Civil Engineers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$70,407
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$22,663
24.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,019
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
$93,070
Kept after tax
$70,407
Worth in national money
$78,019
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for civil engineers is on the low side in Montana. The middle earner gets $93,070. That is 44 of 51 states, and about 7.71% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Montana. It ranks 62 out of 475 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $93,070 the take-home is $70,407; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $78,019 would nationally. The average lands at $92,650, below the middle of the range.
- For civil engineers, Montana sits in the lower band at $93,070, ranking 44 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 7.71%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Montana, civil engineers ranks 62 of 475 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for civil engineers in Montana, on $93,070, is $70,407 — equivalent to $78,019 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 $92,650 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Civil Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $93,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,020 |
| This salary | $93,070 |
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 | $70,407 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $74,305 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,554 |
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 | $87,530 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,146 |
| 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 $93,070. The published range is $62,230 up to $129,020, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $70,407, worked from $93,070. 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 62 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $78,019 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 62.
- Reported values are medians; for civil engineers in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $62,230 to $129,020. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Montana take-home of $70,407, on $93,070 for work ranking 62 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 62 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $78,019, worked from $93,070, 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 62 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $62,230 at the bottom tenth to $129,020 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $78,019 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $70,407 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($62,230 to $129,020) 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 $78,019 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 $70,407 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.