Colorado registered nurses earned a median of $100,260 a year as of the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, against a national RN median of $97,550. Colorado is one of only fourteen states where the median RN wage clears $100,000. The in-state spread is comparatively narrow: the bottom 10% earned about $79,500 and the top 10% about $124,940, so the distance between a new graduate and a senior specialty nurse is roughly $45,000 – a much tighter band than in states like California, where the same gap exceeds $110,000.
Two things to establish before you shortlist any Colorado program. First, state approval and national accreditation are separate. The Colorado State Board of Nursing approves prelicensure programs, and that approval is what makes graduates eligible to sit the NCLEX. National accreditation by CCNE or ACEN is what makes your credits transfer and your degree acceptable to graduate programs and to employers who require an accredited degree. A program can hold one without the other.
Second, be careful with accreditor names in older directories. The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) has not existed since 2013, when it was renamed the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Any listing still showing a program as “NLNAC-accredited” is at least a decade out of date, and the underlying accreditation may have changed in the interim. Verify against the accreditor directly.
Colorado offers nursing education at every level, from practical nursing certificates and associate degrees through bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs.
Featured programs
Concorde Career College-Aurora campus
Concorde Career College’s Aurora campus offers a practical nursing diploma. The campus holds institutional accreditation from the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), which is an institutional accreditor rather than a nursing-specific one – confirm the nursing program’s own Colorado Board of Nursing approval status directly with the school. Full-time students can finish in as little as 13 months, after which graduates sit the NCLEX-PN to be licensed as practical nurses. As a for-profit institution, program length and total cost change more often than at public colleges, so get both in writing before enrolling.
111 Havana St,Aurora, CO 80010, USAPhone: 720-808-0455
University Of Phoenix
The University of Phoenix is best known for online delivery and offers RN-to-BSN completion and master’s (MSN) nursing programs. Its nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Note that these are post-licensure programs: you must already hold an RN license to enroll, so this is not a route into nursing for someone starting from scratch. Enrollment opens on a rolling basis and transfer credit from other institutions may be accepted. As with any large online provider, verify the current accreditation status and the licensure-eligibility disclosure for Colorado specifically before enrolling, since online programs’ state authorizations vary.
10004 Park Meadows Dr.Lone Tree, CO, 80124-5453Phone: 303.755.9090
Denver College of Nursing
Denver College of Nursing offers an associate degree program that combines didactic and clinical instruction and can be completed in as little as six quarters, or roughly a year and a half. It requires no previous healthcare experience, which makes it a common entry route for high school graduates and career changers.
You can also work to earn a BSN degree on campus or enroll in an RN to BSN online program. A master’s of science in nursing degree track is also available but requires completion of a bachelor’s degree. Students receive various kinds of support throughout their enrollment, including tutoring and writing assistance.
1401 19th St,Denver, CO 80202, USA303-292-0015
The Independence Center CNA School
The Independence Center is a nonprofit that trains people to work in in-home care, with a particular focus on supporting people with disabilities, and it is an advocate for disability civil rights. Its nursing assistant program runs 104 hours and can be completed in about four weeks, comfortably above the 75-hour federal OBRA ‘87 minimum that Colorado’s Board of Nursing-approved nurse aide training programs must meet.
To be clear about what this credential is: completing it makes you eligible to test for certified nurse aide certification in Colorado. It is not a nursing degree and does not lead to RN, physician assistant, or physician licensure, all of which require years of separate university-level education. CNA work is a common and useful first step toward becoming a registered nurse, but it is a starting point rather than a shortcut.
729 S. Tejon St.,Colorado Springs, CO 80903Phone: 719-471-8181
National American University, Colorado Springs (campus closed)
This campus no longer operates. National American University closed the large majority of its physical campuses in 2019 and 2020 amid a steep revenue decline, moving to an online-only model. Its Colorado Springs location is among those closed. The entry is retained here only because older Colorado nursing-school directories still list it and readers may encounter the listing elsewhere. Verify any NAU offering directly with the institution before making plans around it.
A further correction to the version of this listing that circulates: a bachelor’s degree in nursing does not qualify a graduate to practice midwifery. Nurse-midwifery is an advanced practice role requiring a graduate degree and separate national certification through the American Midwifery Certification Board.
Board of Nursing Approved Nursing Schools
Two naming caveats apply to this list. Accreditor names first: entries that older directories record as “NLNAC” are shown below as ACEN, the accreditor’s name since the 2013 rename described above. Institution names second: Mesa State College became Colorado Mesa University in 2011, and Metropolitan State College of Denver became Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) in July 2012. Because accreditation status can change between a directory’s publication and today, confirm any individual program’s current standing with CCNE or ACEN directly before you apply.
Colorado Mesa University School of Nursing Location: Grand Junction, Colorado Degree: BSN Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: https://www.coloradomesa.edu
Colorado State University-Pueblo School of Nursing Location: Pueblo, Colorado Degree: BSN, MSN Accreditation: ACEN – Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Website: http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu
Metropolitan State University of Denver School of Nursing Location: Denver, Colorado Degree: BSN Accreditation: ACEN – Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Website: https://www.msudenver.edu
Regis University School of Nursing Location: Denver, Colorado Degree: BSN, MSN Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: http://www.regis.edu
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus College of Nursing Location: Aurora, Colorado Degree: BSN, MSN, PhD Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and ACEN – Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Website: https://nursing.cuanschutz.edu
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs School of Nursing Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Degree: BSN, MSN Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and ACEN – Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Website: http://www.uccs.edu
University of Northern Colorado School of Nursing Location: Greeley, Colorado Degree: BSN, MSN, PhD Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: http://www.unco.edu
Related guide
For admissions requirements, program costs, and how to choose the right program, read our full guide to Nursing schools in Colorado: top programs and what to know before you apply.