Colorado’s community college giants, ranked: Front Range towers over the field

Front Range Community College is not just Colorado’s largest community college.

It is in a different weight class.

The latest complete federal enrollment data available show Front Range with 21,970 students, nearly 7,000 more than Arapahoe Community College, the next-largest school on the list. Front Range alone reported nearly three times as many students as the bottom six colleges combined.

Community College of Aurora landed at No. 4 out of 15 Colorado public community and local district colleges, behind Front Range, Arapahoe and Pikes Peak State College.

The ranking shows a lopsided student map: a handful of major metro-area colleges serve huge student populations, while several rural colleges enroll fewer than 2,000 students.

Together, the 15 colleges in FoxTalk’s review reported 103,918 students. The top three colleges alone accounted for 49,538 of them, about 48% of the total.

Colorado’s community college giants, ranked

Source: College Navigator/IPEDS fall-term enrollment data. FoxTalk used the latest complete federal enrollment data available for all 15 colleges as of publication.

CCA’s No. 4 ranking puts it above Aims, Red Rocks, Community College of Denver and Pueblo Community College in Fall 2024 enrollment.

CCA is often talked about as a local Aurora institution but in the federal data, it is one of the largest public community colleges in the state.

The gap between the top and bottom of the list is stark. Front Range reported 21,970 students. Lamar Community College reported 690. That means Front Range reported about 32 students for every one student at Lamar.

The numbers do not mean one college is better than another. However, bigger colleges may have broader program offerings, larger student-service demands, bigger communications challenges and more public visibility.

But as a raw student count, the hierarchy is clear.

Front Range sits alone at the top. Arapahoe and Pikes Peak form the next tier. CCA leads the second pack.

Why this ranking looks different from some college marketing numbers

This ranking uses Fall 2024 enrollment, not annual enrollment.

Fall enrollment is a point-in-time federal count. Annual enrollment can count students across a full academic year and is often higher. Some colleges also publish “annual learners,” which may include different populations depending on the institution’s method.

FoxTalk used Fall 2024 data because it is the latest complete federal enrollment data available for all 15 colleges in this ranking.

Methodology

FoxTalk ranked Colorado’s 15 public community and local district colleges by Fall 2024 enrollment using federal College Navigator/IPEDS data.

The list includes the 13 Colorado Community College System colleges: Arapahoe Community College, Colorado Northwestern Community College, Community College of Aurora, Community College of Denver, Front Range Community College, Lamar Community College, Morgan Community College, Northeastern Junior College, Otero College, Pikes Peak State College, Pueblo Community College, Red Rocks Community College and Trinidad State College.

FoxTalk also included Aims Community College and Colorado Mountain College because they are Colorado public local district colleges.

This ranking is not a ranking of academic quality, student experience, affordability, transfer outcomes, graduation rates, workforce value or campus culture.

Correction note

FoxTalk will update this story if a college identifies a newer complete public source, or a reporting error.