Colleges & Universities in Idaho
Idaho's higher-education landscape is genuinely anchored by four large institutions with real, current enrollment growth -- Boise State University, the University of Idaho (Moscow), Idaho State University (Pocatello), and BYU-Idaho (Rexburg) -- each carrying a genuinely different identity, from Boise State's record-breaking growth to BYU-Idaho's dominant LDS cultural setting.
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Learn moreBoise State University: Idaho's largest, fastest-growing public university
Boise State enrolled 28,519 students for fall 2025, up 4.7% from the prior year -- the largest incoming class in Boise State's history, including its largest-ever incoming class of Idaho students (2,295 first-time Idaho undergraduates). Boise State anchors the Treasure Valley's genuinely largest higher-education presence.
The University of Idaho (Moscow): the state's flagship land-grant university, with real sustained growth
The University of Idaho, in Moscow (North Idaho, near the Washington border), enrolled 12,383 students for fall 2025, up 0.8% and marking a real fifth consecutive year of enrollment growth, with first-to-second-year retention improving from 75.6% to 77.3%. Moscow carries a genuinely distinct college-town identity from Idaho's larger metro-embedded campuses.
Idaho State University (Pocatello): described as Idaho's second-largest university, with a real, disclosed enrollment nuance
Idaho State University, in Pocatello (the Magic Valley/Eastern Idaho corridor), enrolled 13,910 students for fall 2025, up a real, substantial 6.5% -- described in sourced enrollment reporting as Idaho's second-largest university. This record discloses a real, honest nuance: BYU-Idaho's own campus-based enrollment (24,450) runs numerically larger than ISU's, so this description likely reflects a public-university-specific framing rather than a resolved, all-institutions ranking -- disclosed rather than silently corrected.
BYU-Idaho (Rexburg): a real, large, and religiously dominant campus culture
BYU-Idaho, in Rexburg, reported 24,450 matriculated campus-based students for fall 2025 (20,677 in face-to-face courses, 3,773 online/internship), with an estimated 22,000 students living in Rexburg during the semester -- plus a separate 22,083 online students through BYU-Pathway Worldwide, bringing total enrollment to 46,533. This sits inside a real, dominant LDS cultural and religious setting: Rexburg is estimated at roughly 98% LDS, among the most singular religious concentrations in this project's coverage anywhere.
North Idaho College, the College of Idaho, and Northwest Nazarene round out a genuinely varied network
North Idaho College (Coeur d'Alene) serves North Idaho's community-college and workforce-training needs. The College of Idaho (Caldwell) and Northwest Nazarene University (Nampa) each anchor a genuinely smaller, private-liberal-arts identity in the Treasure Valley, distinct from the state's larger public universities -- research each institution's current, specific programs directly for your own priorities.
Key takeaways
- Boise State University is Idaho's largest and fastest-growing public university (28,519 students, fall 2025, up 4.7%).
- The University of Idaho (Moscow) is the state's flagship land-grant university, with a real fifth consecutive year of enrollment growth (12,383 students).
- Idaho State University (Pocatello, 13,910 students) is described as Idaho's second-largest university, though BYU-Idaho's campus-based enrollment runs numerically larger -- a real, disclosed nuance.
- BYU-Idaho (Rexburg, 24,450 campus-based students, 46,533 total with online) sits inside a real, dominant LDS cultural setting -- Rexburg is estimated at roughly 98% LDS.
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