Curators in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,136
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$10,324
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,907
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
$54,460
Kept after tax
$44,136
Worth in national money
$48,907
State rank
41
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is among the lower-paying states for curators. The middle earner takes $54,460, ranking 41 of 49 states — about 14.13% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Curators ranks 264 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $54,460 the take-home is $44,136; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $48,907 would nationally. The average comes to $55,260, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana ranks 41 of 49 for curators, with a median of $54,460 — about 14.13% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 264 of 475 in Montana places curators in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for curators in Montana, on $54,460, is $44,136 — equivalent to $48,907 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 $55,260 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Curators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $88,910 |
| This salary | $54,460 |
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 | $44,136 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,939 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,633 |
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 | $52,216 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,975 |
| 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 curators in Montana earn under $54,460 and half over. The published range runs $37,760 at the tenth percentile to $88,910 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $44,136, worked from $54,460. 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 264 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $48,907 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 264.
- Figures are distribution medians for curators in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,760 to $88,910; 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.
- The Montana take-home of $44,136, on $54,460 for work ranking 264 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 264 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $48,907, worked from $54,460, 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 264 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $37,760 and the top tenth $88,910 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $48,907.
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 $44,136.
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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($37,760) and the ninetieth ($88,910) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $48,907 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 $44,136 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.