Cooks, Restaurant in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,729
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$6,331
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,159
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
$38,060
Kept after tax
$31,729
Worth in national money
$35,159
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 18 of 51 states for cooks, restaurant, with a middle wage of $38,060. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Montana this is lower-paid work. Of 475 occupations the state publishes figures for, cooks, restaurant ranks 420. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,060 you keep $31,729, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $35,159 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $38,980, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana ranks 18 of 51 for cooks, restaurant at $38,060. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Montana reports, cooks, restaurant ranks 420 of 475, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for cooks, restaurant on $38,060 is $31,729. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $35,159 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 $38,980 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cooks, Restaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,670 |
| This salary | $38,060 |
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 | $31,729 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,761 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,446 |
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 | $36,775 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,748 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,060 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $29,380 and the ninetieth is $47,670 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $31,729, from $38,060, 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 420 of 475 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,159, the adjusted value of that $38,060 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 420 of 475 in the state.
- The Montana median of $38,060 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $29,380 to $47,670. 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 $31,729 from $38,060. 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 420 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $35,159 — the adjusted value of that $38,060 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 420 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $29,380 at the bottom tenth to $47,670 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 $35,159 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 $31,729.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,380 to $47,670) 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 $35,159 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 $31,729 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.