Private Nonprofit · Helena, Montana

Carroll College

Carroll College is a private nonprofit institution in Helena, Montana. as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.

$61,772
10-yr median earnings
70.9%
Acceptance rate
$23,960
Avg net price / yr
67.7%
150%-time completion

The verdict

Carroll College pairs top-quartile former-student earnings with a moderately open admit.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

Top 14%
former-student earnings, US
70.9%
acceptance rate
67.7%
150%-time completion
+42%
earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Small Carnegie: Bacc: Diverse
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Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.

How to read this Carroll College profile

Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.

Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.

Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.

College Value Score

C
College Value Score
58/100
Carroll College

A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.

Earnings A
$61,772
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$23,960
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate B-
67.7%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$25,757
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A+
87.4%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention B-
82.0%
First-year students returning for year two
Carroll College vs. the national benchmark
EarningsNet PriceCompletionDebtRepaymentRetention

Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.

10-yr median earnings

$61,772

Federal aid recipients only

Avg net price

$23,960

After grants and scholarships

150%-time completion

67.7%

Full-time, first-time cohort

150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 67.7%

Four-year-institution cohort

College ROI Quadrant - Carroll College vs peers

Carroll College positioned by earnings vs cost Two-by-two quadrant chart: x-axis median earnings 10 years after enrollment, y-axis average net price after financial aid. Each dot is a college, colored by completion within 150% of normal time (garnet ≥65%, amber 45-64%, red <45%). Net price increases upward, earnings increase rightward, so: bottom-right = best value (low cost, high earnings); top-right = premium (high cost, high earnings); bottom-left = community college tier (low cost, modest earnings); top-left = cost challenge (high cost, low earnings). Currently plotting 5 colleges. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard joined to Carnegie Classification. Carroll College positioned by earnings vs cost Carnegie Classification: Bacc: Diverse Bacc: Dive… COST CHALLENGE PREMIUM COMMUNITY BEST VALUE $20K $65K Median Earnings 10 Years After Enrollment ($) $5K $25K Avg Net Price ($) Carroll College (you are here): $62K earn · $24K net · 68% grad You are here - Carroll College Rocky Mountain College: $49K earn · $20K net · 48% grad Rocky Mountain Col… University of Providence: $48K earn · $18K net · 36% grad University of Prov… Blackfeet Community College: $23K earn · $5K net · 37% grad Blackfeet Communit… Helena College University of Montana: $41K earn · $12K net · 37% grad Helena College Uni… Grad rate (4yr) ≥65% 45-64% <45%
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education

Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.

How Carroll College ranks nationally

Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.

Carroll College: former-student earnings vs. every US college

10-year median earnings, College Scorecard

$61,772 Top 14% higher than 86% of 5,103 US colleges

$0–$20,000: 169 US colleges (3%). Below this entry. $20,000–$40,000: 2,245 US colleges (44%). Below this entry. $40,000–$60,000: 1,897 US colleges (37%). Below this entry. $60,000–$80,000: 606 US colleges (12%). This entry sits in this band. $80,000–$100,000: 134 US colleges (3%). Above this entry. $100,000–$120,000: 39 US colleges (1%). Above this entry. $120,000–$140,000: 11 US colleges (0%). Above this entry. $140,000–$160,000: 2 US colleges (0%). Above this entry. This college $0 $160,000 every US college, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals

Metric Carroll College National rank Percentile
10-yr median earnings $61,772 #698 of 5103 86th
Average net price $23,960 #3785 of 5020 25th (lower is better)
150%-time completion 67.7% #1610 of 4858 67th
Undergraduate enrollment 1,092 #2098 of 5462 62nd

National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.

Quick Facts

1,092
Undergraduate enrollment
70.9%
Acceptance rate
1,200
SAT average
67.7%
150%-time completion
$61,772
10-yr median earnings
82.0%
First-year retention

How Carroll College ranks in Montana

State rank among 25 reporting Montana colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.

