Cargo and Freight Agents in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,752
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$11,488
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,914
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
$59,240
Kept after tax
$47,752
Worth in national money
$52,914
State rank
10
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is one of the better-paying states for cargo and freight agents. The middle earner takes $59,240, which ranks 10 of 48 states with published figures. That is about 13.36% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 220.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $59,240 you keep $47,752 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $52,914 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $59,180.
- Montana ranks 10 of 48 states publishing a median for cargo and freight agents, at $59,240 — about 13.36% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, cargo and freight agents sits at 220 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $47,752 after the full tax stack, from $59,240. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $52,914 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $59,180 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Cargo and Freight Agents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,270 |
| This salary | $59,240 |
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 | $47,752 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,779 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,688 |
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 | $56,717 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,041 |
| 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 $59,240. The published range is $39,380 up to $80,270, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $47,752 take-home in Montana comes from $59,240. 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 220 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,914 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 220.
- Reported values are medians; for cargo and freight agents in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,380 to $80,270. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $47,752, from $59,240, 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 220 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 10 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,914, worked from $59,240, 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 220 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,380 and the top tenth $80,270, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $52,914 in national terms.
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 $47,752.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,380 to $80,270) 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 $52,914 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 $47,752 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.