Nursing (BSN) Programs in Montana, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt
- 6 programs report first-year pay
- 6 also report federal debt
- Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
The median Montana nursing bachelor's program pays its graduates $74,673 in their first year, $235 more than the national median. University of Providence reports the highest first-year pay ($101,187), and University of Providence the lowest median debt ($23,847).
All 6 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.
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.
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 the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Quick picks
Highest first-year pay
- University of Providence$101,187
- Montana State University-Northern$77,121
- Carroll College$75,007
- Montana Technological University$74,338
- Montana State$71,915
Lowest median debt
- University of Providence$23,847
- Carroll College$27,000
- Montana State$28,000
- Montana State University-Northern$31,000
- Montana State University Billings$32,988
Lowest debt for the pay
"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.
What registered nurses earn in Montana
Pay for registered nurses in Montana, across all experience levels, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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.
Common questions
University of Providence in Great Falls reports the highest median first-year pay, $101,187. Its median federal debt is $23,847.
University of Providence reports the lowest median federal debt, $23,847, with first-year pay of $101,187.
The median across 6 Montana nursing bachelor's programs is $74,673 in the first year after graduating and $72,739 five years after. Registered nurses in Montana earn a median of $85,280 across all experience levels.
6 Montana programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 6 of them also report federal debt.
Related pages
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 nursing bachelor'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
- 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
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024