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.
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
More selective than 27% · #10 most selective of 17 in Colorado
Higher than 71% · #6 of 19 in Colorado
Higher than 78%
Higher than 69% · #9 of 22 in Colorado
Cheaper than 44% · #12 cheapest of 20 in Colorado
Lower than 75%
Lower than 23%
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
- Undergraduate25,53876%
- Graduate7,87524%
Undergraduates by gender
- 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)
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)
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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
$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.
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.
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.
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
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, FT Collins, CO US station (0.3 mi from campus).
What Colorado State University-Fort Collins graduates study — and earn
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 →
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon · Midsize city · 1 mi to Eugene
- Students
- 20,497
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1272
- GPA
- 3.7
- Earnings
- $61k
Illinois State University
Normal, Illinois · Midsize suburb · 34 mi to Peoria
- Students
- 19,057
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1113
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $62k
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa · Small city · 30 mi to Des Moines
- Students
- 25,367
- Admission
- 89%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1204
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $63k
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky · Large city · < 1 mi to Lexington
- Students
- 24,763
- Admission
- 93%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1215
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $59k
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia · Midsize city · 1 mi to Richmond
- Students
- 20,753
- Admission
- 93%
- Net price
- $23k
- SAT
- 1137
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $58k
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa · Small city · 23 mi to Cedar Rapids
- Students
- 22,264
- Admission
- 84%
- Net price
- $23k
- SAT
- 1200
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $65k
Colleges near Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Tuana European Beauty Academy
Fort Collins, CO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 42 students
IBMC College
Fort Collins, CO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 297 students
Cheeks Beauty Academy
Loveland, CO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 46 students
Aims Community College
Greeley, CO · Public · Certificate · 3,635 students
Academy of Natural Therapy Inc
Greeley, CO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 13 students
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO · Public · Bachelor's · 5,598 students
Dr. Ida Rolf Institute
Boulder, CO · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 12 students
Laramie County Community College
Cheyenne, WY · Public · Associate · 2,799 students
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.











