Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,476
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$12,694
19.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,041
Montana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Montana — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$64,170
Kept after tax
$51,476
Worth in national money
$57,041
State rank
45
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Montana. The middle earner gets $64,170. That is 45 of 50 states, and about 19.66% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 167.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $64,170 the take-home is $51,476; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $57,041 would nationally. The average comes to $71,970, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For aircraft mechanics and service technicians, Montana sits in the lower band at $64,170, ranking 45 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 19.66%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, aircraft mechanics and service technicians sits at 167 of 475 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for aircraft mechanics and service technicians in Montana, on $64,170, is $51,476 — equivalent to $57,041 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $71,970 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $97,200 |
| This salary | $64,170 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Montana | $51,476 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,741 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,738 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $61,351 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,102 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of aircraft mechanics and service technicians in Montana earn under $64,170 and half over. The published range runs $47,100 at the tenth percentile to $97,200 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $51,476, from $64,170, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 167 of 475 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $57,041, the adjusted value of that $64,170 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Montana. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 167 of 475 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for aircraft mechanics and service technicians in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,100 to $97,200; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $51,476 from $64,170. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 167 of 475 locally.
- This $57,041 adjusted figure, worked from $64,170, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 167 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 167 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $71,970 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $47,100 at the bottom tenth to $97,200 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Montana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $57,041 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Montana then takes its own share, leaving $51,476.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Montana is $71,970. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($47,100) and the ninetieth ($97,200) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Montana's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $57,041 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $51,476 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Montana income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.