US College Programs

Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's) Programs in Montana, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 5 programs report first-year pay
  • 5 also report federal debt
  • Associate's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Montana liberal arts and general studies associate's program pays its graduates $30,794 in their first year, $3,655 more than the national median. Montana State reports the highest first-year pay ($33,040), and Flathead Valley Community College the lowest median debt ($11,000).

Median first-year pay$30,794National $27,139
Median pay after 5 years$40,588National $40,284
Median federal debt$11,725National $10,864
Debt-to-earnings43%National 38%

All 5 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Montana liberal arts and general studies 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 the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Montana State$33,040
  2. Helena College University of Montana$31,290
  3. University of Montana$30,794
  4. Flathead Valley Community College$30,079
  5. Dawson Community College$25,631

Lowest median debt

  1. Flathead Valley Community College$11,000
  2. Dawson Community College$11,000
  3. Montana State$11,500
  4. Helena College University of Montana$15,400
  5. University of Montana$18,500

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Montana State35%
  2. Flathead Valley Community College37%
  3. Dawson Community College43%
  4. Helena College University of Montana49%
  5. University of Montana60%

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Common questions

Montana State in Bozeman reports the highest median first-year pay, $33,040. Its median federal debt is $11,500.

Related pages

Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked728 programs by pay and debt

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
  • 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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the liberal arts and general studies associate's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024