Denver, CO (population: 609,651) has three animation schools within its city limits. Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, the highest ranked school in the city with an animation program, has a total student population of 586. It is the 368th highest ranked school in the USA and the 5th highest in the state of Colorado (#1 is Colorado College).
Animation students from Denver schools who go on to become animation artists, animators, animation designers, game designers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. Also, Multimedia artists and animators make on average $62,810 per year and there are about 28,800 of them employed in the US today.
Denver lies in Denver county, which is one of the 55 counties in Colorado. Overall, the Denver-Aurora area has 1,218,790 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $23/hr average worker wage, and a $48,560 average annual salary.
Of the 3 animation schools in Denver, none have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, The Art Institute of Colorado comes out as the most expensive ($38,252/yr) for animation students, with Westwood College-Denver South as the lowest, reported at only $18,085/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Denver |
| Commerce City | CO | 46,807 | 0 | - | 0 | 6.9 miles |
| Aurora | CO | 334,924 | 11 | 27.59 | 204 | 8.5 miles |
| Thornton | CO | 120,487 | 4 | 21.9949 | 44 | 9.6 miles |
| Greenwood Village | CO | - | 2 | 15.5036 | 87 | 11.4 miles |
| Westminster | CO | 109,334 | 7 | 21.6728 | 184 | 12.2 miles |
| Lakewood | CO | 142,294 | 13 | 20.2254 | 326 | 13.7 miles |
| Highlands Ranch | CO | 129,817 | 0 | - | 0 | 16.1 miles |
| Lone Tree | CO | - | 1 | 9.20591 | 39 | 16.2 miles |
| Parker | CO | 47,600 | 0 | - | 0 | 18.9 miles |
| Castle Rock | CO | 49,815 | 0 | - | 0 | 27.0 miles |
| Boulder | CO | 95,721 | 5 | 25.2105 | 131 | 27.0 miles |
| Longmont | CO | 88,962 | 0 | - | 0 | 30.5 miles |
| Greeley | CO | 94,780 | 4 | 31.0251 | 125 | 45.5 miles |
| Loveland | CO | 68,614 | 0 | - | 0 | 46.2 miles |
| Fort Collins | CO | 141,921 | 5 | 27.6422 | 154 | 55.7 miles |
| Colorado Springs | CO | 388,306 | 17 | 23.417 | 343 | 63.2 miles |
| Cheyenne | WY | 58,067 | 4 | 11.724 | 116 | 95.5 miles |