Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,319
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$11,671
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,543
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
$59,990
Kept after tax
$48,319
Worth in national money
$53,543
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 32 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $59,990. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 213.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $59,990 the take-home is $48,319; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $53,543 would nationally. The average comes to $60,940, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana ranks 32 of 51 for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists at $59,990. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists sits at 213 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 bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in Montana, on $59,990, is $48,319 — equivalent to $53,543 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 $60,940 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,700 |
| This salary | $59,990 |
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 | $48,319 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,382 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,696 |
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 | $57,423 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,051 |
| 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 $59,990. The published range is $44,880 up to $77,700, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $48,319, from $59,990, 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 213 of 475 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $53,543, the adjusted value of that $59,990 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 213 of 475 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $44,880 to $77,700. 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 $48,319 from $59,990. 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 213 of 475 locally.
- This $53,543 adjusted figure, worked from $59,990, 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 213 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 213 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $44,880 at the tenth percentile, $77,700 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 $53,543.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Montana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $48,319 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($44,880 to $77,700) 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 $53,543 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 $48,319 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.