Boulder, Colorado. 31,578 undergraduate students. 239 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
UNITID 126614 · OPEID 001370 · IPEDS HDVINTAGE · COLLEGE SCORECARD · 2025-05 · HISTORY 1996–2024
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at CU Boulder
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+25%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at University of Colorado Boulder rose 25% between 2021 and 2024 ($12.5k → $15.7k).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at University of Colorado Boulder fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.1% → 0.0%).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+17%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at University of Colorado Boulder rose 17% between 2021 and 2024 ($38.3k → $44.9k).
PEER OUTLIER · TRENDING BETTER+31%
Public bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at University of Colorado Boulder are 30% above the public bachelor's-predominant peer median ($69.7k vs $53.4k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
CU Boulder earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Colorado median
Each tile compares this institution to the Colorado median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$69,738+27% · 6→10y
Colorado median $43,242
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$54,939
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
75.0%+15% · '97→'24
Colorado median 55.5%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$13,000+136% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
31,578+56% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
89.2%+7% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
83.3%-1% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$16,430+391% · '00→'24
out-of-state $41,943
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How CU Boulder earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at CU Boulder
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.5%
0%8% · GE20%+
Median federal debt $13,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $69,738 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
CU Boulder enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
UNDERGRAD · 1996–202431,939
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997–202474.2%
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997–2020$19,500
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 100% · 1997→2024+55%
CU Boulder · completion · 100% rose
37.1% → 57.4%
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 1996→2024+56%
CU Boulder · undergrad enrollment rose
20,459 → 31,939
IN-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+391%
CU Boulder · in-state tuition rose
$3,188 → $15,666
OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+172%
CU Boulder · out-of-state tuition rose
$16,506 → $44,918
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997→2020+136%
CU Boulder · median debt rose
$8,250 → $19,500
COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 2011→2024-100%
CU Boulder · cohort default rate fell
3.6% → 0.0%
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 2007→2020+36%
CU Boulder · earnings_median_10yr rose
$51,300 → $69,738
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 2005→2020+43%
CU Boulder · earnings_median_8yr rose
$45,300 → $64,625
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 2003→2020+45%
CU Boulder · earnings_median_6yr rose
$37,900 → $54,939
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
CU Boulder programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$930,577
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 6
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
Cost per year
$17,204
HS-only baseline · CO
$40,100
Years to complete
4
CIP family
52
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to CU Boulder in Colorado
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
“CU Boulder graduates earn $X” — not “CU Boulder makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending CU Boulder caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.