Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,935
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$6,075
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,279
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
$37,010
Kept after tax
$30,935
Worth in national money
$34,279
State rank
25
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 25 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $37,010. 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, this job ranks 433. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $37,010 you keep $30,935 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $34,279 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $40,120, since top earners drag the number up.
- Montana ranks 25 of 49 for farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals at $37,010. 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, farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals ranks 433 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $30,935 after the full tax stack, from $37,010. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,279 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $40,120 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $55,930 |
| This salary | $37,010 |
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 | $30,935 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,918 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,434 |
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 | $35,787 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,734 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,010 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,620 and the ninetieth is $55,930 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $30,935, from $37,010, 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 433 of 475 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,279 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 433.
- The Montana median of $37,010 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,620 to $55,930. 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 $30,935 from $37,010. 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 433 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,279, worked from $37,010, 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 433 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 $40,120, 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 $30,620 at the bottom tenth to $55,930 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 $34,279 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 $30,935.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $40,120. 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 ($30,620 to $55,930) 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 $34,279 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 $30,935 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.