Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,271
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$7,149
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,976
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
$41,420
Kept after tax
$34,271
Worth in national money
$37,976
State rank
27
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 27 of 48 states for this job, with a middle wage of $41,420. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Montana this is lower-paid work. Of 475 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 393. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $41,420 you keep $34,271, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,976 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $41,550, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana ranks 27 of 48 for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters at $41,420. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Montana reports, helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters ranks 393 of 475, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on $41,420 is $34,271. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,976 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 $41,550 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,550 |
| This salary | $41,420 |
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 | $34,271 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,461 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,484 |
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 | $39,939 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,795 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $41,420 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,440 and the ninetieth is $47,550 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $34,271, worked from $41,420. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 393 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,976 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 393.
- The Montana median of $41,420 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,440 to $47,550. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Montana take-home of $34,271, on $41,420 for work ranking 393 of 475 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 393 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,976, worked from $41,420, 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 393 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,440 at the tenth percentile, $47,550 at the ninetieth.
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 $37,976 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 $34,271.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,440 to $47,550) 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 $37,976 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 $34,271 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.