Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,213
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$4,877
15.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,155
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
$32,090
Kept after tax
$27,213
Worth in national money
$30,155
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 31 of 51 states for food servers, nonrestaurant, with a middle wage of $32,090. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against 475 occupations Montana publishes, food servers, nonrestaurant lands at 462. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $32,090 the take-home is $27,213; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $30,155 would nationally. The average comes to $32,400, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana ranks 31 of 51 for food servers, nonrestaurant at $32,090. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Montana, this work ranks 462 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.
- Post-tax income for food servers, nonrestaurant in Montana, on $32,090, is $27,213 — equivalent to $30,155 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 $32,400 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $32,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $38,210 |
| This salary | $32,090 |
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 | $27,213 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,964 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,377 |
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 | $31,155 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,666 |
| 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 servers, nonrestaurant in Montana earn under $32,090 and half over. The published range runs $23,010 at the tenth percentile to $38,210 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $27,213 take-home in Montana comes from $32,090. 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 462 of 475.
- Two cautions on $30,155, the adjusted value of that $32,090 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 462 of 475 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for food servers, nonrestaurant in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $23,010 to $38,210; 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 $27,213, from $32,090, 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 462 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 31 of 51 for it.
- This $30,155 adjusted figure, worked from $32,090, 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 462 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 462 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $23,010 at the bottom tenth to $38,210 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $30,155.
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 $27,213.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($23,010 to $38,210) 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 $30,155 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 $27,213 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.