Food Preparation Workers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,552
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$5,308
15.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,638
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
$33,860
Kept after tax
$28,552
Worth in national money
$31,638
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana sits in the middle of the pack for food preparation workers. The median is $33,860, ranking 29 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Montana, this one sits low: 457 of 475 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $33,860 the take-home is $28,552; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $31,638 would nationally. The average lands at $33,700, below the middle of the range.
- Montana occupies the middle band for food preparation workers: a median of $33,860, ranking 29 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.
- Food preparation workers occupies position 457 of 475 in Montana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for food preparation workers in Montana, on $33,860, is $28,552 — equivalent to $31,638 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 $33,700 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Preparation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $43,410 |
| This salary | $33,860 |
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 | $28,552 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,387 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,398 |
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 | $32,821 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,690 |
| 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 $33,860. The published range is $26,000 up to $43,410, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $28,552 take-home in Montana comes from $33,860. 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 457 of 475.
- Two cautions on $31,638, the adjusted value of that $33,860 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Montana. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 457 of 475 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for food preparation workers in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $26,000 to $43,410. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $28,552, from $33,860, 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 457 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 51 for it.
- This $31,638 adjusted figure, worked from $33,860, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 457 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 457 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $26,000 at the bottom tenth to $43,410 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 $31,638 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 $28,552.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,000 to $43,410) 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 $31,638 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 $28,552 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.