Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,463
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$8,177
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,513
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
$45,640
Kept after tax
$37,463
Worth in national money
$41,513
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Montana pays this job a middle wage of $45,640, 39 of 51 states and about 22.71% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 351 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $45,640 you keep $37,463 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $41,513 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $46,760, since top earners drag the number up.
- Montana's $45,640 median for bus drivers, transit and intercity places it 39 of 51 states, about 22.71% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 351 of 475 in Montana places bus drivers, transit and intercity 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $37,463 after the full tax stack, from $45,640. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $41,513 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $46,760 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,640 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,380 |
| This salary | $45,640 |
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 | $37,463 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,852 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,532 |
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 | $43,912 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,853 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,640 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,920 and the ninetieth is $57,380 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $37,463, worked from $45,640. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 351 of 475.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $41,513, the adjusted value of that $45,640 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 351 of 475 in the state.
- The Montana median of $45,640 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,920 to $57,380. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Montana take-home of $37,463, on $45,640 for work ranking 351 of 475 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 351 of 475 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $41,513 — the adjusted value of that $45,640 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 351 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,920 at the bottom tenth to $57,380 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 $41,513.
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 $37,463.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,920 to $57,380) 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 $41,513 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 $37,463 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.