Montana Apprenticeship Programs
Montana's registered-apprenticeship system is small — 2,400 active apprentices across 122 programs as of September 2026 — so its structure, not its size, is the story below.
- Active apprentices
- 2,400
- National rank
- #48 / 51
- Completion rate
- 59.1%
- Completion wage
- $28
Montana ranks #48 of 51 jurisdictions by active registered apprentices - about 0.3% of all U.S. registered apprentices. Its 59.1% completion rate sits 0.9 pts above the 58.2% national average, and apprentices who finish raise their pay by 86% - from $15 to $28 an hour.
Apprenticeship filing desk
Jurisdiction MO · Montana
Montana registered-apprenticeship filing: 2,400 active apprentices (rank 48/51), 122 programs, 59.1% completion.
- BOOK-TRACE 2,400
- RANK-LOWER #48
- PROG-SPARSE 122
- COMP-MID 59.1%
- WAGE-STRONG +86%
- SHARE-SMALL 0.3%
- NEW-FY 640
Nearest enrollment peer: Delaware (100 apprentice gap)
U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship filing stamps for this jurisdiction. Read: future proof careers
Where Montana sits among all 51 jurisdictions
Enrollment by jurisdiction; Montana is marked near the small end. Inventory size is not a quality ranking.
Montana vs all states by active apprentices
Where this state's DOL registered-apprenticeship enrollment sits among every tracked jurisdiction
2,400 48th of 51 higher than 3 of 51 states
States and territories, banded by active apprentices
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data · 2026-09-25
Source: U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data, compiled by PlainWorkforce.
Reading Montana's numbers
What stands out in this state's DOL filing, most distinctive first. Every figure below is computed from the state's own row in the dataset.
The signature stat: scale
The defining constraint is scale: 2,400 active apprentices, fewer than 94% of states.
Many small programs
Enrollment is unusually distributed: 122 programs averaging 19.7 apprentices apiece against a 23.6 national norm. A long tail of small sponsors carries the system.
Completion near the average
A 59.1% completion rate holds within two points of the national average (58.2%).
Strong wage progression
Wages move further here than in most states: $14.75/hour at entry to $27.50 at completion, a 86.4% climb versus the 82.7% national norm.
Fast intake pipeline
New registrations are running hot: 640 in the latest fiscal year equals 26.7% of the active base (national pace 25.9%). If completions keep up, this system is compounding.
Montana's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations, ranked by AI-exposure score, most sit well below the 37% occupation-wide average (the dotted line), which is exactly why the trades are AI-resilient. Bars link to the full occupation profile where tracked.
- Electrician 13%
- Operating Engineer 25%
- Plumber 27%
- Carpenter 28%
- HVAC Mechanic -
AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET task data; the 37% line is the average across all 832 tracked occupations. Lower = more AI-resilient.
Frequently asked questions
How many apprentices does Montana have?
About 2,400 active registered apprentices, one of the smaller state totals (rank 48 of 51), in roughly 122 programs.
What is the apprenticeship completion rate in Montana?
Roughly 59.1%, effectively at the national average of 58.2%.
How much do apprentices earn in Montana?
Starting pay averages $14.75/hour and completion pay $27.50 — a 86.4% increase, among the strongest wage progressions of any state.
What are the top apprenticeship trades in Montana?
The dataset's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations for Montana are Electrician, Plumber, Carpenter, Operating Engineer, HVAC Mechanic — construction trades dominate registered apprenticeship in every state.
Is apprenticeship growing in Montana?
The intake numbers say yes: 640 new apprentices registered in the latest fiscal year, 26.7% of the current active base and above the 25.9% national pace.
Compare other states
Put these numbers to use
Use Montana's apprenticeship numbers above to plan a specific trade path, not just compare states.
- Real wage and growth numbers weigh an apprenticeship path against a college degree. Apprenticeships vs college
- Check wage and AI exposure for a specific trade in the full occupation directory. Browse all occupations
- See which occupations are projected to add the most jobs through 2034. Fastest-growing occupations
U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship data is the source here; enrollment and completion both vary by program and year.
Every figure on PlainWorkforce is rendered directly from BLS/O*NET source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Enrollment and wage figures are rounded. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these figures, or report a data error. Data current as of U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship (active apprentices, registered programs, completion rates, and wages by state), O*NET (occupation task data, for the linked AI-exposure scores).