Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,119
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$18,141
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,835
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
$80,260
Kept after tax
$62,119
Worth in national money
$68,835
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 24 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $80,260. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Montana this is well-paid work. Of 475 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 99 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $80,260 you keep $62,119 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $68,835 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $85,240, since top earners drag the number up.
- Montana ranks 24 of 51 for environmental scientists and specialists, including health at $80,260. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Montana publishes a median for, environmental scientists and specialists, including health sits 99 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $62,119 after the full tax stack, from $80,260. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $68,835 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $85,240 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $124,800 |
| This salary | $80,260 |
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 | $62,119 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,293 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,644 |
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 | $75,749 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,270 |
| 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 $80,260. The published range is $64,290 up to $124,800, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $62,119 take-home in Montana comes from $80,260. 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 99 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $68,835 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 99.
- Reported values are medians; for environmental scientists and specialists, including health in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $64,290 to $124,800. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $62,119, from $80,260, 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 99 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 24 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $68,835, worked from $80,260, 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 99 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 $85,240, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $64,290 at the bottom tenth to $124,800 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $68,835 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 $62,119.
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 $85,240. 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 ($64,290) and the ninetieth ($124,800) 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 $68,835 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 $62,119 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.