Dentists, General in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$117,461
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$49,739
29.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$130,160
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
$167,200
Kept after tax
$117,461
Worth in national money
$130,160
State rank
29
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana sits in the middle of the pack for dentists, general. The median is $167,200, ranking 29 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Montana this is well-paid work. Of 475 occupations with published figures in the state, dentists, general ranks 5 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $167,200 the take-home is $117,461; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $130,160 would nationally. The average comes to $168,460, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana occupies the middle band for dentists, general: a median of $167,200, ranking 29 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation Montana publishes a median for, dentists, general sits 5 of 475 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for dentists, general in Montana, on $167,200, is $117,461 — equivalent to $130,160 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 $168,460 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dentists, General
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $167,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $230,580 |
| This salary | $167,200 |
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 | $117,461 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $125,547 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$963 |
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 | $155,370 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,369 |
| 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 $167,200. The published range is $63,710 up to $230,580, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $117,461 take-home in Montana comes from $167,200. 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 5 of 475.
- Two cautions on $130,160, the adjusted value of that $167,200 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Montana. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 5 of 475 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for dentists, general in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,710 to $230,580. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $117,461, from $167,200, 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 5 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 47 for it.
- This $130,160 adjusted figure, worked from $167,200, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 5 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 5 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 $63,710 and the top tenth $230,580 — 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 $130,160.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Montana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $117,461 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 ($63,710) and the ninetieth ($230,580) 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 $130,160 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 $117,461 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.