Dietetic Technicians in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,227
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$6,813
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,819
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
$40,040
Kept after tax
$33,227
Worth in national money
$36,819
State rank
18
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 18 of 45 states for dietetic technicians, with a middle wage of $40,040. 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, dietetic technicians ranks 403. 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 $40,040 you keep $33,227, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,819 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $43,150, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana ranks 18 of 45 for dietetic technicians at $40,040. 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, dietetic technicians ranks 403 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 dietetic technicians on $40,040 is $33,227. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,819 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 $43,150 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Dietetic Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,790 |
| This salary | $40,040 |
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 | $33,227 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,352 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,468 |
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 | $38,640 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,776 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $40,040 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,060 and the ninetieth is $47,790 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $33,227, worked from $40,040. 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 403 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,819 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 403.
- The Montana median of $40,040 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,060 to $47,790. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Montana take-home of $33,227, on $40,040 for work ranking 403 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 403 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,819, worked from $40,040, 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 403 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $43,150, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,060 at the bottom tenth to $47,790 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 $36,819 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 $33,227.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Montana is $43,150. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,060 to $47,790) 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 $36,819 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 $33,227 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.