Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,450
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$9,460
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,931
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
$50,910
Kept after tax
$41,450
Worth in national money
$45,931
State rank
34
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Montana pays this job a middle wage of $50,910, 34 of 46 states and about 32.11% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 279 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $50,910 you keep $41,450, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $45,931 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $47,260, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Montana's $50,910 median for camera operators, television, video, and film places it 34 of 46 states, about 32.11% 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 279 of 475 in Montana places camera operators, television, video, and film 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 camera operators, television, video, and film on $50,910 is $41,450. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $45,931 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 $47,260 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,620 |
| This salary | $50,910 |
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 | $41,450 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,086 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,592 |
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 | $48,874 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,926 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $50,910 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $26,100 and the ninetieth is $65,620 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $41,450, from $50,910, 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 279 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 $45,931 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 279.
- The Montana median of $50,910 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $26,100 to $65,620. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $41,450 from $50,910. 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 279 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,931, worked from $50,910, 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 279 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $47,260, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $26,100 and the top tenth $65,620 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Montana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $45,931 in national terms.
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 $41,450 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 $47,260. 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 ($26,100) and the ninetieth ($65,620) 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 $45,931 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 $41,450 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.