Animal Trainers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,737
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$7,943
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,709
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
$44,680
Kept after tax
$36,737
Worth in national money
$40,709
State rank
12
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for animal trainers is strong here. Montana's middle earner gets $44,680, putting the state 12 of 47 — about 11.73% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Montana, this one sits low: 362 of 475 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $44,680 you keep $36,737, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $40,709 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $44,260, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For animal trainers, Montana sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $44,680, ranking 12 of 47 and running about 11.73% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Animal trainers occupies position 362 of 475 in Montana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for animal trainers on $44,680 is $36,737. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $40,709 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $44,260 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Animal Trainers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,860 |
| This salary | $44,680 |
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 | $36,737 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,080 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,521 |
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 | $43,008 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,840 |
| 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 animal trainers in Montana earn under $44,680 and half over. The published range runs $33,060 at the tenth percentile to $57,860 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $36,737, from $44,680, 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 362 of 475 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $40,709 uses one figure for the whole of Montana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 475 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 362.
- Figures are distribution medians for animal trainers in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,060 to $57,860; 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 $36,737 from $44,680. 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 362 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $40,709, worked from $44,680, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Montana address, on work sitting at 362 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $33,060 at the tenth percentile, $57,860 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $40,709.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Montana's own levy, $36,737 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,060 to $57,860) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Montana rather than a national figure.
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 $40,709 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 $36,737 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.