Best Liberal Arts Schools Near Great Falls, MT (2026)

Updated September 6, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Great Falls, Montana has 4 accredited schools offering liberal arts programs, with tuition ranging from $4,028 to $43,477 per year for indexed programs. Great Falls has a population of about 60,412. 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 the Great Falls, MT metro area, the top-earning liberal arts-related role is Management Analyst at a median $95,690 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Liberal Arts Schools to Great Falls

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer liberal arts 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:

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.

Acceptance rate 50%

Graduation rate 36%

Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $48,296

Avg net price $17,649/yr

Tuition

In‑state$30,448

Out‑of‑state$30,448

Contact

1301 20th St S Great Falls, MT 59405-4996
(406) 761-8210
Visit website

Key stats

Retention rate: 71%
Programs offered: 24

Source:Accreditor: Northwest Commission on Colleges and UniversitiesIPEDS College Scorecard

Graduation rate 33%

Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $38,034

Avg net price $12,468/yr

Tuition

In‑state$4,028

Out‑of‑state$12,911

Contact

2100 16th Ave S Great Falls, MT 59405
(406) 268-3700
Visit website

Key stats

Programs offered: 20

Source:Accreditor: Northwest Commission on Colleges and UniversitiesIPEDS College Scorecard

Liberal Arts 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)
Public Relations Specialist	$50,190	Great Falls, MT	$51,849
Management Analyst	$95,690	Great Falls, MT	$98,853
Technical Writer	$75,070	MT statewide	$77,552
News Analyst, Reporter, or Journalist	$47,960	MT statewide	$49,545
Editor	$61,750	MT statewide	$63,791
Training and Development Specialist	$59,750	Great Falls, MT	$61,725
Human Resources Specialist	$62,740	Great Falls, MT	$64,814

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.

Great Falls at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	60,412	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$63,934	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	28.3%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	96.8 (below U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024
Liberal Arts-related employment in Cascade County	157 workers, 22 establishments	BLS QCEW 2024 annual

Other Great Falls-Area Cities With Liberal Arts Programs

Helena, MT – 71.2 mi away (49,812 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited liberal arts schools are near Great Falls, MT?

Our directory has 4 accredited schools offering liberal arts programs near Great Falls. The closest is University of Providence in Great Falls, MT (1.5 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Carroll College (71.3 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying liberal arts roles near Great Falls?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying liberal arts-related roles near Great Falls are: Management Analyst ($95,690), Technical Writer ($75,070), Human Resources Specialist ($62,740). 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 liberal arts 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 liberal arts?

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.

Learn More About Liberal Arts Programs

Other Programs Available in Great Falls

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Great Falls:

Data verified: September 6, 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.

Back to Best Liberal Arts Schools in Montana: Online Programs (2026)