2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana

Ranked #2 in popularity, nursing is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 6 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 179 associate degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Associate Degree

The nursing associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on nursing students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of nursing students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt nursing students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for nursing students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The nursing school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Montana.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in Montana

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in nursing.

Top Montana Schools for an Associate in Nursing

1

The University of Montana
Missoula, MT

31 Annual Graduates

$67,743 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat The University of Montana if you wish to pursue an associate degree in nursing. Located in the small city of Missoula, UM is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Associate students who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $67,743 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a associate in nursing from The University of Montana

2

Helena College University of Montana
Helena, MT

29 Annual Graduates

$63,902 Median Starting Salary

Helena College University of Montana is a wonderful decision for students interested in an associate degree in nursing. Located in the city of Helena, Helena College is a public university with a small student population.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $63,902 for their early career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Helena College University of Montana

3

Montana State University - Billings
Billings, MT

38 Annual Graduates

$72,551 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Montana State University - Billings if you want to pursue an associate degree in nursing. Montana State University - Billings is a small public university located in the medium-sized city of Billings.

Associate recipients from the nursing program at Montana State University - Billings get $6,575 above the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a associate in nursing from Montana State University - Billings

4

Montana State University - Northern
Havre, MT

18 Annual Graduates

Montana State University - Northern is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in nursing. Located in the remote town of Havre, Montana State University - Northern is a public university with a small student population.More information about a associate in nursing from Montana State University - Northern

5

Miles Community College
Miles City, MT

22 Annual Graduates

$67,708 Median Starting Salary

Miles Community College is a small public college located in the town of Miles City.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $67,708 for their early career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Miles Community College

6

Flathead Valley Community College
Kalispell, MT

20 Annual Graduates

$71,348 Median Starting Salary

Flathead Valley Community College is a small public college located in the town of Kalispell.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Flathead Valley Community College receive $5,372 more than the average nursing grad.

More information about a associate in nursing from Flathead Valley Community College

Best Nursing Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Utah	147	1,418
Idaho	143	366
Wyoming	128	252
Colorado	102	681

View All Rankings >

Nursing Related Rankings by Major

One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Nursing Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing	179

Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Allied Health Professions	115
Mental & Social Health Services	39
Health Sciences & Services	24
Dental Support Services	22
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	19
Health & Medical Administrative Services	17
Health/Medical Prep Programs	7
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	4
Public Health	3
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	3

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.