Cost comparison
Affordable colleges in Colorado
CampusPin lists 58 colleges in Colorado. The 40 below are ordered by lowest published in-state tuition, with a median of $10,054 and a median average net price of $15,103 among those reporting it. Tuition, total cost, and net price are three different numbers — the table keeps them separate.
Colorado college costs by the numbers
- Lowest published in-state tuition
- Aims Community College ($2,258)
- Median in-state tuition (40 reporting)
- $10,054
- Median net price after aid (39 reporting)
- $15,103
- Highest graduation rate
- IBMC College (86%)
- Most selective
- Colorado School of Mines (61% acceptance)
- Largest by enrollment
- University of Colorado Boulder (38,799 students)
Colorado colleges by published in-state tuition
Lowest published in-state tuition first. Every figure is as reported by the institution to federal data collections; blank cells are unreported values, not zeros.
| College | In-state tuition | Out-of-state tuition | Avg. net price | Graduation rate | Acceptance rate | Public/private | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aims Community College | $2,258 | $11,786 | $11,463 | 40% | Open admission | Public | Greeley, CO |
| Colorado Mountain College | $2,616 | $12,840 | $7,813 | 27% | Open admission | Public | Glenwood Springs, CO |
| Morgan Community College | $4,252 | $16,852 | $9,266 | 45% | Open admission | Public | Fort Morgan, CO |
| Arapahoe Community College | $4,434 | $17,034 | $11,571 | 29% | Open admission | Public | Littleton, CO |
| Community College of Aurora | $4,470 | $17,070 | $8,656 | 33% | Open admission | Public | Aurora, CO |
| Pikes Peak State College | $4,510 | $17,110 | $6,007 | 21% | Open admission | Public | Colorado Springs, CO |
| Lamar Community College | $4,550 | $7,260 | $9,161 | 55% | Open admission | Public | Lamar, CO |
| Otero College | $4,576 | $7,286 | $11,103 | 38% | Open admission | Public | La Junta, CO |
| Colorado Northwestern Community College | $4,594 | $7,304 | $12,131 | 34% | Open admission | Public | Rangely, CO |
| Trinidad State College | $4,608 | $7,318 | $10,772 | 55% | Open admission | Public | Trinidad, CO |
| Front Range Community College | $4,663 | $17,263 | $13,031 | 35% | Open admission | Public | Westminster, CO |
| Red Rocks Community College | $4,859 | $17,459 | $9,044 | 32% | Open admission | Public | Lakewood, CO |
| Community College of Denver | $4,902 | $17,136 | $9,450 | 20% | Open admission | Public | Denver, CO |
| Pueblo Community College | $5,049 | $17,649 | $12,045 | 31% | Open admission | Public | Pueblo, CO |
| Northeastern Junior College | $5,730 | $8,267 | $13,801 | 56% | Open admission | Public | Sterling, CO |
| Colorado State University Global | $9,000 | $9,000 | $16,510 | Not reported | 98% | Public | Aurora, CO |
| Colorado State University Pueblo | $9,720 | $17,944 | $10,051 | 40% | 95% | Public | Pueblo, CO |
| Adams State University | $9,824 | $21,944 | $12,980 | 39% | Open admission | Public | Alamosa, CO |
| Colorado Mesa University | $9,927 | $25,124 | $15,103 | 41% | 82% | Public | Grand Junction, CO |
| Fort Lewis College | $9,958 | $21,526 | $17,296 | 36% | 77% | Public | Durango, CO |
| University of Colorado Colorado Springs | $10,149 | $24,336 | $15,788 | 47% | 97% | Public | Colorado Springs, CO |
| University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | $10,383 | $29,391 | $11,900 | 46% | 75% | Public | Denver, CO |
| Nazarene Bible College | $10,482 | $10,482 | Not reported | Not reported | Open admission | Private | Colorado Springs, CO |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver | $11,124 | $30,684 | $15,327 | 32% | 99% | Public | Denver, CO |
| Western Colorado University | $11,318 | $24,434 | $16,425 | 50% | Open admission | Public | Gunnison, CO |
| University of Northern Colorado | $12,416 | $27,266 | $17,760 | 51% | 86% | Public | Greeley, CO |
| Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs | $12,750 | $12,750 | $16,745 | 19% | Open admission | Private | Colorado Springs, CO |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins | $13,373 | $34,783 | $21,279 | 67% | 89% | Public | Fort Collins, CO |
| Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology | $13,819 | $13,819 | $22,905 | 27% | Open admission | Private | Denver, CO |
| Apex College of Veterinary Technology | $13,850 | $13,850 | $10,030 | 67% | Open admission | Private | Colorado Springs, CO |
| IBMC College | $15,320 | $15,320 | $23,382 | 86% | Open admission | Private | Fort Collins, CO |
| University of Colorado Boulder | $15,666 | $44,918 | $25,346 | 74% | 78% | Public | Boulder, CO |
| Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology | $19,721 | $19,721 | $24,273 | 65% | Not reported | Private | Colorado Springs, CO |
| Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design | $20,190 | $20,190 | $32,363 | 32% | Open admission | Private | Lakewood, CO |
| Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology | $20,235 | $20,235 | $32,884 | 63% | Open admission | Private | Broomfield, CO |
| Colorado School of Mines | $21,914 | $45,824 | $28,690 | 82% | 61% | Public | Golden, CO |
| Naropa University | $36,620 | $36,620 | $29,179 | 37% | Open admission | Private | Boulder, CO |
| Colorado Christian University | $41,342 | $41,342 | $29,500 | 64% | Open admission | Private | Lakewood, CO |
| Regis University | $46,340 | $46,340 | $18,397 | 61% | 86% | Private | Denver, CO |
| University of Denver | $61,398 | $61,398 | $36,131 | 76% | 78% | Private | Denver, CO |
“Open admission” means the college reports an open-admission policy to the federal IPEDS survey (2024-25), or reported admitting every applicant. Programs such as nursing can still have their own entry requirements, so confirm with the college.
What the Colorado cost data shows
- Aims Community College has the lowest published in-state tuition on this page at $2,258 per year. Published tuition is the sticker price and excludes housing, food, books, and fees.
- Median published in-state tuition is $5,390 across the public colleges here and $19,956 across the private ones — a $14,566 difference at sticker price. Private colleges often discount heavily, so compare net price before ruling one out.
- Median average net price is $15,103 across the 39 colleges here that report it. Net price includes housing and other costs, so it can exceed tuition alone.
- 39 of the 40 colleges listed report an average net price, and 38 report a graduation rate. Blank cells mean the institution has not reported that figure to the federal collections — not that the value is zero.
How this list was built
This page lists colleges CampusPin holds for Colorado, sorted by published in-state tuition, lowest first. That sort is the only ranking applied — there is no CampusPin score, no editorial ordering, and no “#1 cheapest” claim.
Published tuition is the sticker price for instruction. Total cost of attendance adds housing, food, books, and fees. Average net price is what students actually paid on average after grant and scholarship aid, reported to federal collections for a prior entering class. Net price is an average across a whole cohort and varies substantially by family income, so treat it as a comparison tool between colleges rather than a prediction of your own bill.
Figures come from the institution’s federal reporting (58 of 58 Colorado institutions report in-state tuition). Always confirm current costs with the college’s financial aid office before making a decision.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest college in Colorado?
- Of the 40 Colorado colleges on this page, Aims Community College in Greeley reports the lowest published in-state tuition at $2,258 per year. That is the sticker price before aid and before housing and food; the college's net price after grants may rank differently.
- Is tuition the same as the total cost of college?
- No. Published tuition covers instruction only. Total cost of attendance adds housing, food, books, transportation, and fees. Net price is what students actually paid on average after grant and scholarship aid was applied, and across the 39 Colorado colleges reporting it here the median is $15,103. Compare all three before deciding a college is or isn't affordable.
- Are public colleges cheaper than private colleges in Colorado?
- At sticker price, yes on this page: median published in-state tuition is $5,390 at the public colleges listed and $19,956 at the private ones. Private colleges typically discount more heavily through institutional grants, so the gap in net price is usually much smaller than the gap in tuition.
- Will I personally pay these amounts at a Colorado college?
- Almost certainly not exactly. Net price varies widely by family income, and the figures here are averages across a previous entering class reported to federal collections. Use them to compare colleges against each other, then run the numbers for your own situation with the net price estimator and confirm with each financial aid office.
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Data sources & methodology
Cost, aid, and outcome figures for Colorado colleges are compiled from federal datasets and each institution's own reporting.
Sources used across this page
Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.
Institutional websites
Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.
Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. Affordable Colleges in Colorado. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/affordable-colleges/colorado