Best value colleges in Colorado
Every Colorado college we have data for, ranked by 10-year return on investment.
84
Colleges
$18,658
Avg net price as of 2024
$50,762
Median earnings as of 2024
$14,884
Median debt as of 2024
Top colleges in Colorado
Showing the top 62 of 84 by ROI — sort the table, or use the finder to filter all Colorado colleges by cost, earnings and major.
| # | College | Type | 5-yr earnings | Net price | Median debt | 10-yr ROI | DR Rating | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emily Griffith Technical College Denver, CO | Public | $81,807 | $7,197 | — | +5,014% | Strong return | |
| 2 | Technical College of the Rockies Delta, CO | Public | $58,940 | $3,796 | $4,750 | +2,422% | Strong return | |
| 3 | Lamar Community College Lamar, CO | Public | $72,515 | $9,161 | $8,750 | +591% | Strong return | |
| 4 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO | Public | $72,076 | $11,900 | $20,500 | +392% | Strong return | |
| 5 | Colorado State University Global Denver, CO | Public | $80,133 | $16,510 | $25,000 | +368% | Strong return | |
| 6 | Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO | Public | $96,155 | $28,690 | $23,000 | +315% | Strong return | |
| 7 | Red Rocks Community College Lakewood, CO | Public | $59,373 | $9,044 | $9,500 | +263% | Strong return | |
| 8 | Colorado Northwestern Community College Rangely, CO | Public | $64,000 | $12,131 | $12,000 | +259% | Strong return | |
| 9 | Regis University Denver, CO | Private | $70,008 | $18,397 | $25,000 | +202% | Strong return | |
| 10 | Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO | Public | $58,720 | $10,051 | $21,500 | +186% | Strong return | |
| 11 | Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology Broomfield, CO | For-profit | $62,427 | $30,065 | $19,188 | +160% | Strong return | |
| 12 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | Public | $69,375 | $25,346 | $19,500 | +125% | Strong return | |
| 13 | University of Denver Denver, CO | Private | $77,463 | $36,131 | $21,844 | +113% | Strong return | |
| 14 | Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO | For-profit | $61,400 | $16,745 | $29,832 | +111% | Strong return | |
| 15 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO | Public | $61,633 | $21,279 | $20,000 | +80% | Strong return | |
| 16 | Adams State University Alamosa, CO | Public | $55,164 | $12,980 | $19,500 | +72% | Strong return | |
| 17 | Community College of Aurora Aurora, CO | Public | $51,465 | $8,656 | $10,500 | +68% | Strong return | |
| 18 | Aims Community College Greeley, CO | Public | $53,067 | $11,463 | $6,844 | +67% | Strong return | |
| 19 | Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO | Public | $55,583 | $15,327 | $21,500 | +53% | Break-even | |
| 20 | Otero College La Junta, CO | Public | $48,869 | $11,103 | $10,250 | +49% | Break-even | |
| 21 | Concorde Career College-Aurora Aurora, CO | For-profit | $54,527 | $16,666 | $9,500 | +36% | Break-even | |
| 22 | Arapahoe Community College Littleton, CO | Public | $51,444 | $11,571 | $11,884 | +27% | Break-even | |
| 23 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO | Public | $53,733 | $15,788 | $20,000 | +24% | Break-even | |
| 24 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO | Public | $53,065 | $17,760 | $20,470 | +3% | Break-even | |
| 25 | Colorado Christian University Lakewood, CO | Private | $56,100 | $29,500 | $28,312 | -14% | Poor return | |
| 26 | Lincoln College of Technology-Denver Denver, CO | For-profit | $50,395 | $32,423 | $11,730 | -22% | Poor return | |
| 27 | Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO | Public | $50,522 | $16,425 | $20,250 | -24% | Poor return | |
| 28 | Community College of Denver Denver, CO | Public | $48,043 | $9,450 | $12,495 | -28% | Poor return | |
| 29 | Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, CO | Public | $49,443 | $15,103 | $22,000 | -35% | Poor return | |
| 30 | Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design Lakewood, CO | For-profit | $50,171 | $32,363 | $31,000 | -63% | Poor return | |
| 31 | Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO | Private | $49,761 | $33,375 | $18,257 | -66% | Poor return | |
