Firefighters in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,805
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$11,505
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,973
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
$59,310
Kept after tax
$47,805
Worth in national money
$52,973
State rank
19
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Montana pays firefighters around $59,310 at the midpoint, 19 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 219.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $59,310 the take-home is $47,805; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $52,973 would nationally. The average lands at $57,660, below the middle of the range.
- For firefighters the Montana median is $59,310, ranking 19 of 50 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, firefighters sits at 219 of 475 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for firefighters in Montana, on $59,310, is $47,805 — equivalent to $52,973 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $57,660 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Firefighters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,310 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,620 |
| This salary | $59,310 |
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 | $47,805 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,836 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,688 |
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 | $56,782 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,042 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of firefighters in Montana earn under $59,310 and half over. The published range runs $32,810 at the tenth percentile to $76,620 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $47,805, from $59,310, 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 219 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 $52,973 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 219.
- Figures are distribution medians for firefighters in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $32,810 to $76,620; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $47,805 from $59,310. 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 219 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,973, worked from $59,310, 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 219 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $32,810, the highest tenth $76,620, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $52,973.
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, $47,805 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($32,810) and the ninetieth ($76,620) 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 $52,973 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 $47,805 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.