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Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana

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2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

6 Colleges
$5,960 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,601 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Montana with 745 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana ranking. Our analysis looked at 6 schools in Montana to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Colleges.

Best Montana Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Nursing

Our analysis found Helena College University of Montana to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in Montana. Helena College is a small public school located in the town of Helena.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Helena College are $3,477 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Helena College take out $31,739 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Helena College also took the #4 spot in our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana rankings.

Read full report on Nursing at Helena College University of Montana

#2

Miles Community College

Miles City, MT

Out of the 6 schools in Montana that were part of this year’s ranking, Miles Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Miles Community College is a small public school located in the remote town of Miles City.

Miles Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,090 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Miles Community College accumulate an average of around $31,452 in student debt.

Miles Community College also took the #1 spot in our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana rankings.

Full Nursing at Miles Community College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Montana State University - Billings. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana list. Located in the city of Billings, Montana State University - Billings is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Montana State University - Billings are $6,022 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Montana State University - Billings accumulate an average of around $24,717 in student debt.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Montana State University - Billings is ranked #2 for overall quality for nursing in Montana.

Full Nursing at Montana State University - Billings Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Montana State University - Northern. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana list. Montana State University - Northern is a small public school located in the remote town of Havre.

Montana State University - Northern undergraduate students pay an average of $5,955 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Montana State University - Northern carry an average student debtload of $29,234.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Montana State University - Northern is ranked #5 for overall quality for nursing in Montana.

Read full report on Nursing at Montana State University - Northern

Out of the 6 schools in Montana that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Montana landed the # 5 spot on the list. UM is a fairly large public school located in the city of Missoula.

UM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,492 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UM did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana list.

Full Nursing at The University of Montana Report

Flathead Valley Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana ranking. Flathead Valley Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Kalispell.

Flathead Valley Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,721 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Flathead Valley Community College take out an average of $26,892 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Flathead Valley Community College Report

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Colorado 6,496
Utah 17,535
Idaho 1,593
Wyoming 397

Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 6 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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