Mahadev Maitri Foundation
US Initiatives

Colorado

1,898 Schools185 Districts862K Students
$22,657
Avg Per-Pupil Spend
+58% nat'l
46.4%
Free Lunch Rate
-5.8pp vs nat'l
81.0%
Graduation Rate
-5.5pp vs nat'l
49/100
Opportunity Score
Moderate
⇄ Compare Colorado with another state
About Colorado Public Schools

Colorado's education system is notable for its strong home-rule traditions, giving local school boards significant autonomy over curriculum and operations — an arrangement that creates both innovation and inconsistency across its 178 school districts. Denver Public Schools, the state's largest, has been a national laboratory for charter-district co-location and school choice policy. The state's CMAS assessment (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) benchmarks student performance, and Colorado has consistently ranked near the top nationally in per-pupil spending among Mountain West states. Colorado's Bowen Effect — the correlation between outdoor recreation culture and high educational attainment in mountain communities — is visible in high-performing rural districts like Summit and Eagle counties, which serve largely affluent resort-town populations alongside migrant agricultural workers.

State Snapshot
State BoardColorado State Board of Education
AssessmentCMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) / PSAT/SAT
Compulsory Ages6–17
School CalendarSchool year typically begins in late August
Total Enrollment862,074
Public Schools1,898
Largest District
School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C
88K students
Highest Per-Pupil
San Juan boces
$172,735/student
Top Graduation Rate
Weld County School District No. Re-2
97.5% grad rate
School Districts (185)
Per-pupil spending in Colorado ranges from $9,082 to $172,735 across districts with available data. State avg: $22,657.
DistrictSchoolsStudentsPer-PupilGrad RateFree LunchOpp.
Large Districts — 10,000+ Students
School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C20288K$19,296↓15%78.9%62.3%↑34%39
Jefferson County School District No. R-116175K$16,228↓28%89.5%↑11%32.1%↓31%49
Douglas County School District No. Re 18862K$14,103↓38%91.9%↑14%8.6%↓82%42
Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county of Arapah6952K$17,211↓24%91.3%↑13%29.9%↓36%45
Aurora Joint District No. 28 of the counties of Adams and A6038K$19,119↓16%79.0%74.6%↑61%40
Adams 12 Five Star Schools5435K$14,916↓34%88.6%↑9%44.6%43
St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J5432K$14,058↓38%88.2%↑9%31.8%↓32%43
Poudre School District R-15129K$17,617↓22%84.8%28.4%↓39%50
Boulder Valley School District No. Re25628K$17,382↓23%91.9%↑13%24.8%↓47%52
Academy School District No. 20 in the county of El Paso an4026K$12,372↓45%92.6%↑14%11.2%↓76%48
El Paso County Colorado School District 493025K$11,711↓48%50.1%↓38%20.8%↓55%42
Colorado Springs School District No. 11 in the county of E5723K$15,578↓31%75.2%↓7%55.9%↑20%41
GreeleySchool District No. 6 in the county of Weld and Sta3421K$21,500↓5%88.2%↑9%64.2%↑38%43
Mesa County Valley School District No. 514721K$13,239↓42%82.7%41.5%↓11%47
School District 27J3021K$13,426↓41%86.8%↑7%35.9%↓23%42
State Charter School Institute4119K$12,972↓43%76.5%↓5%33.5%↓28%43
Thompson School District R-2J3415K$16,792↓26%81.9%33.3%↓28%53
Pueblo School District No. 60 in the county of Pueblo and3515K$21,498↓5%80.2%75.1%↑62%42
Littleton School District No. 6 in the county of Arapahoe2113K$21,061↓7%91.4%↑13%15.3%↓67%51
Harrison School District No. 2 in the county of El Paso an2812K$17,595↓22%84.0%54.1%↑17%41
Pueblo County School District 702510K$13,400↓41%92.9%↑15%45.9%40
Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students
School District No. 3 in the county of El Paso and State of189,611$13,481↓41%83.3%30.6%↓34%44
Weld County Reorganized School District No. Re-4128,227$12,319↓46%92.9%↑15%17.6%↓62%48
Fountain School District No. 8 in the county of El Paso an138,201$16,635↓27%86.8%↑7%40.6%↓13%—
Westminster Public Schools188,004$17,587↓22%74.6%↓8%78.4%↑69%42
Mapleton School District No. 1 in the county of Adams & St176,698$16,096↓29%81.4%65.3%↑41%39
Eagle County School District No. Re 50196,597$17,114↓24%86.8%↑7%33.9%↓27%51
Lewis-Palmer Consolidated School District No. 38 in the co106,496$11,942↓47%96.5%↑19%5.2%↓89%46
Montrose County School District Re-1J135,871$12,038↓47%83.5%48.8%↑5%44
School District N. 14 in the county of Adams & State of Colo135,692$15,770↓30%71.4%↓12%80.3%↑73%—
Byers School District No. 32J105,671$9,082↓60%55.0%↓32%3.3%↓93%49
Durango School District No. 9-R135,452$15,110↓33%67.4%↓17%24.1%↓48%52
Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1135,382$16,558↓27%88.1%↑9%34.6%↓25%46
Garfield School District No. Re-2104,662$13,949↓38%86.0%↑6%38.2%↓18%50
Delta County Joint District No. 50174,420$14,468↓36%87.8%↑8%51.0%↑10%45
EDUCATION REENVISIONED BOCES73,863$9,090↓60%47.6%↓41%—41
Weld County School District No. Re-5J73,853$33,902↑50%91.0%↑12%22.8%↓51%43
Cheyenne Mountain School District No. 12 in the county of E93,737$13,272↓41%96.0%↑19%10.0%↓78%46
Summit School District No. Re 193,633$16,437↓27%94.3%↑17%34.6%↓26%—
School District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan83,421$12,715↓44%85.0%60.9%↑31%50
Fremont Re-183,305$15,075↓33%84.0%53.4%↑15%—
Weld County School District RE-3J72,670$13,955↓38%82.0%44.4%53
Steamboat Springs School District No. Re 272,664$28,544↑26%96.3%↑19%10.4%↓78%51
Weld re-8 schools62,522$14,400↓36%87.0%↑7%52.5%↑13%—
Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1102,449$12,250↓46%74.5%↓8%62.6%↑35%50
Englewood School District No. 1 in the county of Arapahoe92,441$20,278↓11%60.0%↓26%53.3%↑15%39
ELIZABETH SCHOOL DISTRICT72,379$13,057↓42%87.0%↑7%13.5%↓71%50
Moffat County School District RE: No. 172,092$13,371↓41%77.0%44.1%↓5%52
Alamosa School District No. Re-11J52,073$12,140↓46%87.0%↑7%61.4%↑32%40
Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J72,061$13,944↓38%92.3%↑14%21.8%↓53%49
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Frequently Asked Questions
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data, EDFacts, and Opportunity Atlas. Figures reflect the most recent available federal dataset (2021-22 / 2022-23). Learn more about our data sources.