Human Resources Specialists in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,192
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$12,598
19.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,726
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
$63,790
Kept after tax
$51,192
Worth in national money
$56,726
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Montana pays human resources specialists a middle wage of $63,790, 46 of 51 states and about 16% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 171.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $63,790 you keep $51,192, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $56,726 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $71,430, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana's $63,790 median for human resources specialists places it 46 of 51 states, about 16% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, human resources specialists sits at 171 of 475 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for human resources specialists on $63,790 is $51,192. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $56,726 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 $71,430 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Human Resources Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $108,180 |
| This salary | $63,790 |
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 | $51,192 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,435 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,738 |
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 | $60,998 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,101 |
| 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 human resources specialists in Montana earn under $63,790 and half over. The published range runs $44,990 at the tenth percentile to $108,180 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $51,192 take-home in Montana comes from $63,790. 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 171 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $56,726 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 171.
- Figures are distribution medians for human resources specialists in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $44,990 to $108,180; 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 $51,192, from $63,790, 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 171 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $56,726, worked from $63,790, 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 171 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $71,430, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $44,990 at the bottom tenth to $108,180 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $56,726 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 $51,192.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $71,430. 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 ($44,990) and the ninetieth ($108,180) 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 $56,726 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 $51,192 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.