Cheapest Colleges in Colorado
Sticker prices at the 18 four-year colleges we rank in Colorado run from $9,000 to $70,734 a year in tuition and fees, a gap of $61,734 between the cheapest school and the most expensive one.
The 12 public colleges here charge a median of $10,754 a year, $814 (8%) above the national public median of $9,940. The 4 private nonprofit colleges on the list charge a median of $53,869, above the $39,582 national private median. Sticker price alone rarely settles the cheapest private option, so check the net price column.
Colorado State University Global ranks first at $9,000, ahead of Colorado State University Pueblo ($9,720) and Adams State University ($9,824).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- 4-year colleges whose main award is the bachelor's degree (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
- Ranked by in-state tuition & fees, lowest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in Colorado
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported in-state tuition & fees value (schools without one are not ranked)
- Schools that report no tuition or a $0 price are not ranked
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Colorado has 18
- Data period
- In-state tuition and fees: full-time undergraduate sticker price, academic year 2024-25. Some community colleges report the in-district rate.
- Out-of-state tuition and fees: academic year 2024-25. Shown for public colleges only, because private colleges charge everyone the same price.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 18 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Colorado State University Global Denver, CO Public · 4-year | $9,000 | $9,000 | $16,510 | — | 6,563 |
| 2 | Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO Public · 4-year | $9,720 | $17,944 | $10,051 | 39% | 3,042 |
| 3 | Adams State University Alamosa, CO Public · 4-year | $9,824 | $21,944 | $12,980 | 36% | 1,250 |
| 4 | Fort Lewis College Durango, CO Public · 4-year | $9,958 | $21,526 | $17,296 | 39% | 3,079 |
| 5 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO Public · 4-year | $10,149 | $24,336 | $15,788 | 46% | 8,697 |
| 6 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO Public · 4-year | $10,383 | $29,391 | $11,900 | 47% | 10,519 |
| 7 | Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO Public · 4-year | $11,124 | $30,684 | $15,327 | 31% | 15,002 |
| 8 | Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO Public · 4-year | $11,318 | $24,434 | $16,425 | 51% | 1,586 |
| 9 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO Public · 4-year | $12,416 | $27,266 | $17,760 | 51% | 5,598 |
| 10 | Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO For-profit · 4-year | $12,750 | — | $16,745 | 18% | 28,086 |
| 11 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO Public · 4-year | $13,373 | $34,783 | $21,279 | 67% | 25,538 |
| 12 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO Public · 4-year | $15,666 | $44,918 | $25,346 | 75% | 31,939 |
| 13 | Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design Lakewood, CO For-profit · 4-year | $20,190 | — | $32,363 | 34% | 2,050 |
| 14 | Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO Public · 4-year | $21,914 | $45,824 | $28,690 | 81% | 6,155 |
| 15 | Colorado Christian University Lakewood, CO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $41,342 | — | $29,500 | 60% | 5,549 |
| 16 | Regis University Denver, CO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $46,340 | — | $18,397 | 61% | 2,627 |
| 17 | University of Denver Denver, CO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $61,398 | — | $36,131 | 77% | 6,025 |
| 18 | Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $70,734 | — | $33,375 | 87% | 2,014 |
How to compare these colleges
Start with the net price column rather than the sticker price. Net price is the average a student who receives aid pays after grants and scholarships, so a school that ranks lower here can still be the cheaper choice for your family. The out-of-state column applies only if you are not a legal resident of Colorado, and only public colleges charge a separate rate.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Colorado
Cheap colleges in Colorado for out-of-state students
15 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Colorado
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Same list in nearby states
Cheapest colleges in Kansas
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Cheapest colleges in Oklahoma
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Cheapest colleges in Nebraska
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All 28 colleges in Colorado See the national version of this ranking