by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top Colorado Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
Our analysis looked at 31 schools in Colorado to determine which ones were the best in terms of overall quality. Our ranking is based on over 20 objective factors, including post graduate earnings, freshman retention, and graduation rate. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.
Get more details on our ranking methodology.
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:
Colorado School of Mines tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Colorado for overall quality.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Mines is $97,335 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Colorado Boulder. It ranked #2 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $69,738 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 31 schools in Colorado that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Denver landed the #3 spot on the list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from DU go into careers with an average salary of $71,155 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado State University - Fort Collins. It ranked #4 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado 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% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $60,543 during the early years of their career..
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in Colorado list means Colorado State University - Global Campus is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University - Global Campus go into careers with an average salary of $76,813 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on Colorado State University - Global Campus
Front Range Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Colorado ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from FRCC make an average of $45,910 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #7, Regis University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Regis U is $72,105 during the early years of their career.
Community College of Denver ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges in Colorado list.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $39,095 during the early years of their career..
Community College of Aurora ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Colorado list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $44,592 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #10, Colorado College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado list.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 82%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College is $65,222 during the early years of their career.
Aims Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado ranking, coming in at #11.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Aims Community College make an average of $41,887 per year during the early years of their career.
Red Rocks Community College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges in Colorado 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.
University of Northern Colorado ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges in Colorado list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $52,231 during the early years of their career..
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Colorado ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $64,270 during the early years of their career..
Full University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Report
Pueblo Community College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Colorado list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Pueblo Community College go into careers with an average salary of $37,434 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #16, Colorado Mountain College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Colorado Mountain College make an average of $44,127 per year during the early years of their career.
Northeastern Junior College landed the #17 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from NJC make an average of $39,893 a year.
Arapahoe Community College ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges in Colorado list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Arapahoe Community College make an average of $48,341 a year.
Pikes Peak Community College landed the #19 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from PPCC make an average of $40,796 a year.
Colorado Christian University landed the #20 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from CCU make an average of $50,416 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges in Colorado list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UCCS make an average of $54,659 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #22, Trinidad State Junior College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Trinidad State Junior College make an average of $36,475 per year during the early years of their career.
Otero Junior College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Colorado ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Otero JC make an average of $39,018 a year.
Metropolitan State University of Denver came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Colorado ranking.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. During the early years of their career, graduates from MSU Denver make an average of $52,093 a year.
Adams State University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Colorado ranking, coming in at #25.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Adams State go into careers with an average salary of $44,372 during the early years of their career.
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.