Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,688
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$10,502
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,519
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
$55,190
Kept after tax
$44,688
Worth in national money
$49,519
State rank
49
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Montana. The middle earner gets $55,190. That is 49 of 49 states, and about 16.72% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 260.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $55,190 the take-home is $44,688; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $49,519 would nationally. The average comes to $61,610, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For career/technical education teachers, secondary school, Montana sits in the lower band at $55,190, ranking 49 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 16.72%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, career/technical education teachers, secondary school sits at 260 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 career/technical education teachers, secondary school in Montana, on $55,190, is $44,688 — equivalent to $49,519 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 $61,610 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $85,290 |
| This salary | $55,190 |
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 | $44,688 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,525 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,641 |
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 | $52,903 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,985 |
| 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 $55,190. The published range is $45,690 up to $85,290, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $44,688 take-home in Montana comes from $55,190. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 260 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,519 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 260.
- Reported values are medians; for career/technical education teachers, secondary school in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,690 to $85,290. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $44,688, from $55,190, assumes a single Montana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 260 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 49 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,519, worked from $55,190, 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 260 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 $61,610, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $45,690 at the bottom tenth to $85,290 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $49,519 in national terms.
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, $44,688 remains.
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 $61,610. 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 ($45,690 to $85,290) 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 $49,519 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 $44,688 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.