Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$56,432
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$15,038
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,533
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
$71,470
Kept after tax
$56,432
Worth in national money
$62,533
State rank
5
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Montana pays earth drillers, except oil and gas a middle wage of $71,470, ranking 5 of 48 states and sitting about 18.74% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Montana, this sits in the middle: 150 of 475 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $71,470 you keep $56,432, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $62,533 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $72,910, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana's median for earth drillers, except oil and gas is $71,470, about 18.74% above the national figure and 5 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas ranks 150 of 475 occupations in Montana by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for earth drillers, except oil and gas on $71,470 is $56,432. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $62,533 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 $72,910 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $71,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,280 |
| This salary | $71,470 |
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 | $56,432 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,109 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,705 |
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 | $67,665 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,355 |
| 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 $71,470. The published range is $60,110 up to $104,280, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $56,432, from $71,470, 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 150 of 475 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $62,533, the adjusted value of that $71,470 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 150 of 475 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for earth drillers, except oil and gas in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,110 to $104,280. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $56,432 from $71,470. 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 150 of 475 locally.
- This $62,533 adjusted figure, worked from $71,470, 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 150 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 150 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $60,110 at the tenth percentile, $104,280 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Montana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $62,533 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $56,432 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 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($60,110 to $104,280) 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 $62,533 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 $56,432 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.