PNPI Explorer Blog – Montana
Welcome back to the PNPI Explorer blog series, where we examine higher education data in different states. This week’s spotlight is on Montana.
In 2021 in Montana, there were 24 institutions serving 37,533 full-time equivalent (FTE) students. Using the Comparison Tool, we can examine the average cost of attendance for Montana institutions relative to other states. Across all institutional types, Montana institutions cost an average of $21.8K, nearly $7K less than the national average of $28.2K. This puts Montana in the bottom quintile for average cost of attendance compared to other states.
Possibly due to this relatively low cost of attendance, students at Montana institutions have the fourth lowest outstanding federal student Direct Loan balances in the country. At $17.7K, their outstanding balances are nearly $4K lower than the national average of $21.5K.
Find something interesting about Montana that you would like to share with us? Drop us a note via our feedback page or discuss your findings on LinkedIn! Check back next week when we explore data insights about Nebraska.