Public · Community college

Pikes Peak State College

Colorado Springs, Colorado · Large suburb

#2 best value in Colorado

27%
Transfer rate: $6,007
Avg net price: 21%
Grad / completion: $40,796
Median earnings

Pikes Peak State College is a public associate-granting institution in Colorado Springs, Colorado (large suburb setting), enrolling 9,595 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 9,595 undergradsLarge suburbCold wintersSnowy

About Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs is a home rule city that is the county seat of and the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The Ute, Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples were the first recorded inhabiting the area which would become Colorado Springs. Part of the territory included in the United States' 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the current city area was designated part of the 1854 Kansas Territory. Almost immediately following the arrival of railroads beginning in 1871, the city's location at the base of Pikes Peak and the Rocky Mountains made it a popular tourism destination. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large suburb
Highest degree offered: Bachelor's
Nearest big city: 5 miles to Colorado Springs, CO
To the ocean: 702 miles
Nearest airport: 5 miles to City of Colorado Springs (COS) · major hub

How Pikes Peak State College compares

#75 · Community Colleges with the Best Transfer Rates

Graduation rate21%

Higher than 5% · #48 of 49 in Colorado

Earnings, 10 years after entry$40,796

Higher than 71% · #16 of 44 in Colorado

Average net price$6,007

Cheaper than 86% · #2 cheapest of 49 in Colorado

Median debt at graduation$9,000

Lower than 66%

Student–faculty ratio22 : 1

Lower than 21%

Undergraduate enrollment9,595

Larger than 96%

Percentiles compare Pikes Peak State College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Colorado.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women5,60858%
Men3,98742%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White51%
Black8.4%
Hispanic27%
Asian3.4%
Other or multiracial10%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 9,595
Student–faculty ratio: 22 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 30%
First-generation students: 43%
Students over 25: 36%
Median family income: $24,757
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $68,598
Endowment: $5,598,108

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 2,108 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Colorado98%
Other U.S. states2.1%

Most first-years stay in state — Pikes Peak State College draws overwhelmingly from Colorado.

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.

Cost

In-state tuition: $4,510
Out-of-state tuition: $17,110
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,460
Total cost of attendance: $18,473
Average net price: $6,007

Outcomes

Graduated: 21%
First-year retention: —
Transferred to another college: 27%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $35,799
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $40,796
Median debt at graduation: $9,000
Students with federal loans: 14%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 32%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

21%

Low-income (Pell)

12%

First-generation

12%

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: No
Application fee: Free

Campus safety

Safety grade: B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.5 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 6
Property offenses (2022–2024): 13

Reported offenses in an average year

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

6.3reported offenses a year

2.0 violent a year4.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Aggravated assault

2.0

Burglary

1.7

Arson

1.7

Motor vehicle theft

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

$3,811

$30–48k

$3,941

$48–75k

$6,411

$75–110k

$10,968

$110k+

$17,700

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.

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.

of first-years get a grant from the school

$3,169

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 1% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $3,169. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

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 977 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): $40,796
Typical debt at graduation: $9,000
Debt vs. one year's pay: 22%
Out-earn a HS grad: 45%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.2 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

$37,784

Men

$46,235

Men out-earn women by $8,451 (22%) 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: 86°F
Winter low: 18°F
Annual rain: 15.9″
Annual snow: 32.5″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Colorado Springs Muni AP, CO US station (6.2 mi from campus).

What Pikes Peak State College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

1,044 grads$27k 1 yr$44k 5 yr$11k debt

1,044$26,779$44,172$11,000 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

258 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

258———Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsCert.

213 grads— 1 yr$37k 5 yr— debt

213—$36,851—Precision Metal WorkingCert.

192 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

192———Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

154 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

154———Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

92 grads$73k 1 yr$75k 5 yr$21k debt

92$72,869$74,777$21,131 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingCert.

90 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

90———Criminal Justice and CorrectionsCert.

84 grads$51k 1 yr$65k 5 yr— debt

84$50,546$65,234—Graphic CommunicationsCert.

71 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

71———Accounting and Related ServicesCert.

58 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

58———Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and MethodsCert.

47 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

47———Architectural Engineering Technologies/TechniciansCert.

45 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

45———

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 Pikes Peak State College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Pikes Peak State College side by side →

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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.