Copper Mountain College Ranked 23rd in Niche's Best Community Colleges in America
August 26, 2025
The national college rankings from Niche, a college platform that connects students and families with colleges and schools, have been released. Covering more than 4,000 U.S. colleges and universities, these rankings are designed to help students identify institutions of higher education that best match their academic goals, values, budgets, and campus preferences.
In the 2026 Niche college rankings, Copper Mountain College placed ninth in California among 116 community colleges and came in at number 23 among 673 community colleges across the United States.
“Copper Mountain College is proud to be ranked #9 among community colleges in California, according to Niche’s 2026 statewide ranking,” said CMC Superintendent/President Daren Otten. “This achievement underscores the quality of education, affordability, supportive learning environment, and strong student outcomes that define CMC. We remain committed to building on this recognition by continuing to offer accessible, high-impact programs tailored to the needs of our community.”
According to Niche, their 2026 Best Colleges rankings reflect rigorous analysis of factors relating to academics, campus experience, value, diversity, athletics, and post-graduation outcomes, among other areas. Niche notes that data sources for the analysis include:
Vetted federal datasets from the U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation
Enrollment, graduation, and alumni earnings statistics
Tuition and financial aid information
Over one million college reviews from real students and alumni
