Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,052
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$16,468
21.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,436
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
$75,520
Kept after tax
$59,052
Worth in national money
$65,436
State rank
43
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $75,520, ranking 43 of 50 states — about 25.9% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in Montana, this sits in the middle: 132 of 475 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $75,520 you keep $59,052, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $65,436 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $85,330, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana ranks 43 of 50 for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, with a median of $75,520 — about 25.9% 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.
- Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ranks 132 of 475 occupations in Montana by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers on $75,520 is $59,052. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $65,436 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $85,330 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $54,450 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $121,100 |
| This salary | $75,520 |
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 | $59,052 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,958 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,677 |
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 | $71,389 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,316 |
| 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 $75,520. The published range is $54,450 up to $121,100, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $59,052, from $75,520, 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 132 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 $65,436, the adjusted value of that $75,520 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 132 of 475 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $54,450 to $121,100. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,052 from $75,520. 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 132 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $65,436 — the adjusted value of that $75,520 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 132 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $85,330 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $54,450, the highest tenth $121,100, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $65,436 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Montana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $59,052 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $85,330. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($54,450) and the ninetieth ($121,100) 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 $65,436 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 $59,052 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.