount Wachusett Community CollegeGardner, MA3,059
  12. Cape Cod Community CollegeWest Barnstable, MA2,911
  13. Quincy CollegeQuincy, MA2,300
  14. Roxbury Community CollegeRoxbury Crossing, MA1,977
  15. Greenfield Community CollegeGreenfield, MA1,395
  16. Berkshire Community CollegePittsfield, MA1,358
  17. Laboure College of HealthcareMilton, MA525
  18. Urban College of BostonBoston, MA438
  19. Bard College at Simon's RockGreat Barrington, MA225
  20. FINE Mortuary CollegeNorwood, MA185
  21. Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of NursingMedford, MA174

Why size matters

Enrollment scale shapes nearly every aspect of the student experience at a community college. The largest Massachusetts community colleges typically offer multiple sections of every general-education course, robust evening and weekend schedules for working students, full-service career centers and transfer advising offices, and deep portfolios of articulation agreements with four-year institutions across Massachusetts and beyond. They also tend to operate multiple campuses or learning centers, which can put a community college within commuting distance of more residents.

Smaller community colleges in Massachusetts compete on attention. Smaller cohorts mean a single academic advisor sees you across multiple semesters and can write a substantive recommendation when you transfer or apply for a job. Faculty teach more sections of fewer courses, which means the same instructor often guides you through a sequence rather than handing you off term to term. For students who thrive on relationship and continuity, the smaller institutions on this list can be the better choice even when the larger one offers more programs.

Use this list alongside the state's transfer-outcomes guide and the state's cost-and-aid guide. Together they let you triangulate fit on the three dimensions that matter most for community-college choice: program availability, total cost after aid, and how reliably the institution moves students on to the next step.