Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Colorado
Key takeaway: 28 of the 39 Colorado-based institutions in our directory that offer at least one fully online program report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024). 18 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is Colorado School of Mines. The Census Bureau records 8 military installations in Colorado (1 Army, 1 Navy, 5 Air Force, 1 Other), and 33 Colorado cities have their own page below.
Military-friendly online colleges based in Colorado
Ranked by BOC Score, which weights graduation rate, median earnings, net price, retention, and online availability from federal data. The tags on each card are the school’s own answers on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey: credit for military training, a dedicated military contact, DoD MOU membership, and a recognized student veteran organization.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Acceptance rate
61%
Graduation rate
81%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$97,335
Avg net price
$28,690/yr
TuitionIn‑state$21,914
Out‑of‑state$45,824
Key stats
- Retention rate: 93%
- Programs offered: 39
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
78%
Graduation rate
75%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$69,738
Avg net price
$25,346/yr
TuitionIn‑state$15,666
Out‑of‑state$44,918
Key stats
- Retention rate: 90%
- Programs offered: 108
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
78%
Graduation rate
77%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$71,155
Avg net price
$36,131/yr
TuitionIn‑state$61,398
Out‑of‑state$61,398
Key stats
- Retention rate: 88%
- Programs offered: 116
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
89%
Graduation rate
67%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$60,543
Avg net price
$21,279/yr
TuitionIn‑state$13,373
Out‑of‑state$34,783
Key stats
- Retention rate: 85%
- Programs offered: 144
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
32%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$46,288
Avg net price
$9,044/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 93%
- Programs offered: 85
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
56%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$72,105
Avg net price
$18,397/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 73%
- Programs offered: 77
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
75%
Graduation rate
47%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$64,270
Avg net price
$11,900/yr
TuitionIn‑state$10,383
Out‑of‑state$29,391
Key stats
- Retention rate: 72%
- Programs offered: 118
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
26%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$45,910
Avg net price
$13,031/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 100%
- Programs offered: 87
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
45%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$39,429
Avg net price
$9,266/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
46%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$76,813
Avg net price
$16,510/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 70%
- Programs offered: 20
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
26%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$48,341
Avg net price
$11,571/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
43%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$45,823
Avg net price
$15,103/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 77%
- Programs offered: 90
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
58%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$52,231
Avg net price
$17,760/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 75%
- Programs offered: 77
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
53%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$36,475
Avg net price
$10,772/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 65%
- Programs offered: 34
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
33%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$41,887
Avg net price
$11,463/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 68%
- Programs offered: 51
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Military installations in Colorado
The Census Bureau’s 2024 TIGER/Line military layer records 8 installations in Colorado (1 Army, 1 Navy, 5 Air Force, 1 Other, branch inferred from the recorded name). The largest by land area are listed; city pages show the ones within 100 miles of each city, with distances.
- Fort Carson
- Pueblo Chemical Dep
- Schriever AFB
- Buckley AFB
- Peterson AFB
- Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station
- United States Air Force Academy Auxiliary Airfield
- Naval Operational Support Center Denver
Common post-service careers in Colorado
Statewide median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 OEWS).
| Occupation |
Median annual wage |
Scope |
| Information Security Analysts |
$135,220 |
CO statewide |
| Logisticians |
$96,090 |
CO statewide |
| Emergency Management Directors |
$129,660 |
CO statewide |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers |
$97,350 |
CO statewide |
| Medical and Health Services Managers |
$134,910 |
CO statewide |
| Project Management Specialists |
$110,050 |
CO statewide |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
$103,370 |
CO statewide |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers |
$132,610 |
CO statewide |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; these are statewide medians.
What the four services mean
- Credit for military training (IPEDS VET2): the institution reports that it awards academic credit for military training, typically evaluated through the Joint Services Transcript. How much credit applies is set program by program.
- Dedicated military contact (VET3): a named point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families.
- DoD MOU member (VET5): the institution has signed the Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding, a requirement for participating in service education programs.
- Student veteran org (VET4): a recognized student veteran organization on the institution’s records.
Of the 28 schools in Colorado that meet this page’s two-service definition, 18 report all four. All 28 are fully online by the IPEDS DISTPGS flag, as is every school on the national military-friendly online colleges list; the state view differs only in where the institution is based.
Military-friendly online colleges near Colorado cities
- Arvada, CO
- Aurora, CO
- Boulder, CO
- Brighton, CO
- Broomfield, CO
- Castle Rock, CO
- Cañon City, CO
- Centennial, CO
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Commerce City, CO
- Denver, CO
- Englewood, CO
- Erie, CO
- Evans, CO
- Firestone, CO
- Fort Collins, CO
- Fountain, CO
- Golden, CO
- Greeley, CO
- Johnstown, CO
- Lafayette, CO
- Lakewood, CO
- Littleton, CO
- Longmont, CO
- Louisville, CO
- Loveland, CO
- Northglenn, CO
- Parker, CO
- Pueblo, CO
- Thornton, CO
- Westminster, CO
- Wheat Ridge, CO
- Windsor, CO
Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.
