Fort Collins, Colorado has 3 accredited schools offering child development programs, with tuition ranging from $10,383 to $34,783 per year for indexed programs. Fort Collins has a population of about 169,705. Median household income is $83,598 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 59.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Fort Collins-Loveland, CO metro area, the top-earning child development-related role is Child, Family, and School Social Workers at a median $62,140 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Child Development Schools to Fort Collins
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer child development programs near Fort Collins, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Fort Collins city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
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.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Fort Collins.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
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
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Colorado schools on the Colorado child development page.
Child Development Wages Near Fort Collins
Fort Collins is part of the Fort Collins-Loveland, CO metro area (BLS area code 22660). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Colorado statewide.
| Occupation |
Median Wage |
Source |
COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
| Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education |
$44,260 |
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO |
$43,778 |
| Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare |
$61,960 |
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO |
$61,286 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers |
$62,140 |
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO |
$61,464 |
| Childcare Workers |
$36,420 |
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO |
$36,024 |
| Special Education Teachers, Preschool |
$61,980 |
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO |
$61,306 |
| Social and Human Service Assistants |
$46,870 |
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO |
$46,360 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education |
$61,600 |
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO |
$60,930 |
| Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other |
$50,550 |
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO |
$50,000 |
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Fort Collins at a Glance
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Population |
169,705 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income |
$83,598 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ |
59.9% |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) |
101.1 (above U.S. average) |
BEA RPP 2024 |
Other Fort Collins-Area Cities With Child Development Programs
- Loveland, CO – 9.1 mi away (76,897 pop)
- Windsor, CO – 9.5 mi away (22,776 pop)
- Johnstown, CO – 15.1 mi away (21,313 pop)
- Greeley, CO – 18.1 mi away (131,900 pop)
- Evans, CO – 21.3 mi away (21,615 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited child development schools are near Fort Collins, CO?
Our directory has 3 accredited schools offering child development programs near Fort Collins. The closest is Colorado State University-Fort Collins in Fort Collins, CO (2.0 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is University of Wyoming (59.2 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying child development roles near Fort Collins?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying child development-related roles near Fort Collins are: Child, Family, and School Social Workers ($62,140), Special Education Teachers, Preschool ($61,980), Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare ($61,960). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Colorado statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Loveland instead of Fort Collins?
Loveland, CO is 9.1 miles from Fort Collins and has its own set of local child development programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Fort Collins an affordable place to study child development?
Fort Collins’s median household income of $83,598 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Fort Collins while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Colorado public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Learn More About Child Development Programs
Other Programs Available in Fort Collins
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- Social Work programs in Fort Collins, CO
- Counseling programs in Fort Collins, CO
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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