EDUCATION
Colorado ranked No. 1 in education by U.S. News & World Report
Kelly LyellFort Collins Coloradoan
July 29, 2026, 5:01 a.m. MT
- Colorado ranked as the top state for education in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best States rankings.
- The state placed third in higher education and ninth in preschool through 12th grade education.
- Overall, Colorado was ranked the 17th best state in the nation, with Utah taking the top position.
We’re No. 1
In education, at least News & World Report’s 2026 Best States rankings
Colorado was ranked No. 3 among U.S. states in higher education, trailing only Florida and Washington, and No. 9 among U.S. states in preschool through 12th grade education. That was enough for a No. 1 ranking overall
Colorado was No. 3 in 2025, according to a news release on the rankings from Gov. Jared Polis’ office
Rankings are based on a variety of publicly available data, using the most recent year available, U.S. News & World Report explained in its methodology
For higher education, that included graduation rates from two- and four-year colleges and universities, share of residents holding college degrees, and average cost of tuition and fees for instate students at public colleges and universities, not including room and board
Colorado was No. 1 in the share of residents holding associate degrees or higher, based on the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 estimates; and No. 3 in graduation rates from two-year colleges within three years, as reported for the 2021 cohort by the National Center for Education Statistics
The state’s other rankings for higher education included:
- No. 13 in lowest debt at graduation, based on the average amount of student-loan debt held by recipients age 24 and younger, based on September 2025 figures from the U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid Office.
- No. 24 in low tuition and fees, as reported for the 2022-23 school year by the National Center for Education Statistics.
- No. 31 in four-year college graduation rate, based on the 2018 cohort, as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics.
In the preschool through 12th grade rankings, Colorado scored highest — No. 3 nationally — in its average composite-scale score on reading comprehension tests taken by eighth graders in 2024, as reported by the U.S. Department of Education National Assessment of Educational Progress
Boosted by the state’s Universal Preschool Program, Colorado was No. 10 nationally in percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in preschool based on U.S. Census Bureau data and estimates from 2024
Other rankings that factored into the state’s overall ranking for preschool through 12th grade education:
- No. 12 in college readiness, based on the percentage of high school students scoring in the 75th percentile or higher on the ACT, SAT or both, in 2024.
- No. 14 in eighth grade NAEP mathematics scores in 2024.
- No. 39 in high school graduation rate for the graduating class of 2023, as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics.
New Jersey had the top ranking among states for preschool through 12th grade education
Overall, Colorado ranked No. 17, one spot below neighboring Wyoming, in the 2026 Best States rankings. Another neighboring state, Utah, was No. 1
Colorado’s rankings in the other seven categories that made up the rankings were:
- No. 9 — Economy
- No 10 — Health care
- No. 10 — Infrastructure
- No. 22 — Natural environment
- No. 39 — Opportunity
- No. 45 — Fiscal stability
- No. 47 — Crime and corrections
Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com,x.com/KellyLyell,threads.net/KellyLyell andfacebook.com/KellyLyell.news
