Audio and Video Technicians in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,265
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$8,435
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,402
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
$46,700
Kept after tax
$38,265
Worth in national money
$42,402
State rank
43
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for audio and video technicians is on the low side in Montana. The middle earner gets $46,700. That is 43 of 49 states, and about 19.62% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Audio and video technicians ranks 337 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $46,700 you keep $38,265, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,402 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $49,610, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For audio and video technicians, Montana sits in the lower band at $46,700, ranking 43 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 19.62%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 337 of 475 in Montana places audio and video technicians in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for audio and video technicians on $46,700 is $38,265. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,402 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 $49,610 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Audio and Video Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,660 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,370 |
| This salary | $46,700 |
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 | $38,265 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,703 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,544 |
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 | $44,910 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,868 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Montana earn less than $46,700. The published range is $37,660 up to $65,370, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $38,265, from $46,700, 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 337 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 $42,402 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 337.
- Reported values are medians; for audio and video technicians in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,660 to $65,370. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,265 from $46,700. 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 337 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,402, worked from $46,700, 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 337 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 $49,610 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,660 at the bottom tenth to $65,370 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $42,402.
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 $38,265.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $49,610. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,660 to $65,370) 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 $42,402 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 $38,265 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.