2026 Best Public Universities in Colorado

Name: 2026 Best Public Universities in Colorado (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

13 Colorado schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Public Universities ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–13 of 13 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

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268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

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$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

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1200

Mean ACT

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#1 Best Public Universities

University of Colorado Boulder

Boulder

Acceptance rate

83.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,806

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#2 Best Public Universities

Colorado School of Mines

Golden

Acceptance rate

59.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$17,160

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#3 Best Public Universities

Colorado State University Global

Denver

Acceptance rate

92.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$8,400

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,099

#4 Best Public Universities

Colorado State University

Fort Collins

Acceptance rate

81.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,709

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#5 Best Public Universities

University of Colorado - Denver

Denver

Acceptance rate

74.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,200

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#6 Best Public Universities

Colorado State University--Pueblo

Pueblo

Acceptance rate

98.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$6,539

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#7 Best Public Universities

University of Northern Colorado

Greeley

Acceptance rate

86.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,127

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#8 Best Public Universities

University of Colorado - Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs

Acceptance rate

97.4%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$9,338

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#9 Best Public Universities

Metropolitan State University of Denver

Denver

Acceptance rate

99.1%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$8,280

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#10 Best Public Universities

Western Colorado University

Gunnison

Acceptance rate

97.5%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$6,816

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#11 Best Public Universities

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction

Acceptance rate

81.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,020

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#12 Best Public Universities

Fort Lewis College

Durango

Acceptance rate

93.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$7,056

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#13 Best Public Universities

Adams State University

Alamosa

Acceptance rate

99.0%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$5,976

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

2026 Best Public Universities in Colorado

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