Montana State University Billings Nursing (BSN): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
- Public university
- Billings, MT
- About 28 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Montana State University Billings nursing graduates earn about what nursing graduates earn nationally, $71,449 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $32,988 in federal loans, more than at 88% of nursing programs in the country. Several Montana programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Montana and national columns are the medians across all nursing bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Montana nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Montana medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $350 a month, or 5.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
105% of graduates (22 of 21) were working in Montana one year after graduating. Prices in the Billings area are about 6% below the national average, so a $71,449 salary here buys what about $76,395 buys in a typical US city.
The median Montana RN earns $85,280, compared with a national median of $97,550. After adjusting for Montana prices, that pay is worth about $90,105, which puts Montana behind.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to nursing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Registered Nurses
$85,280Median pay in Montana. 10,950 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 180,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical and Health Services Managers
$105,840Median pay in Montana. 1,870 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 24% from 2025 to 2035, with about 62,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Nurse Practitioners
$137,210Median pay in Montana. 1,260 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 41% from 2025 to 2035, with about 29,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Nurse Anesthetists
$277,380Median pay in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Montana State University Billings
Nursing ranks 1st of 7 bachelor's programs at Montana State University Billings by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($71,449), Other Interdisciplinary Studies ($55,918), and Business ($44,082).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $71,449 one year after graduating. Registered nurses in the Billings metro area earn a median of $82,300 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $32,988, which ranks 5th lowest of 6 nursing bachelor's programs in Montana. That works out to about $350 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 46% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%. Compare the cost with other Montana programs before deciding.
Most do. 105% (22 of 21) were working in Montana one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Montana comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the nursing program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024