According to College Navigator, there are 29 two-year associate degree programs in Colorado.
Data from College Board suggests that the average Colorado student paid a total of $4,911 in tuition and fees for public, in-district community college.
The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that 80.6% of students enrolled in two-year programs received some sort of financial aid during the 2019-20 school year.
This list features some of the best community colleges in Colorado. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions. We included small, midsize, and large colleges as well as trade, technical, and vocational programs. Next, we compared this comprehensive list to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like the U.S. News & World Report among others to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
The colleges on our list are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a reputable organization that examines objectives, quality and overall effectiveness of education programs throughout the United States.
We evaluated each school on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation as well as the student resources provided for students. Then we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
As you pursue higher education, you should keep in mind your career and earning potential. According to data from 2021, the occupations with the highest median wages for associate degree holders in Colorado were aerospace engineering and operations technologists, dental hygienists, radiation therapists, nuclear medicine technologists, and diagnostic medical sonographers.
While having an associate degree can expand your career opportunities, those new to the job market might benefit from focusing on careers that tend to have high job availability. The top five occupations with the most annual job openings for associate degree holders in Colorado are paralegals and legal assistants, preschool teachers (excluding special education), veterinary technologists and technicians, computer network support specialists, and dental hygienists.
Job seekers in Colorado should also consider which career fields are projected to decline. The only occupations expected to see a drop in employment over the next decade are desktop publishers and air traffic controllers.
As you research community colleges in the state of Colorado, it’s important to consider how you plan to fund your education. We’ve put together a list of federal and state resources that connect you to scholarships, grants, and financial aid opportunities in Colorado.