by our College Data Analytics TeamWhen pursuing a degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top Rocky Mountains Region Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
After analyzing 88 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region , we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. Our ranking methodology focuses on over 20 different objective factors - such as graduation rate, post graduate earnings, and a school's average expenditure per student - to make this determination.
We've developed a number of other tools and rankings to help you make your college decision. Start by filtering this list by location or field of study and then explore our other rankings that feature schools great for different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
We've created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another!
Learn more about these excellent schools below: Western Governors University tops this year’s ranking as the best school in the Rocky Mountains Region for overall quality. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from WGU make an average of $60,615 per year during the early years of their career. Out of the 88 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado School of Mines landed the #2 spot on the list. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Mines make an average of $97,335 a year. Out of the 88 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Colorado Boulder landed the #3 spot on the list. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from CU - Boulder make an average of $69,738 per year during the early years of their career. The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Denver helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in the Rocky Mountains Region . With a student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $71,155 during the early years of their career.. You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Colorado State University - Fort Collins. The school came in at #5 in the Rocky Mountains Region on this year’s overall quality ranking. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State is $60,543 during the early years of their career.1
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University of Utah landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from U of U make an average of $67,170 a year.
AmeriTech College - Draper came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. During the early years of their career, graduates from AmeriTech College - Draper make an average of $49,841 a year. Brigham Young University - Provo did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #8. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from BYU make an average of $75,790 per year during the early years of their career. With a ranking of #9, Denver College of Nursing did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Denver College of Nursing make an average of $81,809 per year during the early years of their career. Nightingale College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #10. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $27,126 during the early years of their career..7
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With a ranking of #11, Colorado State University - Global Campus did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Colorado State University - Global Campus make an average of $76,813 a year.
With a ranking of #12, Weber State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from WSU make an average of $56,287 a year. With a ranking of #13, Front Range Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list. During the early years of their career, graduates from FRCC make an average of $45,910 a year. Salt Lake Community College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Salt Lake Community College is $47,867 during the early years of their career. Regis University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. The student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Regis U is $72,105 during the early years of their career.12131415
Community College of Denver did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #16.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from CCD make an average of $39,095 a year.
Utah State University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from USU is $54,022 during the early years of their career. Boise State University landed the #18 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. During the early years of their career, graduates from Boise State make an average of $51,658 a year. With a ranking of #19, Community College of Aurora did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from CCA go into careers with an average salary of $44,592 during the early years of their career. University of Providence came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from University of Providence is $48,296 during the early years of their career.1718
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Colorado College ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 82%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College go into careers with an average salary of $65,222 during the early years of their career.
Utah Valley University landed the #22 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UVU go into careers with an average salary of $55,486 during the early years of their career. Aims Community College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Aims Community College go into careers with an average salary of $41,887 during the early years of their career. With a ranking of #24, Montana State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $53,263 during the early years of their career.. With a ranking of #25, Red Rocks Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Red Rocks Community College make an average of $46,288 per year during the early years of their career.22
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.