DegreeMappercommunity colleges, mapped

Largest community colleges in Maryland

Community colleges in Maryland 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. Community College of Baltimore CountyBaltimore, MD13,872
  2. Montgomery CollegeRockville, MD13,773
  3. Anne Arundel Community CollegeArnold, MD8,997
  4. Prince George's Community CollegeLargo, MD8,815
  5. Howard Community CollegeColumbia, MD6,649
  6. College of Southern MarylandLa Plata, MD4,512
  7. Frederick Community CollegeFrederick, MD4,203
  8. Baltimore City Community CollegeBaltimore, MD3,700
  9. Harford Community CollegeBel Air, MD3,696
  10. Hagerstown Community CollegeHagerstown, MD2,948
  11. Wor-Wic Community CollegeSalisbury, MD2,169
  12. Carroll Community CollegeWestminster, MD1,990
  13. Allegany College of MarylandCumberland, MD1,831
  14. Cecil CollegeNorth East, MD1,363
  15. Chesapeake CollegeWye Mills, MD1,320
  16. Garrett CollegeMcHenry, MD411

Why size matters

Enrollment scale shapes nearly every aspect of the student experience at a community college. The largest Maryland 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 Maryland 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 Maryland 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.