Metric Carroll College State rank Percentile
10-yr median earnings $61,772 #1 of 25 96th
Average net price $23,960 #26 of 26 0th (lower is better)
150%-time completion 67.7% #5 of 26 81st
Undergraduate enrollment 1,092 #7 of 27 74th

Highest former-student earnings in Montana

#School10-yr earningsNet price
1Carroll CollegeThis school$61,772$23,960
2Montana Technological University$54,329$16,481
3Highlands College of Montana Tech$54,329$14,962
4Montana State University$53,263$22,499
5Montana State University-Northern$49,505$12,664
6Rocky Mountain College$49,036$19,751
7University of Providence$48,296$17,649
8The University of Montana$44,511$16,784
9Montana State University Billings$44,296$16,524
10City College Montana State University Billings$44,296-
11The University of Montana-Western$43,229$16,558
12Miles Community College$42,862$10,405

Admissions

Admission Rate 70.9%
SAT Average 1,200
SAT Math (25th-75th) 510 – 640
SAT Reading (25th-75th) 540 – 660
ACT Average 25
ACT (25th-75th) 21 – 27
0%100%70.9%
Share of applicants admitted

Costs & Financial Aid

Net price by family income at Carroll College

Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket

net price / yr

What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Carroll College - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard As of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals

Tuition & Net Price

In-State Tuition $41,484
Out-of-State Tuition $41,484
Average Net Price $23,960
20.2%
Pell Grant Rate
44.8%
Federal Loan Rate
$25,757
Median Debt
$273/mo
Monthly Payment

Net price at Carroll College swings rather than trends

Across 11 reported years between 2013 and 2023, the average net price here has ranged from $22,470 to $26,297 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as +5.3%, but the years in between do not follow that line, so the honest summary is the range rather than a trend. Budget against the upper end, not the average.

Lowest year
$22,470
Highest year
$26,297
Most recent (2023)
$24,842
Average net price, 2013–2023

11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.

2013: $23,5832014: $24,0202015: $23,2272016: $24,7022017: $26,2972018: $25,6742019: $23,7262020: $23,0722021: $23,9922022: $22,4702023: $24,842
2013 · $23,5832023 · $24,842

Over the same years, enrollment went -23.5% (1,376 → 1,052 students).

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.

Student Demographics

Race & ethnicity

Student body at a glance

60.4%
Female
19.7%
First Generation

Outcomes

82.0%
Retention Rate
$43,507
Median Earnings (6yr)
73.3%
Earning Over $25K
87.4%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)

Outcomes & debt snapshot

Measure Cohort / horizon Value
Completion within 150% of normal time First-time, full-time 67.7%
First-year retention First-time, full-time freshmen 82.0%
Median earnings 6 years after entry $43,507
Median earnings 10 years after entry $61,772
Share earning over $25,000 Working, not enrolled 73.3%
Loan repayment rate Completers, 3 years after leaving 87.4%
Median federal student debt At completion $25,757
Estimated monthly payment Standard 10-year plan $273/mo

Programs & Earnings

Top programs at Carroll College by completer earnings

Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file

median earnings

What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard As of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
Program Credential Completers Median Earnings Median Debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing Bachelor's 39 $80,878 $27,000
Accounting and Related Services Bachelor's 7 $79,048 $24,050
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General Bachelor's 21 $62,284 $25,250
Business Administration, Management and Operations Bachelor's 19 $60,597 $19,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods Bachelor's 7 $52,448 $27,000
Psychology, General Bachelor's 11 $49,321 -
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions Bachelor's 19 $49,309 $24,250
Biology, General Bachelor's 22 $32,530 $27,000
Civil Engineering Bachelor's 2 - -
Sociology Bachelor's 5 - -
Public Health Bachelor's 9 - $25,250

Independent Scorecard matches among reporting colleges — not recommendations from the institution or a counselor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the acceptance rate at Carroll College?
Carroll College is a private nonprofit institution in Helena, Montana. The acceptance rate is 70.9%. The average SAT score is 1,200. Undergraduate enrollment is 1,092 students.
How much do Carroll College former students earn?
Federally aided former students at Carroll College who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $61,772 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $43,507.
How much does Carroll College cost?
The average net price at Carroll College is $23,960. In-state tuition is $41,484 and out-of-state tuition is $41,484. Median student debt at graduation is $25,757.
What is the graduation rate at Carroll College?
Carroll College has a 67.7% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 82.0%.
Is Carroll College worth the student debt?
The median student debt at Carroll College is $25,757, while former students earn a median of $61,772 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 42% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 87.4% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $273.

Sources & methodology

Private-nonprofit profiles emphasize Scorecard cost-after-aid and completion alongside IPEDS Carnegie class. Endowment, gifts, and sticker price are not Scorecard fields on this page.

Figures are the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrievals. Nonprofit campuses vary widely in aid practice — net price here is the Title-IV-recipient cohort average, not an individual award letter. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Where to go next from Carroll College

Nonprofit Scorecard medians describe federal-aid recipients who were working and not enrolled — they are not sticker-price ROI and not advice.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private-nonprofit profiles compile Scorecard net-price and earnings cohorts with IPEDS structure fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.