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Best Film Schools Near Great Falls, MT (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Great Falls, Montana is home to about 60,412 residents. Median household income is $63,934 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 28.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In Montana, the top-earning film-related role is Sound Engineering Technicians at a median $57,600 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Film Schools to Great Falls
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer film programs near Great Falls, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Great Falls city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Great Falls.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Source:Accreditor: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities · IPEDS · College Scorecard
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Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Montana schools on the Montana film page.
Film Wages Near Great Falls
Great Falls is part of the Great Falls, MT metro area (BLS area code 24500). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Montana statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Film and Video Editors
$42,520
MT statewide
$43,926
Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
$50,910
MT statewide
$52,593
Producers and Directors
$52,580
MT statewide
$54,318
Special Effects Artists and Animators
N/A
MT statewide
–
Audio and Video Technicians
$46,700
MT statewide
$48,244
Sound Engineering Technicians
$57,600
MT statewide
$59,504
Writers and Authors
N/A
MT statewide
–
Graphic Designers
$49,150
Great Falls, MT
$50,775
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
What are the highest-paying film roles near Great Falls?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying film-related roles near Great Falls are: Sound Engineering Technicians ($57,600), Producers and Directors ($52,580), Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film ($50,910). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Montana statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Helena instead of Great Falls?
Helena, MT is 71.2 miles from Great Falls and has its own set of local film programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Great Falls an affordable place to study film?
Great Falls’s median household income of $63,934 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Great Falls while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Montana public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