| 32 | Colorado School of Trades Lakewood, CO | For-profit | $44,677 | $26,083 | $20,000 | -105% | Poor return | |
| 33 | Pueblo Community College Pueblo, CO | Public | $44,641 | $12,045 | $10,000 | -107% | Poor return | |
| 34 | Intellitec College-Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO | For-profit | $44,510 | $30,716 | $11,667 | -108% | Poor return | |
| 35 | Fort Lewis College Durango, CO | Public | $44,282 | $17,296 | $18,389 | -110% | Poor return | |
| 36 | Front Range Community College Westminster, CO | Public | $44,454 | $13,031 | $12,251 | -110% | Poor return | |
| 37 | Colorado Mountain College Glenwood Springs, CO | Public | $44,138 | $7,813 | $9,000 | -125% | Poor return | |
| 38 | Pikes Peak State College Colorado Springs, CO | Public | $44,172 | $6,007 | $9,000 | -130% | Poor return | |
| 39 | Naropa University Boulder, CO | Private | $39,220 | $29,179 | $24,712 | -146% | Poor return | |
| 40 | IBMC College Fort Collins, CO | For-profit | $36,732 | $34,590 | $8,750 | -214% | Poor return | |
| 41 | Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology Denver, CO | For-profit | $38,511 | $22,905 | $20,372 | -222% | Poor return | |
| 42 | Trinidad State College Trinidad, CO | Public | $38,689 | $10,772 | $8,908 | -236% | Poor return | |
| 43 | Northeastern Junior College Sterling, CO | Public | $40,653 | $13,801 | $9,376 | -240% | Poor return | |
| 44 | Morgan Community College Fort Morgan, CO | Public | $39,213 | $9,266 | $8,501 | -244% | Poor return | |
| 45 | Pima Medical Institute-Denver Denver, CO | For-profit | $37,325 | $22,034 | $9,500 | -262% | Poor return | |
| 46 | Pima Medical Institute-Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO | For-profit | $34,662 | $26,848 | $9,500 | -281% | Poor return | |
| 47 | Pima Medical Institute-Aurora Aurora, CO | For-profit | $34,871 | $23,255 | $8,521 | -304% | Poor return | |
| 48 | Intellitec College-Grand Junction Grand Junction, CO | For-profit | $33,058 | $19,216 | $10,769 | -382% | Poor return | |
| 49 | Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-Boulder Boulder, CO | For-profit | $33,080 | $13,367 | $9,653 | -494% | Poor return | |
| 50 | Aveda Institute-Denver Denver, CO | For-profit | $33,463 | $20,167 | $9,829 | -586% | Poor return | |
| 51 | Colorado Media School Denver, CO | For-profit | $27,396 | $30,514 | $9,500 | -618% | Poor return | |
| 52 | Paul Mitchell the School-Denver Lakewood, CO | For-profit | $29,387 | $25,711 | $9,783 | -633% | Poor return | |
| 53 | Dr. Ida Rolf Institute Boulder, CO | Private | $23,450 | $35,373 | — | -709% | Poor return | |
| 54 | TIGI Hairdressing Academy Legacy Colorado Springs, CO | For-profit | $24,576 | $25,777 | $11,008 | -786% | Poor return | |
| 55 | Avalon Institute-Aurora Aurora, CO | For-profit | $31,422 | $15,856 | $6,332 | -848% | Poor return | |
| 56 | Paul Mitchell the School-Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO | For-profit | $23,941 | $22,022 | $7,667 | -949% | Poor return | |
| 57 | International Salon and Spa Academy Colorado Springs, CO | For-profit | $24,405 | $20,725 | $6,333 | -994% | Poor return | |
| 58 | Empire Beauty School-Aurora Aurora, CO | For-profit | $19,913 | $18,186 | $10,667 | -1,237% | Poor return | |
| 59 | Empire Beauty School-Thornton Thornton, CO | For-profit | $21,000 | $16,752 | $10,667 | -1,263% | Poor return | |
| 60 | Empire Beauty School-Littleton Littleton, CO | For-profit | $19,913 | $17,136 | $10,667 | -1,293% | Poor return | |
| 61 | Pickens Technical College Aurora, CO | Public | $26,719 | $6,600 | — | -1,485% | Poor return | |
| 62 | Cheeks Beauty Academy Loveland, CO | For-profit | $25,578 | $9,739 | $7,000 | -1,680% | Poor return |
Browse by city
Denver (19)Colorado Springs (12)Aurora (10)Lakewood (6)Boulder (4)Littleton (3)Greeley (3)Fort Collins (3)Pueblo (2)Parker (2)Grand Junction (2)Westminster (1)USAF Academy (1)Trinidad (1)Thornton (1)Sterling (1)Rangely (1)Loveland (1)Louisville (1)Lamar (1)La Junta (1)Gunnison (1)Golden (1)Glenwood Springs (1)Fort Morgan (1)Durango (1)Delta (1)Broomfield (1)Alamosa (1)
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.