Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,867
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$11,203
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,933
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
$58,070
Kept after tax
$46,867
Worth in national money
$51,933
State rank
7
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $58,070, which ranks 7 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 19.56% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 236.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $58,070 you keep $46,867 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $51,933 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $63,230, since top earners drag the number up.
- Montana ranks 7 of 51 states publishing a median for inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers, at $58,070 — about 19.56% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers sits at 236 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $46,867 after the full tax stack, from $58,070. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $51,933 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $63,230 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $101,260 |
| This salary | $58,070 |
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 | $46,867 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,839 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,674 |
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 | $55,615 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,025 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $58,070 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,470 and the ninetieth is $101,260 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $46,867, from $58,070, 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 236 of 475 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $51,933, the adjusted value of that $58,070 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 236 of 475 locally.
- The Montana median of $58,070 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,470 to $101,260. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $46,867 from $58,070. 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 236 of 475 locally.
- This $51,933 adjusted figure, worked from $58,070, 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 236 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 236 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 $63,230 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 $37,470, the highest tenth $101,260, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $51,933.
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 $46,867.
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 $63,230. 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 ($37,470) and the ninetieth ($101,260) 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 $51,933 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 $46,867 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.