Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,102
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$7,738
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,004
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
$43,840
Kept after tax
$36,102
Worth in national money
$40,004
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Montana's middle earner gets $43,840, putting the state 14 of 51 — about 8.95% ahead of the national figure.
- Against 475 occupations Montana publishes, this job lands at 371. 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 $43,840 the take-home is $36,102; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $40,004 would nationally. The average lands at $42,680, below the middle of the range.
- For laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand, Montana sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $43,840, ranking 14 of 51 and running about 8.95% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Within Montana, this work ranks 371 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 laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand in Montana, on $43,840, is $36,102 — equivalent to $40,004 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 $42,680 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $53,160 |
| This salary | $43,840 |
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 | $36,102 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,405 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,512 |
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 | $42,217 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,828 |
| 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 $43,840. The published range is $32,400 up to $53,160, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $36,102 take-home in Montana comes from $43,840. 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 371 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $40,004 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 371.
- Reported values are medians; for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $32,400 to $53,160. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $36,102, from $43,840, 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 371 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 14 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $40,004, worked from $43,840, 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 371 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $32,400 at the bottom tenth to $53,160 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $40,004 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 $36,102.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($32,400 to $53,160) 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 $40,004 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 $36,102 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.