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Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions at Montana State University - Billings

MT · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.09

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions degree from Montana State University - Billings earn a median salary of $70,722 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in MT, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $67,937. The degree typically pays for itself in 5.8 years.

Quick Insights

Solid Investment

How this degree looks at a glance

A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$56,312

Typical Career

$70,722

Top Performers

$85,109

Estimated break-even: 5.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$471

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,894. Most students can comfortably afford about a $471 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.8x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.9x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Montana buys what costs $1.04 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Retail Trade, Manufacturing.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 41.4%
Retail Trade 7.9%
Manufacturing 7.5%

Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$67,937

Nominal: $70,722 in Montana (COL 104.1% of national avg) · 3.9% lower purchasing power

10-Year Earnings Curve

Break-Even Timeline

How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).

5.8 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

Total Investment

$155,168

4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost

HS Graduate Baseline

$38,792/yr

BLS 2023 median, HS diploma

View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
Timeframe 25th Pct. Median (50th) 75th Pct.
1 Year After Graduation $48,663 $58,783 $70,763
5 Years After Graduation $56,312 $70,722 $85,109
10 Years After Graduation $62,278 $75,586 $101,595

Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).

How We Calculate Purchasing Power

The median salary of $70,722 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in MT, which has a cost-of-living index of 104.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $70,722 × (1.0 ÷ 1.0410) = $67,937 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions at Montana State University - Billings experience a positive earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $58,783, increasing to $70,722 after five years and reaching $75,586 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $67,936.6, indicating that graduates can expect their earnings to maintain a competitive value relative to national standards despite the cost of living in Montana.

The primary industries that graduates enter include Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 41.4% of placements, followed by Educational Services at 25.1% and Health Care & Social Assistance again at 20.3%. This distribution highlights the strong demand for professionals in these sectors. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 5.8 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for pursuing this degree appears favorable, suggesting that graduates can expect a solid financial return over time.

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See how the Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions degree at Montana State University - Billings stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.