CO · Large public institution · Overall rank #174 nationally
Data snapshot · Updated
Azimuth ranks University of Colorado Boulder #174 among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Who it’s a good fit for
University of Colorado Boulder is a public university in Boulder, Colorado, with a degree mix led by Business, Biological Sciences, and Engineering. Mobility is among the highest we track.
Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes the gap to the factors it measures, which add to expected earnings.
The remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them. Return is well above average.
Affordability is modestly below average, and the net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. Pell students complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole.
The admission rate is close to the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are not the largest.
CU Boulder rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public university in Boulder, Colorado, enrolling 31,939 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the top eighth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (88th percentile).
The university admits 78.1% of applicants, a rate that matches the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 90.1% return for a second year and 74.2% finish within six years.
Both figures run above the medians for comparable institutions of the same type and size (83.1% and 65.0%). An estimated 19.0% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort and not the full student body.
The four sit far apart here. Mobility is the strongest, and return is also strong.
Access and affordability are the weaker pillars, with affordability the weakest of the four.
University of Colorado Boulder has a strong mobility profile but a weaker affordability result, a split that matters when weighing outcomes against cost. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, mobility reaches the 93rd percentile, the school's strongest pillar; return is in the 84th percentile, and access is in the 59th percentile.
Azimuth records affordability in the 31st percentile, its weakest pillar. In Azimuth's framework. Mobility and return sit alongside a weaker affordability result.
14.5% of undergraduates at University of Colorado Boulder receive Pell Grants. Those students complete at 56.3%, 17.9 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.
Azimuth ranks the university #596 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility is the strongest of the university's four pillars.
Azimuth ranks University of Colorado Boulder #102 for mobility. Graduates earn about $5,558 more than the model expects for similar students.
For aid recipients at University of Colorado Boulder, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $25,346. Average aid savings of $12,338 reduce the published cost of attendance of $37,684.
In-state tuition and fees are $15,666, alongside $18,468 for room and board. Out-of-state tuition and fees are $44,918.
At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $15,634, making this average $9,712 above it. Azimuth ranks University of Colorado Boulder #976 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The peer comparison and affordability rank both describe a cost picture above that of comparable institutions.
The published cost of attendance at University of Colorado Boulder is $37,684. Azimuth ranks the university #976 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.
After grants and scholarships, aid recipients in the lowest family-income band (under $30,000) average $14,231, those in the middle band ($48,001–$75,000) average $18,828, and those in the highest band (over $110,000) average $34,818. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $20,587.
Aid covers about 33% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $25,346, which is $9,712 above the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).
Borrowers who finish carry a median of $19,500 in federal student loans, $576 below the $20,076 peer median. 86.9% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.
Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $46,340 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month.
Your family income
Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.
Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$18,828
After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.
Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.
Borrowing and repayment at CU Boulder
Federal borrowing is common at University of Colorado Boulder, although completers’ typical federal debt sits below the benchmark for comparable institutions. 86.9% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.
Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $19,500. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $20,076, with Boulder’s figure below it by $576.
Parent borrowers are a separate population, and their median Parent PLUS borrowing is $46,340.
The investment picture pairs higher-than-expected earnings with federal borrowing below the comparable-institution median. University of Colorado Boulder graduates earn about $5,558 more than the model expects for similar students.
Azimuth places that earnings-beyond-expectations outcome in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $76,850 four years after completion.
Azimuth places those earnings in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Program-mix scenarios put downside earnings at $53,434, typical earnings at $76,850, and upside earnings at $102,508.
For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $19,500, below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $576. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month if repaid over ten years.
Above-expected earnings and debt below the peer median point in the same direction for the investment picture.
Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate parent-borrower population, have median borrowing of $46,340. Median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month if repaid over ten years.
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
Estimated student payment · monthly
$222/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$589/mo
Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.
Payment assumptions
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.
The return picture combines above-peer earnings with a positive modeled gap from expectations. Azimuth places University of Colorado Boulder in the 84th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Graduates earn about $5,558 more than the model expects for similar students. That is earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, and it sits in the 72nd percentile.
The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $13,488. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,930.
Median earnings four years after completion were $76,850, in the 85th percentile. That was $11,240 above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $65,610.
University of Colorado Boulder posts a comparatively high school-level earnings measure: federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $76,850 four years after completion. That median falls in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 3,566 completers.
Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, also favors the university. Graduates earn about $5,558 more than the model expects for similar students.
The earnings percentile and the model result point in the same direction for this broad graduate group. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix range from $53,434 in the downside scenario to $102,508 in the upside scenario; the typical scenario aligns with the reported median.
An estimated 33.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.
For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, University of Colorado Boulder reports median earnings of $76,850 four years after completion. That figure falls in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610; the university’s median is $11,240 above it. Graduates earn about $5,558 more than the model expects for similar students.
Earnings beyond expectations means the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students; this measure is in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $13,488.
The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,930. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,512.
Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $53,434 on the downside to $102,508 on the upside. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Business Administration and Management is the largest program, with 1,087 degrees awarded and median earnings of $86,441 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #30 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field, and its earnings are 1.30x the national median for that field.
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering awarded 199 degrees, with median earnings of $116,350 and an Azimuth national rank of #2 among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Environmental Design, with 150 degrees awarded, has median earnings of $61,788 four years after completion and an Azimuth national rank of #2 among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.
