Engineering Graduate Student Life

Where Our Students Live

Map showing distribution of engineering graduate students across the Denver-Boulder Metro area

Most engineering graduate students live within 30 miles of Boulder. The top 10 cities where they choose to live are: 

  • Boulder - 76%
  • Denver - 5%
  • Broomfield - 5%
  • Westminster - 3%
  • Longmont - 3%
  • Arvada - 2%
  • Louisville - 2%
  • Superior - 2%
  • Lafayette - 1%
  • Aurora - 1%

How Does Boulder's Cost of Living Compare? 

As of October 2025, the average rent for a non-university one-bedroom apartment in Boulder is $2,380/month. Check out how that compares to some of our peer institutions:

  • California Institute of Technology - $3,106
  • Georgia Institute of Technology - $1,225
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology - $2,225
  • Northwestern University - $1,195
  • Stanford University - $3,150
  • University of California Berkeley - $2,502
  • UCLA - $4,950
  • University of Michigan - $1,312
  • University of Texas Austin - $1,099
  • University of Washington - $2,365
  • Stanford - $3,150