Compare costs, NCLEX pass rates, and outcomes for Aurora's leading nursing programs side by side.
Aurora, Colorado, sits adjacent to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, the Rocky Mountain region’s largest academic health center and a hub for thousands of clinical rotations. This dense network of hospitals and specialty clinics has made registered nursing one of the area’s fastest-growing professions.
Prospective nursing students here choose among traditional BSNs at public universities, accelerated second-degree programs that compress coursework into 12-18 months, and community-college ADN pathways with strong bridge agreements to local employers.
With Denver-Aurora area RNs earning a median annual wage above $105,000, the calculus of tuition against potential earnings is sharp. The difference between a program with a strong NCLEX track record and one without can mean a delayed start to a well-compensated career.
Aurora and the surrounding Denver metro area offer a strong selection of accredited BSN and ADN programs. We evaluated schools on affordability, graduation rates, and the flexibility of campus, online, and hybrid formats to help you find the best fit. The following rankings highlight top programs, including the flagship Anschutz campus and flexible options for working nurses.
| Rank | School | Location | Net price | Best for | |
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| #1 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | Denver, CO | $10,000 – $15,000/yr | Aspiring RNs on Colorado's premier medical campus | |
University of Colorado College of Nursing on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora is the area's flagship nursing school, nationally ranked and boasting a ~96% NCLEX pass rate. The college offers multiple BSN pathways: a 24-month traditional, a 12-month accelerated for second-degree students, and a 3+2 Bridge Pathway exclusively for Colorado residents. Students benefit from direct access to major clinical partners like University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado.
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| #2 | Regis University | Denver, CO | ~$18,000/yr (est.) | Working professionals needing evening/weekend nursing classes | |
Regis University's Loretto Heights School of Nursing in Denver delivers three distinct BSN tracks, traditional, accelerated, and the hybrid CHOICE program designed for working adults with evening/weekend classes. The curriculum emphasizes ethics, social justice, and whole-person care, and Regis is consistently recognized as a top nursing school in the Denver metro.
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| #3 | Front Range Community College | Westminster, CO | $10,000 – $15,000/yr | RNs advancing through affordable hybrid BSN completion | |
Front Range Community College offers an affordable pathway into nursing with an ACEN-accredited ADN and a hybrid RN-to-BSN completion program. Both emphasize hands-on Denver-metro clinical experiences, and the RN-to-BSN is tailored for working nurses seeking to advance with flexible online coursework and a short practicum.
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| #4 | Red Rocks Community College | Lakewood, CO | $5,000 – $10,000/yr | ||
Red Rocks Community College's ACEN-accredited ADN program in Lakewood prepares students for entry-level RN roles with a curriculum focused on clinical reasoning, cultural competence, and leadership. The spring-start program requires an entrance exam and a recommendation, and it integrates clinicals throughout the Denver area.
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| #5 | Metropolitan State University of Denver | Denver, CO | $15,000/yr (net price) | ||
Metropolitan State University of Denver's Traditional Nursing Option is a cohort-based BSN that charges the same tuition for all students and requires 750 clinical hours. With a 2.8 GPA minimum and free application, the program offers fall and spring starts and early admission for military and international students.
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| #6 | Arapahoe Community College | Littleton, CO | $12,000/yr | ||
Arapahoe Community College provides an ACEN-accredited ADN with a 96% licensure pass rate and online RN-BSN completion, plus a PN-to-RN bridge. The ADN requires a 3.0 GPA, CNA licensure, and a HESI exam; the flexible online RN-BSN allows dual enrollment for current ADN students.
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| #7 | Denver College of Nursing | Denver, CO | |||
Denver College of Nursing offers a fast-paced 18-month ADN designed for career changers, with an 85% NCLEX pass rate and built-in career placement services. The campus-based program includes a leadership capstone and work/study options, and graduates can seamlessly transition to an RN-to-BSN.
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| #8 | Concorde Career College-Aurora | Aurora, CO | $17,000/yr (net price) | ||
Concorde Career College's Aurora campus features a 29-month BSN with 300 lab hours and 750 clinical hours, holding initial accreditation by ACEN. The program covers maternal-child, community health, and complex illness care, with financial aid and NCLEX prep included.
