by our College Data Analytics TeamWhen pursuing a degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top Rocky Mountains Region Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
After analyzing 88 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region , we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. Our ranking methodology focuses on over 20 different objective factors - such as graduation rate, post graduate earnings, and a school's average expenditure per student - to make this determination.
Learn more about our ranking methodology.
We've developed a number of other tools and rankings to help you make your college decision. Start by filtering this list by location or field of study and then explore our other rankings that feature schools great for different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
We've created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named Western Governors University the best school in the Rocky Mountains Region in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from WGU make an average of $60,615 a year.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list means Colorado School of Mines is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $97,335 during the early years of their career..
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Colorado Boulder. The school came in at #3 in the Rocky Mountains Region on this year’s overall quality ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from CU - Boulder make an average of $69,738 a year.
Out of the 88 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Denver landed the #4 spot on the list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $71,155 during the early years of their career..
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Colorado State University - Fort Collins helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in the Rocky Mountains Region .
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State is $60,543 during the early years of their career.
University of Utah ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from U of U go into careers with an average salary of $67,170 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #7, AmeriTech College - Draper did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from AmeriTech College - Draper make an average of $49,841 a year.
Brigham Young University - Provo did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #8.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $75,790 during the early years of their career..
Denver College of Nursing came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Denver College of Nursing make an average of $81,809 a year.
Nightingale College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #10.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Nightingale College go into careers with an average salary of $27,126 during the early years of their career.
Colorado State University - Global Campus ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University - Global Campus go into careers with an average salary of $76,813 during the early years of their career.
Weber State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $56,287 during the early years of their career..
Front Range Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from FRCC make an average of $45,910 a year.
Salt Lake Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #14.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $47,867 during the early years of their career..
Regis University landed the #15 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Regis U is $72,105 during the early years of their career.
Community College of Denver ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from CCD is $39,095 during the early years of their career.
Utah State University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $54,022 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #18, Boise State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Boise State make an average of $51,658 per year during the early years of their career.
Community College of Aurora ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from CCA go into careers with an average salary of $44,592 during the early years of their career.
University of Providence did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #20.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 7 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $48,296 during the early years of their career..
Colorado College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 82%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College go into careers with an average salary of $65,222 during the early years of their career.
Utah Valley University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from UVU make an average of $55,486 a year.
Aims Community College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Aims Community College is $41,887 during the early years of their career.
Montana State University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #24.
During the early years of their career, graduates from MSU Bozeman make an average of $53,263 a year.
Red Rocks Community College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Red Rocks Community College go into careers with an average salary of $46,288 during the early years of their career.
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.