Education Administrators, Postsecondary in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$76,819
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$26,161
25.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$85,124
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
$102,980
Kept after tax
$76,819
Worth in national money
$85,124
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $102,980, ranking 31 of 51 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, this job ranks 36 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $102,980 you keep $76,819, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $85,124 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $119,670, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana occupies the middle band for education administrators, postsecondary: a median of $102,980, ranking 31 of 51. 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, education administrators, postsecondary sits 36 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.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for education administrators, postsecondary on $102,980 is $76,819. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $85,124 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 $119,670 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Education Administrators, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $66,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $102,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $174,190 |
| This salary | $102,980 |
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 | $76,819 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $81,276 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,484 |
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 | $96,644 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,050 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $102,980 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $66,940 and the ninetieth is $174,190 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $76,819, from $102,980, 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 36 of 475 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $85,124, the adjusted value of that $102,980 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 36 of 475 in the state.
- The Montana median of $102,980 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $66,940 to $174,190. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $76,819 from $102,980. 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 36 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $85,124 — the adjusted value of that $102,980 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 36 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 $119,670, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $66,940 and the top tenth $174,190 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $85,124 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $76,819.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $119,670. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($66,940) and the ninetieth ($174,190) 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 $85,124 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 $76,819 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.