Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,598
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$8,542
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,771
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
$47,140
Kept after tax
$38,598
Worth in national money
$42,771
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Montana pays this job a middle wage of $47,140, 42 of 51 states and about 6.36% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 328 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $47,140 you keep $38,598, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,771 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $52,020, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana's $47,140 median for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance places it 42 of 51 states, about 6.36% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 328 of 475 in Montana places dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance 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.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance on $47,140 is $38,598. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,771 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 $52,020 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $67,440 |
| This salary | $47,140 |
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 | $38,598 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,057 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,549 |
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 | $45,324 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,874 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,140 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,230 and the ninetieth is $67,440 — 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 $38,598, worked from $47,140. 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 328 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,771 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 328.
- The Montana median of $47,140 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,230 to $67,440. 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 $38,598, on $47,140 for work ranking 328 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 328 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,771, worked from $47,140, 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 328 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $52,020, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,230 at the bottom tenth to $67,440 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 $42,771 in national terms.
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, $38,598 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.
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 $52,020. 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 ($36,230 to $67,440) 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 $42,771 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 $38,598 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.