Best-Value Colleges in Colorado
10 Colorado 4-year colleges ranked by return on investment - 10-year graduate earnings per dollar of net price - among schools that beat the state median on earnings and graduation rate.
Quick answer
The best-value college in Colorado is University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus, Denver - a net price of $10,217 against $64,270 in median 10-year earnings, an ROI of 6.3×, with a 47% graduation rate. Every school here turns a modest cost into outsized, above-median earnings.
| # | School | Net price /yr | 10-yr earnings | ROI (earn ÷ price) | Grad rate | In-state tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,217 | $64,270 | 6.3× | 47% | $10,835 | |
| 2 |  Regis University Denver, CO | $18,133 | $72,105 | 4.0× | 61% | $47,840 |
| 3 |  Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO | $32,901 | $97,335 | 3.0× | 79% | $22,658 |
| 4 |  University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | $23,708 | $69,738 | 2.9× | 75% | $17,513 |
| 5 |  Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO | $16,756 | $46,833 | 2.8× | 51% | $11,511 |
| 6 |  University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO | $18,711 | $52,231 | 2.8× | 51% | $12,882 |
| 7 |  Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO | $22,247 | $60,543 | 2.7× | 67% | $13,774 |
| 8 |  Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO | $27,951 | $65,222 | 2.3× | 86% | $73,566 |
| 9 |  University of Denver Denver, CO | $31,961 | $71,155 | 2.2× | 78% | $63,246 |
| 10 |  Colorado Christian University Lakewood, CO | $28,605 | $50,416 | 1.8× | 55% | $42,758 |
How we ranked this
From every Colorado four-year college that publishes net price, 10-year median earnings, and graduation rate, we keep only those that beat the state median on earnings and that graduate at least 45% of students (or the state median grad rate, whichever is higher). We then rank by ROI = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price - the dollars of graduate earnings each dollar of net price buys - highest first. This rewards genuine return on investment rather than the cheapest sticker price, and the 4-year + outcome guards keep out the low-completion and 2-year outliers a pure price sort surfaces. Colleges missing any of the three figures are excluded, never estimated. Minimum 5 qualifying schools required to publish a page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best-value college in Colorado?+
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus in Denver has the highest return on investment among Colorado 4-year colleges that beat the state median on outcomes: a net price of $10,217 against $64,270 in 10-year median earnings - an ROI of 6.3× (dollars earned per dollar of annual net price) - with a 47% graduation rate.
What does "net price" mean?+
Net price is the average annual cost students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the full cost of attendance - a far better affordability measure than sticker tuition. We use the College Scorecard average net price.
How is "best value" defined here?+
Value means return on investment, not cheapness. Among Colorado four-year colleges that beat the state median on BOTH 10-year graduate earnings and graduation rate (and graduate at least 45% of students), we rank by the ROI ratio = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price. The school that turns each tuition dollar into the most graduate earnings ranks first.
Is the cheapest college always the best value?+
No. A rock-bottom price that leads to low earnings is worse value than a moderate price that leads to high earnings. That is exactly why we rank by the earnings-to-net-price ratio rather than by lowest price, and require above-median earnings and graduation rates first. Colleges missing net price, earnings, or graduation data are excluded rather than estimated.
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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · IPEDS. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “-” and never estimated. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.