Earnings vary considerably by field, so the school-level median does not describe every graduate path. Earnings scenarios range from a downside of $53,434 to an upside of $102,508, representing lower- and higher-earning program clusters rather than observed groups.
Among the higher-earning fields, Computer Science completers had median earnings of $121,952 four years after completion, Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering completers had $116,350, and Electrical Engineering completers had $100,631. The modeled range and these field results show why program choice matters within the university.
At University of Colorado Boulder, borrower debt sits lower than at similar institutions, an encouraging part of a cost picture that still requires attention from families considering price and financing. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $19,500.
That is below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $576. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month if repaid over ten years.
Graduates earn about $5,558 more than the model expects for similar students. , what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $25,346, which is above the $15,634 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $9,712.
Aid covers about 33% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Lower borrower debt and higher-than-expected earnings point one way, but average aid-recipient prices are above peers.
What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$13,488
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$7,930
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$5,558
These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Admission at University of Colorado Boulder was 78.1%, meaning that share of the reported applicant pool received offers. It matched the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 69,218 first-year applicants, 52,517 admitted applicants, and 7,428 enrolled first-year students.
SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
78.1%
25th percentile
1180
Median
1300
75th percentile
1390
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Program choice makes a wide difference in earnings at University of Colorado Boulder, from engineering and computing to design and biology. Computer Science has median earnings of $121,952 four years after completion and 473 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #52 nationally in its field.
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering reports $116,350 in median earnings, with 199 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #2 nationally in its field. Environmental Design sits at a more moderate $61,788 in median earnings four years after completion, alongside 150 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #2 nationally in its field.
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences records $71,444 and 310 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth national field rank of #4. The higher- and moderate-earning fields show that the earnings picture varies by program.
University of Colorado Boulder has 36 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and the best of them sit in engineering and the sciences. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering and Environmental Design both hold a #2 Azimuth rank in their fields, and Astronomy and Astrophysics is #2 in its field.
The largest program is Business Administration and Management, at 1,087 degrees awarded a year. Azimuth ranks it #30 nationally, and graduates earn a median of $86,441 four years after completion.
The highest earnings belong to Computer Science, at $121,952 from 473 degrees awarded. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering follows at $116,350 with 199 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #2 in its field.
A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are not the largest.
The program mix at University of Colorado Boulder is broad, with Business, Biological Sciences, and Engineering each accounting for roughly an eighth to a seventh of bachelor's degrees awarded. Across all fields, 37.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM.
The university has 36 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 37 with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, at 1,087 degrees awarded, followed by Psychology at 567 and Computer Science at 473.
The highest-ranked program is Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, which Azimuth ranks #2 nationally within its field and #1 in Colorado, with 199 degrees awarded and median earnings of $116,350 four years after completion. Environmental Design also ranks #2 nationally and #1 in Colorado, with 150 degrees awarded and earnings of $61,788.
The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where graduates earn a median of $121,952 four years out, and Azimuth ranks it #52 nationally within its field. Mathematics shows a benchmark ratio of 1.30x against the national median for its field, with earnings of $90,635.
Strength is concentrated in engineering and the sciences, where several programs hold top-five national ranks and state-leading positions. The largest program by volume also posts a strong return relative to its field.
The pattern is one of depth in technical fields alongside a large business program that performs well on both earnings and rank. Astronomy and Astrophysics and Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences also hold top-ten national ranks.
They stand at #2 and #4 respectively, rounding out a set of highly ranked programs that spans engineering, design, and the life sciences.
Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 1,087 degrees awarded
$86,441
Psychology, General 567 degrees awarded
$56,867
Computer Science 473 degrees awarded
$121,952
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 409 degrees awarded
$74,779
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences 310 degrees awarded
$71,444
Economics 284 degrees awarded
$73,319
Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.
How does CU Boulder serve students from different backgrounds?
Mobility stands out at University of Colorado Boulder, where completion and modeled earnings point in the same direction. Azimuth places its mobility pillar in the 93rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 74.2%, while Pell recipients complete at 56.3%, below the overall rate by 17.9 percentage points. Graduates earn about $5,558 more than the model expects for similar students, placing earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 72nd percentile.
Admission is broad at University of Colorado Boulder, which admits 78.1% of applicants and enrolls 31,939 undergraduates. Pell Grants go to 14.5% of undergraduates, and an estimated 19.0% enter as transfers or part-time students.
Azimuth puts its access pillar in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. These figures describe the scale and entry patterns of a public university.
Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.
A shortlist for different decisions
Choose a row to compare the figures with CU Boulder.
Admissions peerUniversity of Denver77.8% admitted+
Comparison with CU Boulder
Measure
CU Boulder
University of Denver
Peer earnings · 4 years
$76,850
$78,504+$1,654 vs CU Boulder
Average annual net price
$25,346
$36,131+$10,785 vs CU Boulder · higher cost
Admission rate
78.1%
77.8%
Higher-admission alternativeColorado State University-Fort Collins88.5% admitted+
Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.
Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.
Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.
Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.
Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.
Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.
Source fields: ADM_RATE
Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.
Source fields: C150_4
Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.
Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.
Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN
National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.
Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.
Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV
Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.
Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.
Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.
First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.
Source fields: RET_FT4
Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.
Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.
Source fields: PCTPELL
Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.
Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF
Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.
Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR