Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,393
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$12,017
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,733
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
$61,410
Kept after tax
$49,393
Worth in national money
$54,733
State rank
33
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 33 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $61,410. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Montana, this sits in the middle: 194 of 475 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $61,410 you keep $49,393 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $54,733 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $61,730, since top earners drag the number up.
- Montana ranks 33 of 50 for civil engineering technologists and technicians at $61,410. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Civil engineering technologists and technicians ranks 194 of 475 occupations in Montana by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in Montana is $49,393 after the full tax stack, from $61,410. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $54,733 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $61,730 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,750 |
| This salary | $61,410 |
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 | $49,393 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,523 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,712 |
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 | $58,760 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,071 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of civil engineering technologists and technicians in Montana earn under $61,410 and half over. The published range runs $47,910 at the tenth percentile to $78,750 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $49,393, from $61,410, 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 194 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 $54,733 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 194.
- Figures are distribution medians for civil engineering technologists and technicians in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,910 to $78,750; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,393 from $61,410. 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 194 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,733, worked from $61,410, 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 194 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,910 and the top tenth $78,750, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Montana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $54,733 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $49,393.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 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 ($47,910 to $78,750) 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 $54,733 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 $49,393 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.