Food Processing Workers, All Other in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,487
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$6,253
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,891
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
$37,740
Kept after tax
$31,487
Worth in national money
$34,891
State rank
35
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is among the lower-paying states for food processing workers, all other. The middle earner takes $37,740, ranking 35 of 46 states — about 4.89% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Montana, this one sits low: 423 of 475 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $37,740 you keep $31,487 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $34,891 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $41,900, since top earners drag the number up.
- Montana ranks 35 of 46 for food processing workers, all other, with a median of $37,740 — about 4.89% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Food processing workers, all other occupies position 423 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $31,487 after the full tax stack, from $37,740. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,891 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $41,900 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,690 |
| This salary | $37,740 |
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 | $31,487 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,504 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,442 |
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 | $36,474 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,744 |
| 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 food processing workers, all other in Montana earn under $37,740 and half over. The published range runs $33,870 at the tenth percentile to $50,690 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $31,487 take-home in Montana comes from $37,740. 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 423 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,891 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 423.
- Figures are distribution medians for food processing workers, all other in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,870 to $50,690; 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.
- Retained pay of $31,487, from $37,740, 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 423 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 35 of 46 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,891, worked from $37,740, 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 423 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 $41,900, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,870 and the top tenth $50,690, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $34,891 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 $31,487.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 $41,900. 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 ($33,870 to $50,690) 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 $34,891 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 $31,487 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.