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| #9 | Platt College-Aurora | Greenwood Village, CO | |||
Platt College's Greenwood Village campus offers a 3-year, quarter-based BSN with dual accreditation from ACCSC and ACEN. The program accepts transfer credits, schedules clinical courses one per quarter, and prepares graduates for NCLEX and Nurse Licensure Compact eligibility.
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Choosing a nursing program often pits a school’s name recognition against the concrete outcomes that matter most: affordability, timely graduation, and whether graduates actually land well-paying jobs. Our ranking cuts through the marketing claims by anchoring each program to its performance on four data points drawn from the College Scorecard.
We included programs within a 75-mile radius of Aurora, which naturally captures Aurora-based schools as well as many in the Denver metro. This breadth ensures you see a full landscape of nearby options without being constrained by municipal boundaries.
Unlike reputation-based lists, our methodology relies solely on transparent, publicly reported data. That means you can verify every data point yourself and make an apples-to-apples comparison without editorial bias.
The total cost of a BSN can vary by thousands of dollars depending on residency status and financial aid. The chart below shows annual in-state tuition, out-of-state tuition, and the average net price, what students actually pay after grants and scholarships, for four public BSN programs within a reasonable drive of Aurora.
A nursing school’s name and location might catch your eye, but its NCLEX-RN pass rate, especially first-time results, is what reveals whether the program truly prepares you to become a licensed nurse. First-time pass figures track graduates who pass on their initial attempt, offering a clear snapshot of a program’s ability to get students across the finish line without retakes.
University of Colorado College of Nursing at Anschutz Medical Campus reported outstanding 2023 NCLEX-RN results:1
These numbers place CU Anschutz well above most state and national benchmarks.
For context, among nursing schools in Colorado, the state average first-time NCLEX pass rate hovered between 87% and 89% in 20262. Nationally, the first-time pass rate was 86.7% in 2025, with total pass rates (including repeat testers) dropping to 69.1%3. CU Anschutz consistently outperforms both, signaling strong curriculum and clinical preparation.
A high first-time rate matters because it predicts your own odds of earning an RN license quickly. Programs with low first-time figures may leave graduates scrambling for retakes, delaying employment and adding expense. Employers also take note: many prefer nurses who passed on their first try. While total pass rates eventually capture repeat success, the first-attempt number is a stricter measure of program quality.
Pass rates for Galen College of Nursing, Concorde Career College, and Arizona College of Nursing’s Aurora location are not readily available through the Colorado Board of Nursing’s public reports or the schools’ websites for the most recent cycle. Prospective students should contact these programs directly and request a copy of their NCLEX program report or recent annual performance data.
Gaining admission to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in Aurora, Colorado, requires meeting specific academic and testing benchmarks. While each school sets its own criteria, most require a minimum GPA, a standardized entrance exam score, and certain prerequisite coursework. Below, we compare the key admission requirements for three BSN programs in the Aurora area.
Although not all schools publish complete admissions data, understanding these baseline requirements can help you prepare a strong application. Always check directly with each program for the most current policies.
How much do registered nurses actually earn in Aurora, and does the salary justify the cost of a BSN?
Registered nurses in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area earn a median annual wage of $105,930 ($50.93/hour)1, nearly 13% above the national median of $93,600 ($45.00/hour)2. The premium reflects strong demand for healthcare professionals along the Front Range and the high concentration of specialty hospitals.
Several health systems in Aurora and Denver offer competitive compensation that can push wages well above the median.
Federal College Scorecard data for top Aurora-area BSN programs shows median earnings 10 years after enrollment range from about $52,000 to $72,000, while median student debt at graduation sits between $20,500 and $25,000. That debt-to-earnings ratio demonstrates a strong return, especially when you consider that experienced nurses in the metro can earn well over the median. Program-level earnings data are not yet available for these schools, but the institution-wide figures confirm the long-term value of a BSN.
The BLS projects 5% national growth for registered nurses from 2024 to 2034, adding about 189,100 new positions annually2. Colorado’s expanding healthcare sector, fueled by an aging population and new hospital construction, suggests robust demand in the Aurora-Denver metro. New graduates with a BSN can expect steady job placement and advancement in their nursing careers over the coming decade.
Aurora offers direct access to top clinical sites, but prospective students often have common questions about costs, scheduling, and outcomes. These concise answers address the most frequent concerns we hear from nursing school applicants in the area.
