After examining all fifty states for measures of educational attainment and the quality of schools, WalletHub concluded Colorado is the fourth-most-educated state in the nation. Only Massachusetts, Maryland and Vermont rank higher, pulling ahead largely due to the stronger quality of universities in those states compared to Colorado. In Maryland a relatively new program allowing residents to attend community college for free helped boost the state past Colorado.
Colorado ranks second in the country for educational attainment, but only 33rd for quality of education, bringing the state’s overall ranking down to fourth. Educational attainment measures how many adults have post-secondary education, with extra points available based on the share of adults with bachelor’s and graduate or professional degrees.
“The most educated states provide high-quality educational experiences from elementary school all the way to graduate programs, which helps parents raise children in an environment that gives them as many opportunities as possible,” Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst said. “The top states also provide equitable schooling conditions, with low racial and gender gaps in educational attainment.”
Lots of Degrees, but Colorado Universities Rank Low
According to the study, Colorado has the highest percentage of adults with college experience in the country, determined by measuring how many people in the state have an associate’s degree or higher. Colorado also has the second-highest number of adults with bachelor’s degrees of any American state. But on quality of education metrics, Colorado isn’t so strong. The study found Colorado ranks 49th in terms of the average university quality in the state.
Source: WalletHub
Other factors that went into WalletHub’s quality of education metric include the quality of the school system and universities, the number of Blue Ribbon schools per capita, the public high school graduation rate, student scores on national exams, the presence of free community college, summer learning availability, and gaps in education attainment by race and gender. Colorado had just four Blue Ribbon schools as of 2024 compared to ten in Maryland and nine in Massachusetts. Vermont does not participate in the Blue Ribbon program. Colorado had an 84.2 percent graduation rate in 2024, according to the Colorado Department of Education.
Though the WalletHub study didn't view Colorado's universities particularly highly, Colorado universities made gains in the Wall Street Journal's list of the top 500 universities in the country in 2025.
Colorado School of Mines, a public university in Golden, ranked highest in the state as the 104th-best college in the country. The University of Colorado Boulder was the next Colorado school on the list, ranking 228th-best in the country — eighteen spots higher than its 2024 ranking of 246th. Colorado College jumped seven places to 332nd. Metropolitan State University of Denver placed 423rd after not making the list last year, though last year's list was only the top 400 universities, not the top 500.
The University of Colorado, Denver fell from 182nd last year to 232nd. The University of Denver, Colorado State University Fort Collins and Colorado Christian University also slid in the rankings but still made the top 500 list.
According to the WalletHub study, higher education tends to mean higher salaries, therefore benefiting residents in states with great education systems.
“There’s a strong correlation between being more educated and receiving higher compensation,” Lupo explained.
Colorado has the ninth-highest median annual household income in the country, the study found. WalletHub also identified the Denver-Lakewood-Aurora trio as the eleventh-most-educated city in America, which likely contributed to Colorado’s overall ranking.
