Verified Federal Data · No Paid Rankings

Best Colleges in Colorado

Top Colorado colleges ranked by what actually matters after graduation: earnings, completion rates, and what you actually pay. Federal data. No surveys, no sponsorships.

Schools in ranking

Colorado schools in dataset

Search All Colorado Schools →

How We Rank Colorado Colleges

Rankings use a composite score from verified federal data: graduate earnings (28%), graduation rate (25%), social mobility via Pell Grant share (20%), debt burden (15%), and net cost for low-income students (12%). Only 4-year non-profit schools with sufficient data qualify.

→Earnings: Median annual earnings 10 years after enrollment. Source: College Scorecard.
→Graduation rate: Full-time first-time students completing within 150% of normal time. Source: IPEDS.
→Net price: Average annual cost after all grants and scholarships. Source: IPEDS.
→Social mobility: Share of students receiving Pell Grants — a direct measure of access for low-income students. Source: IPEDS.
→Debt burden: Median federal loan debt at graduation. Source: College Scorecard.

Top 10 Colleges in Colorado (2026)

Ranked by composite: earnings, graduation rate, social mobility, debt, affordability.

#	School	Accept	Net Price/yr	Grad Rate	Earnings (10yr)
1	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO	61%	$29,240	82%	$97,335
2	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	78%	$21,480	74%	$69,738
3	Adams State University Alamosa, CO	50%	$14,173	39%	$44,372
4	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	89%	$20,332	67%	$60,543
5	Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO	18%	$31,678	88%	$65,222
6	Fort Lewis College Durango, CO	77%	$17,339	36%	$46,349
7	Regis University Denver, CO	86%	$22,689	61%	$72,105
8	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO	75%	$19,133	46%	$64,270
9	University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO	97%	$16,431	47%	$54,659
10	Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO	95%	$12,948	40%	$55,563

18 Colorado schools in dataset. Top 10 shown. Data: IPEDS + College Scorecard. Updated annually.

All 18 Colleges in the Dataset

The ranking above shows the top 10 by composite score. Every school in the full dataset is listed here so you can explore beyond the top results.

Adams State University Colorado Christian University Colorado College Colorado Mesa University Colorado School of Mines Colorado State University Pueblo Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Lewis College Metropolitan State University of Denver Montessori Education Center of the Rockies Naropa University Regis University University of Colorado Boulder University of Colorado Colorado Springs University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus University of Denver University of Northern Colorado Western Colorado University

Comparing across states?

We rank top colleges in all 50 states using the same federal data.

Browse All States →

Find Your Perfect Fit in Colorado

These 10 schools are a start. Search all Colorado colleges with filters for major, cost, size, distance, and more.

Search Colorado Colleges →