Montana State University Billings Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
- Public university
- Billings, MT
- About 34 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Montana State University Billings teacher education graduates earn less than graduates of most teacher education programs nationally, $35,132 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,652 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,075. 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 teacher education bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Montana State University Billings graduates earn about the national figure and about $2,268 more than the Montana median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Montana teacher education 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.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 29% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $2,972 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $261 a month, or 8.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
91% of graduates (48 of 53) were working in Montana one year after graduating. Prices in the Billings area are about 6% below the national average, so a $35,132 salary here buys what about $37,564 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to teacher education, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
$57,530Median pay in Montana. 4,960 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$60,990Median pay in Montana. 3,670 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$61,550Median pay in Montana. 1,980 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
$36,540Median pay in Montana. 960 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
About Montana State University Billings
Teacher Education ranks 6th 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 $35,132 one year after graduating and $45,454 five years after. The median across teacher education bachelor's programs in Montana is $36,742.
The median federal loan balance is $24,652, which ranks 2nd lowest of 5 teacher education bachelor's programs in Montana. That works out to about $261 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 70% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 61%. Compare the cost with other Montana programs before deciding.
Most do. 91% (48 of 53) 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 teacher education 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