Public · University

Colorado State University-Fort Collins

Fort Collins, Colorado · Midsize city

88.5%
Admit rate
$21,279
Avg net price
67%
Graduation rate
$60,543
Median earnings

Colorado State University-Fort Collins is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Fort Collins, Colorado (midsize city setting), enrolling 25,538 undergraduates.

PublicLarge · 25,538 undergradsMidsize cityAccessible · 89% admitNCAA Division I-FBS · Mountain West ConferenceCold wintersSnowy

About Fort Collins, Colorado

Fort Collins is a home rule city in Larimer County, Colorado, United States, and serves as the county seat and most populous municipality of the county. The Northern Arapaho were centered in the Cache la Poudre River Valley near present-day Fort Collins. Friday, who attended school in St. Louis, Missouri in his youth, was a leader of the band of Arapahos as well as an interpreter, negotiator, and peacemaker. Much of Fort Collins's culture is centered around the students of Colorado State University. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
58 miles to Denver, CO
To Great Lakes shore
775 miles
Nearest airport
43 miles to Cheyenne Regional Jerry Olson Field (CYS)

How Colorado State University-Fort Collins compares

Selectivity88.5%

More selective than 27% · #10 most selective of 17 in Colorado

Graduation rate67%

Higher than 71% · #6 of 19 in Colorado

First-year retention86%

Higher than 78%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$60,543

Higher than 69% · #9 of 22 in Colorado

Average net price$21,279

Cheaper than 44% · #12 cheapest of 20 in Colorado

Median debt at graduation$20,000

Lower than 75%

Student–faculty ratio17 : 1

Lower than 23%

Undergraduate enrollment25,538

Larger than 97%

Percentiles compare Colorado State University-Fort Collins with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Colorado.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

33,413students
  • Undergraduate25,53876%
  • Graduate7,87524%

Undergraduates by gender

25,538undergrads
  • Women14,03855%
  • Men11,50045%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White70%
  • Black2.7%
  • Hispanic16%
  • Asian2.9%
  • Other or multiracial8.8%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
25,538
Graduate enrollment
7,875
Student–faculty ratio
17 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
21%
First-generation students
24%
Students over 25
10%
Median family income
$63,464
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$106,209
Endowment
$643,276,118

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 5,293 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Colorado66%
  • Other U.S. states34%

A regional draw: about 65% of first-years come from Colorado, the rest from elsewhere.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
88.5%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite
Average GPA
3.70

Cost

In-state tuition
$13,373
Out-of-state tuition
$34,783
Room & board
$16,817
Books & supplies
$1,200
Total cost of attendance
$31,642
Average net price
$21,279

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
67%
Graduated on time (4 years)
47%
First-year retention
86%
Transferred to another college
16%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$49,748
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$60,543
Median debt at graduation
$20,000
Students with federal loans
32%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
66%

About 20% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
47%
Low-income (Pell)
53%
First-generation
52%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
8,361
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
33%
Housing charge (year)
$6,830
Meal plan (year)
$8,310
Application fee
$50
Athletics
NCAA Division I-FBS
Football conference
Mountain West Conference
Varsity athletes
518 (256 men · 262 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (9)

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)245
Football108
Soccer36
Basketball34
Softball25
Swimming and Diving (combined)24
Volleyball22
Golf16
Tennis8

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
2.3 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
139
Property offenses (2022–2024)
94

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (34,096 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

78reported offenses a year
46 violent a year31 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
23
Burglary
19
Fondling
17
Motor vehicle theft
10
Aggravated assault
6.0
Arson
2.3
Robbery
1.0

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$13,259
$30–48k
$14,460
$48–75k
$15,905
$75–110k
$21,927
$110k+
$29,763

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$70,686

$15,905/year × about 4.4 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

69%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$8,217
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 69% — get grant money from Colorado State University-Fort Collins itself, averaging $8,217, which softens the sticker price.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 5,348 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$60,543
Typical debt at graduation
$20,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
33%
Out-earn a HS grad
68%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$55,197
Men
$69,610

Men out-earn women by $14,413 (26%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
87°F
Winter low
18°F
Annual rain
15.9″
Annual snow
51.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.42.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, FT Collins, CO US station (0.3 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Colorado State University-Fort Collins

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Colorado State University-Fort Collins side by side →

Colleges near Colorado State University-Fort Collins

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.