10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
+$37,726at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF
Montana Technological University
Butte, MT · 10 field-and-degree records
Earnings reported for 10 · Federal debt reported for 7
Based onObserved earnings + college priceEstimate10-year payoff
Estimated 10-year payoff
Positive payoff
+$37,726 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
8.7 yrsTime to earn back the modeled cost
+15%Estimated return after 10 years
$73,365Observed earnings · year 5
$25,913Highest annual price before payoff reaches $0
The price benchmark is $9,432 per year below this threshold.
Start with your question
What do you want to understand?
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
PUBLISHED STUDENT BUDGET · 2024–25
What makes up the annual price?
Sticker-price components reported to IPEDS. Grants and scholarships are not subtracted here.
Living off campus: $12,120 housing and food allowance plus $4,682 in other expenses.
Do not confuse this with net price. Net price subtracts average grants and scholarships. DegreeVerdict continues to use the separately labeled average net price in its standard college ROI scenario.
PRICE SENSITIVITY
The price can change the verdict.
Hold observed earnings constant and see how the modeled ten-year payoff changes as annual price rises.
← Negative payoff$0Positive payoff →
$0Annual price+$103,650
$8,000Annual price+$71,650
$16,000Current college-wide context+$39,650
$24,000Annual price+$7,650
$32,000Annual price−$24,350
$40,000Annual price−$56,350
HOW STUDENTS ATTEND · 2023-24
Online study is a meaningful part of the student experience.
IPEDS enrollment counts show course delivery across the whole institution. They do not indicate whether a specific degree can be completed online.
Institution-level attendance context from IPEDS. Program delivery is reported separately on degree pages and in the program directory. These figures do not enter ROI.
College identity and local contextAccreditation, institution type, dual enrollment and state prices
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college, not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
- Main award level
- Bachelor’s degrees
- Campus setting
- Town
- Admissions
- Selective admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024
Prices in Montana run 5% below the U.S. level.
BEA Regional Price Parities compare price levels across states. A value of 100 equals the national average.
What it costs and what graduates earn
$16,481Average net price / year
$22,786Cost of attendance
$18,750Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$199/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$73,365Median earnings · year 5 after completion
58.2%Completion rate
91.0%Admission rate
1,126Average SAT score
24ACT midpoint
1,480Student size
Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. It does not include Parent PLUS or private loans. We show admissions scores only when a valid federal value is available.
What the numbers say about Montana Technological University
What does Montana Technological University cost?
Montana Technological University reports an average annual net price of $16,481 after grants and scholarships. This is an institution-wide average, not an individual aid offer.
What do Montana Technological University graduates earn?
The observed median earnings figure is $73,365 5 years after completion. It describes a federal cohort, not a guaranteed starting salary.
How much federal debt do Montana Technological University graduates have?
Completer borrowers report median cumulative federal student debt of $18,750. Parent PLUS and private loans are not included.
Is every degree at Montana Technological University worth the same?
No. The current release contains 10 field-and-degree records for Montana Technological University; 10 report year-4 earnings and 7 report federal debt. Outcomes can differ substantially by field and degree level.
DEBT AFTER COLLEGE
Are borrowers making progress?
Repayment progress, default and debt at exit describe different federal borrower cohorts. They are shown separately and do not change the ROI estimate.
Source: College Scorecard. Repayment progress is the share of borrowers who reduced principal by at least $1 at the stated measurement point. Debt covers federal student loans; Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. Cohorts and reporting periods differ across measures.
Who studied here during the year
1,846Students enrolled at any point
1,604Undergraduate students
242Graduate students
Unduplicated students enrolled at any point from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This full-year measure is different from a fall headcount and does not enter ROI.
More student and earnings detailPrice by family income, retention, equity and common industries
WHO PAYS, WHO FINISHES, WHO EARNS
Outcomes are not the same for every family.
These federal cohorts add context that a single college average can hide. Missing figures remain unreported rather than estimated.
Complete within 150% of the expected time
42% received a Pell Grant within eight yearsMedian Parent PLUS debt
210 parent borrowers in the reported cohortMedian federal student debt
52% making progress in repayment after three yearsStudent family incomeMedian earnings after 10 yearsObserved federal cohorts
Lower income$42,812Earnings are not a guarantee
Middle income$57,872Earnings are not a guarantee
Higher income$72,282Earnings are not a guarantee
Three-year repayment progress
Lower income45%
Middle income69%
Higher income79%
Undergraduate student composition
White77%
Black2%
Hispanic5%
Asian1%
Source: College Scorecard, June 2026 release. Parent PLUS debt belongs to parents; student-debt measures exclude Parent PLUS and private loans. Cohort definitions differ by measure.
