Colorado·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1242

Best Database Administrator programs in Colorado, ranked by enrollment

Administer, test, and implement computer databases, applying knowledge of database management systems. Coordinate changes to computer databases.

22 schools in Colorado run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,328 people a year. The job pays a median of $118,340 in Colorado across about 1,220 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledDatabase AnalystDatabase Administrator (DBA)Database Administration ManagerSystems Administrator (Systems Admin)Data MinerData EngineerDatabase TesterDatabase Manager
Graduates / yr
1,328
in Colorado
Median pay · Colorado
$118,340
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,220
people employed
Schools
22
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
44%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,447
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Colorado that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Colorado that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Colorado (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Colorado page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 11.0101In Colorado
863
65.0%
15$57,986$24,286
2
CIP 11.1003In Colorado
446
33.6%
20$48,185$25,250
3
CIP 11.0802In Colorado
19
1.4%
4$33,504$27,000

Top 22 schools in Colorado

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 22 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Fort Collins, CO Public · 2 feeder programs
379Computer and Information Sciences, General$78,85667%89%
2University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
Denver, CO Public · 2 feeder programs
183Computer and Information Sciences, General$75,13746%75%
3Front Range Community College
Westminster, CO Public · 3 feeder programs
133Computer and Information Sciences, General$45,17435%
4Pikes Peak State College
Colorado Springs, CO Public · 3 feeder programs
98Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance21%
5Metropolitan State University of Denver
Denver, CO Public · 1 feeder programs
87Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance32%99%
6Pueblo Community College
Pueblo, CO Public · 2 feeder programs
81Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance31%
7Arapahoe Community College
Littleton, CO Public · 2 feeder programs
72Computer and Information Sciences, General29%
8Colorado State University Pueblo
Pueblo, CO Public · 1 feeder programs
37Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance40%95%
9University of Denver
Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
35Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance76%$29,72678%
10Community College of Denver
Denver, CO Public · 2 feeder programs
32Computer and Information Sciences, General20%
11Red Rocks Community College
Lakewood, CO Public · 1 feeder programs
32Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance32%
12Aims Community College
Greeley, CO Public · 3 feeder programs
29Computer and Information Sciences, General40%
13Colorado Mesa University
Grand Junction, CO Public · 1 feeder programs
29Computer and Information Sciences, General$65,28441%82%
14Community College of Aurora
Aurora, CO Public · 2 feeder programs
22Computer and Information Sciences, General33%
15Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, CO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$58,91119%$16,966
16Western Colorado University
Gunnison, CO Public · 1 feeder programs
16Computer and Information Sciences, General50%100%
17University of Colorado Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, CO Public · 2 feeder programs
14Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance47%97%
18Colorado Christian University
Lakewood, CO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
11Computer and Information Sciences, General$75,28864%$23,447
19Regis University
Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
11Computer and Information Sciences, General61%$22,40786%
20Colorado Northwestern Community College
Rangely, CO Public · 1 feeder programs
3Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance34%
21Technical College of the Rockies
Delta, CO Public · 1 feeder programs
2Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance95%
22Trinidad State College
Trinidad, CO Public · 1 feeder programs
1Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance55%

All 22 schools in Colorado

Every school in Colorado with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Colorado that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Colorado State University - Fort CollinsFort CollinsPublic3792
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical CampusDenverPublic1832
Front Range Community CollegeWestminsterPublic1333
Pikes Peak State CollegeColorado SpringsPublic983
Metropolitan State University of DenverDenverPublic871
Pueblo Community CollegePuebloPublic812
Arapahoe Community CollegeLittletonPublic722
Colorado State University PuebloPuebloPublic371
University of DenverDenverPrivate not-for-profit352
Community College of DenverDenverPublic322
Red Rocks Community CollegeLakewoodPublic321
Aims Community CollegeGreeleyPublic293
Colorado Mesa UniversityGrand JunctionPublic291
Community College of AuroraAuroraPublic222
Colorado Technical University - Colorado SpringsColorado SpringsPrivate for-profit211

What database administrators earn in Colorado

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Colorado
$118,340
Mean annual
$115,130
Jobs in state
1,220
What the range looks like
10th pct$61,930Median$118,34090th pct$164,780
Versus the national median
+13.1%

U.S. median $104,620. Colorado pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.95×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Colorado

Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
$128,780median
60 jobs
Colorado Springs, CO
$118,170median
110 jobs
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
$120,120median
800 jobs
Boulder, CO
$116,250median
110 jobs
Greeley, CO
$106,610median
40 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-0.7%
Little or no change
Openings per year
3,800
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-500
78,000 → 77,500
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Database Administrators page.

How to become a Database Administrator

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingActive ListeningReading ComprehensionActive LearningSpeakingWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Colorado

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 3 majors mapped to Database Administrators3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.0802Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database Administration
  • 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance

Common questions

Answers for people weighing database administrators programs in Colorado.

What degree do you need to become a Database Administrator?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer and Information Sciences, General, which awarded 863 degrees in Colorado in 2024-25, 65.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Database Administrator?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, Computer Software and Media Applications. Together they graduate about 1,328 people a year in Colorado.

How much do database administrators earn in Colorado?+

The median is $118,340 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 13.1% above the U.S. median of $104,620. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for database administrators growing?+

BLS projects a -0.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 3,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Colorado?+

22 institutions in Colorado reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do database administrators work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Database Analyst, Database Administrator (DBA), Database Administration Manager, Systems Administrator (Systems Admin) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1242.

Database Administrators in other statesTexasGeorgiaUtahFloridaVirginiaNew YorkMarylandCalifornia

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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