Colleges

Public · Community college

Great Falls College Montana State University

Great Falls, Montana · Small city

15%
Transfer rate
$12,468
Avg net price
34%
Grad / completion
$38,034
Median earnings

Great Falls College Montana State University is a public associate-granting institution in Great Falls, Montana (small city setting), enrolling 894 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 894 undergradsSmall cityCold wintersSnowy

About Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. For much of prehistory, no permanent settlements existed at or near Great Falls, though Salish Indians seasonally hunted bison in the region. Great Falls has a symphony orchestra, founded in 1959, which performs concert series, sponsors the youth orchestras the Cascade String Quartet and Chinook Winds Quintet, offers chamber ensembles, and offers an educational outreach program. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Associate
To the ocean
508 miles
Nearest airport
5 miles to Great Falls (GTF)

How Great Falls College Montana State University compares

Graduation rate34%

Higher than 18% · #11 of 17 in Montana

First-year retention56%

Higher than 16%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$38,034

Higher than 60% · #6 of 15 in Montana

Average net price$12,468

Cheaper than 60% · #12 cheapest of 17 in Montana

Student–faculty ratio17 : 1

Lower than 44%

Undergraduate enrollment894

Larger than 71%

Percentiles compare Great Falls College Montana State University with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Montana.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

894undergrads
  • Women60167%
  • Men29333%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White75%
  • Black1.0%
  • Hispanic8.3%
  • Asian1.6%
  • Other or multiracial14%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
894
Student–faculty ratio
17 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
31%
First-generation students
39%
Students over 25
34%
Median family income
$25,961
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$61,776
Endowment
$11,301

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 164 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Montana97%
  • Other U.S. states2.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Great Falls College Montana State University draws overwhelmingly from Montana.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition
$4,028
Out-of-state tuition
$12,911
Room & board
—
Books & supplies
$1,400
Total cost of attendance
$16,664
Average net price
$12,468

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
34%
First-year retention
56%
Transferred to another college
15%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$35,625
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$38,034
Median debt at graduation
—
Students with federal loans
30%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
41%

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
$30

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,502 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$10,675
$30–48k
$10,624
$48–75k
$11,778
$75–110k
$16,535
$110k+
$16,664

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

21%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,778
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 21% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,778. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 120 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$38,034
Typical debt at graduation
—
Debt vs. one year's pay
—
Out-earn a HS grad
47%
Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$36,321
Men
$40,981

Men out-earn women by $4,660 (13%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
86°F
Winter low
18°F
Annual rain
15.4″
Annual snow
66.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.42.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Great Falls 16ST, MT US station (0.5 mi from campus).

What Great Falls College Montana State University graduates study — and earn

Precision Metal WorkingCert.
50 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.
49 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssoc.
25 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Dental Support Services and Allied ProfessionsAssoc.
22 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.
21 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Precision Metal WorkingAssoc.
12 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.
12 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Health and Medical Administrative ServicesAssoc.
10 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Accounting and Related ServicesAssoc.
10 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssoc.
8 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Dental Support Services and Allied ProfessionsCert.
6 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt
Health and Medical Administrative ServicesCert.
6 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Great Falls College Montana State University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Great Falls College Montana State University side by side →

Helena College University of Montana

Public

Helena, Montana · Small city · 96 mi to Missoula

Students
585
Tuition
$4k
Transfer
14%
Earnings
$41k

Flathead Valley Community College

Public

Kalispell, Montana · Remote town · 95 mi to Missoula

Students
1,202
Tuition
$5k
Transfer
15%
Earnings
$39k

Salish Kootenai College

Public

Pablo, Montana · Distant rural · 50 mi to Missoula

Students
580
Tuition
$4k
Transfer
1%
Earnings
$33k

Miles Community College

Public

Miles City, Montana · Remote town · 135 mi to Billings

Students
332
Tuition
$6k
Transfer
20%
Earnings
$43k

Blue Mountain Community College

Public

Pendleton, Oregon · Distant town · 152 mi to Spokane

Students
962
Tuition
$7k
Transfer
20%
Earnings
$38k

North Country Community College

Public

Saranac Lake, New York · Remote town · 46 mi to Burlington

Students
819
Tuition
$7k
Transfer
21%
Earnings
$38k

Colleges near Great Falls College Montana State University

University of Providence

Great Falls, MT · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 528 students

< 1 mi

Montana Academy of Salons

Great Falls, MT · Private for-profit · Certificate · 126 students

2 mi

Helena College University of Montana

Helena, MT · Public · Associate · 585 students

71 mi

Carroll College

Helena, MT · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,092 students

71 mi

Stone Child College

Box Elder, MT · Public · Associate · 193 students

85 mi

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.