Highest 20-Year ROI Colleges in Colorado
The biggest 20-year net financial gain over a high-school-only earner — tuition and debt already subtracted. Our tax-verified answer to the 20-year ROI question, from IRS-linked federal earnings rather than self-reported surveys.
Showing Colorado
Clear state| # | College | Type | 20-yr net gain | 5-yr earnings | Net price | Median debt | 10-yr ROI | DR Rating | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO | Public | $899,959 | $96,155 | $28,690 | $23,000 | +315% | Strong return | |
| 2 | Emily Griffith Technical College Denver, CO | Public | $728,943 | $81,807 | $7,197 | — | +5,014% | Strong return | |
| 3 | Colorado State University Global Denver, CO | Public | $627,510 | $80,133 | $16,510 | $25,000 | +368% | Strong return | |
| 4 | University of Denver Denver, CO | Private | $496,776 | $77,463 | $36,131 | $21,844 | +113% | Strong return | |
| 5 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO | Public | $486,450 | $72,076 | $11,900 | $20,500 | +392% | Strong return | |
| 6 | Regis University Denver, CO | Private | $417,462 | $70,008 | $18,397 | $25,000 | +202% | Strong return | |
| 7 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | Public | $379,010 | $69,375 | $25,346 | $19,500 | +125% | Strong return | |
| 8 | Colorado Northwestern Community College Rangely, CO | Public | $327,103 | $64,000 | $12,131 | $12,000 | +259% | Strong return | |
| 9 | Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO | For-profit | $250,149 | $61,400 | $16,745 | $29,832 | +111% | Strong return | |
| 10 | Red Rocks Community College Lakewood, CO | Public | $247,822 | $59,373 | $9,044 | $9,500 | +263% | Strong return | |
| 11 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO | Public | $240,256 | $61,633 | $21,279 | $20,000 | +80% | Strong return | |
| 12 | Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO | Public | $226,361 | $58,720 | $10,051 | $21,500 | +186% | Strong return | |
| 13 | Adams State University Alamosa, CO | Public | $144,254 | $55,164 | $12,980 | $19,500 | +72% | Strong return | |
| 14 | Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO | Public | $142,517 | $55,583 | $15,327 | $21,500 | +53% | Break-even | |
| 15 | Aims Community College Greeley, CO | Public | $112,994 | $53,067 | $11,463 | $6,844 | +67% | Strong return | |
| 16 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO | Public | $104,220 | $53,733 | $15,788 | $20,000 | +24% | Break-even | |
| 17 | Colorado Christian University Lakewood, CO | Private | $93,683 | $56,100 | $29,500 | $28,312 | -14% | Poor return | |
| 18 | Community College of Aurora Aurora, CO | Public | $90,850 | $51,465 | $8,656 | $10,500 | +68% | Strong return | |
| 19 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO | Public | $82,801 | $53,065 | $17,760 | $20,470 | +3% | Break-even | |
| 20 | Arapahoe Community College Littleton, CO | Public | $78,265 | $51,444 | $11,571 | $11,884 | +27% | Break-even | |
| 21 | Otero College La Junta, CO | Public | $51,439 | $48,869 | $11,103 | $10,250 | +49% | Break-even | |
| 22 | Lincoln College of Technology-Denver Denver, CO | For-profit | $38,779 | $50,395 | $32,423 | $11,730 | -22% | Poor return | |
| 23 | Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO | Public | $37,361 | $50,522 | $16,425 | $20,250 | -24% | Poor return | |
| 24 | Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, CO | Public | $20,431 | $49,443 | $15,103 | $22,000 | -35% | Poor return | |
| 25 | Community College of Denver Denver, CO | Public | $18,507 | $48,043 | $9,450 | $12,495 | -28% | Poor return | |
| 26 | Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design Lakewood, CO | For-profit | $-37,329 | $50,171 | $32,363 | $31,000 | -63% | Poor return | |
| 27 | Pikes Peak State College Colorado Springs, CO | Public | $-43,868 | $44,172 | $6,007 | $9,000 | -130% | Poor return | |
| 28 | Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO | Private | $-44,933 | $49,761 | $33,375 | $18,257 | -66% | Poor return | |
| 29 | Colorado Mountain College Glenwood Springs, CO | Public | $-51,772 | $44,138 | $7,813 | $9,000 | -125% | Poor return | |
| 30 | Pueblo Community College Pueblo, CO | Public | $-59,004 | $44,641 | $12,045 | $10,000 | -107% | Poor return | |
| 31 | Front Range Community College Westminster, CO | Public | $-67,508 | $44,454 | $13,031 | $12,251 | -110% | Poor return | |
| 32 | Intellitec College-Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO | For-profit | $-75,484 | $44,510 | $30,716 | $11,667 | -108% | Poor return | |
| 33 | Fort Lewis College Durango, CO | Public | $-90,245 | $44,282 | $17,296 | $18,389 | -110% | Poor return | |
| 34 | Northeastern Junior College Sterling, CO | Public | $-117,959 | $40,653 | $13,801 | $9,376 | -240% | Poor return | |
| 35 | Morgan Community College Fort Morgan, CO | Public | $-155,902 | $39,213 | $9,266 | $8,501 | -244% | Poor return | |
| 36 | Trinidad State College Trinidad, CO | Public | $-172,554 | $38,689 | $10,772 | $8,908 | -236% | Poor return | |
| 37 | Pima Medical Institute-Denver Denver, CO | For-profit | $-201,030 | $37,325 | $22,034 | $9,500 | -262% | Poor return | |
| 38 | Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-Boulder Boulder, CO | For-profit | $-268,652 | $33,080 | $13,367 | $9,653 | -494% | Poor return | |
| 39 | Intellitec College-Grand Junction Grand Junction, CO | For-profit | $-281,196 | $33,058 | $19,216 | $10,769 | -382% | Poor return | |
| 40 | Pickens Technical College Aurora, CO | Public | $-378,820 | $26,719 | $6,600 | — | -1,485% | Poor return |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.
Top-Rated Colleges (DR Rating)Best ROI Colleges in the U.S.Best Value CollegesBest Colleges for Economic MobilityHighest-Earning CollegesLowest-Debt CollegesLowest Net-Price CollegesBest-Rated Majors (DR Rating)Highest-Paying MajorsBest ROI MajorsLowest-Debt MajorsFastest-Growing Majors by Job OutlookMajors With the Most Job Openings