File Clerks in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,964
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$6,406
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,419
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
$38,370
Kept after tax
$31,964
Worth in national money
$35,419
State rank
42
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for file clerks is on the low side in Montana. The middle earner gets $38,370. That is 42 of 49 states, and about 12% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 475 occupations Montana publishes, file clerks lands at 416. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $38,370 you keep $31,964 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $35,419 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $38,250.
- For file clerks, Montana sits in the lower band at $38,370, ranking 42 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 12%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Montana, this work ranks 416 of 475 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay in Montana is $31,964 after the full tax stack, from $38,370. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,419 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $38,250 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: File Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $25,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,660 |
| This salary | $38,370 |
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 | $31,964 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,010 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,449 |
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 | $37,067 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,753 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,370 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $25,150 and the ninetieth is $49,660 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $31,964, from $38,370, 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 416 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 $35,419, the adjusted value of that $38,370 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 416 of 475 in the state.
- The Montana median of $38,370 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $25,150 to $49,660. 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 $31,964 from $38,370. 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 416 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $35,419 — the adjusted value of that $38,370 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 416 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $25,150 and the top tenth $49,660, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $35,419.
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, $31,964 remains.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($25,150 to $49,660) 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 $35,419 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 $31,964 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.