INDEPENDENT CENSUS EARNINGS VIEW
How earnings develop by field
Privacy-protected Census employment records follow graduate cohorts one, five and ten years after completion. This source is kept separate from College Scorecard because its population and methodology differ.
Field and credentialYear 1Year 5Year 10
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering.Master’s degree · Broad federal field 14
$86,717Year 1
$107,201Year 5
$138,999Year 10
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering.Bachelor’s degree · Broad federal field 14
$76,854Year 1
$91,193Year 5
$120,758Year 10
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.Master’s degree · Broad federal field 51
$116,712Year 1
$122,083Year 5
$109,443Year 10
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.Bachelor’s degree · Broad federal field 51
$73,209Year 1
$79,787Year 5
$98,392Year 10
Computer Programming.Bachelor’s degree · Broad federal field 11
$48,487Year 1
$83,557Year 5
$91,987Year 10
Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians.Certificate, 1–2 years · Broad federal field 47
$56,148Year 1
$86,717Year 5
$86,367Year 10
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.Associate degree · Broad federal field 51
$58,427Year 1
$62,818Year 5
$80,140Year 10
Accounting and Related Services.Bachelor’s degree · Broad federal field 52
$49,731Year 1
$63,305Year 5
$79,032Year 10
Median annual earnings in 2023 dollars. Each time point may use a different pooled graduation cohort. Coverage is limited to institutions participating in the Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes program.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use every reportable field-and-credential record at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS OVER TIME
What graduates earned in later years
$63,761Year 1
$79,369Year 4
$73,365Year 5
Each year can represent a different federal cohort, so the points do not track the same people over time.
Your choice of degree can change the payoff.
Graduate earnings differ by field and credential, even within the same college.
1Public Health · Master's Degree$108,3512Petroleum Engineering · Bachelor's Degree$106,0763Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$98,2714Geological/Geophysical Engineering · Bachelor's Degree$93,6295Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences · Master's Degree$91,6626Public Health · Bachelor's Degree$86,8557Mechanical Engineering · Bachelor's Degree$82,4438Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Bachelor's Degree$81,504Observed year-4 earnings · compare the same field and credential across colleges
Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark
This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential, not simply majors that pay more everywhere.
1Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $98,271 reported+128%vs same-degree national median$2,750federal debt2Public HealthBachelor's Degree · $86,855 reported+48%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt3Public HealthMaster's Degree · $108,351 reported+31%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt4Geological/Geophysical EngineeringBachelor's Degree · $93,629 reported+20%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt5Geological and Earth Sciences/GeosciencesMaster's Degree · $91,662 reported+15%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt6Petroleum EngineeringBachelor's Degree · $106,076 reported+1%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt
Comparable colleges in MT
Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive, not a quality ranking.
Butte, MT
Highlands College of Montana Tech
- Annual net price
- $14,962
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $73,365
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +18%
Montana State University-Northern
- Annual net price
- $12,664
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $60,389
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -33%
Montana State University
- Annual net price
- $22,499
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $60,146
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -44%
Montana State University Billings
- Annual net price
- $16,524
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $52,028
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -71%
Compare fields and degree levels
Showing all 10 field-and-degree records in the current release.
| Major or field | Degree level | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2024–25 graduates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Health | Master's Degree | $108,351 | Not available | Not reported |
| Petroleum Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $106,076 | $27,000 | Not reported |
| Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $98,271 | $2,750 | Not reported |
| Geological/Geophysical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $93,629 | Not available | Not reported |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | Master's Degree | $91,662 | Not available | Not reported |
| Public Health | Bachelor's Degree | $86,855 | $27,000 | Not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $82,443 | $25,750 | Not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Bachelor's Degree | $81,504 | $35,839 | Not reported |
| Business/Commerce, General | Bachelor's Degree | $61,446 | $21,271 | Not reported |
| Management Information Systems and Services | Bachelor's Degree | $58,332 | $28,125 | Not reported |
Graduate counts come from IPEDS and group related majors into the same federal field. Missing earnings or debt values remain labeled as unavailable.
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.