Legal Support Workers, All Other in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,187
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$10,663
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,072
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
$55,850
Kept after tax
$45,187
Worth in national money
$50,072
State rank
40
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is among the lower-paying states for legal support workers, all other. The middle earner takes $55,850, ranking 40 of 45 states — about 22.55% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 257.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $55,850 you keep $45,187, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $50,072 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $73,120, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana ranks 40 of 45 for legal support workers, all other, with a median of $55,850 — about 22.55% 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.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, legal support workers, all other sits at 257 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 legal support workers, all other on $55,850 is $45,187. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $50,072 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 $73,120 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Legal Support Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $155,080 |
| This salary | $55,850 |
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 | $45,187 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,055 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,649 |
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 | $53,525 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,994 |
| 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 legal support workers, all other in Montana earn under $55,850 and half over. The published range runs $44,490 at the tenth percentile to $155,080 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $45,187, from $55,850, 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 257 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 $50,072, the adjusted value of that $55,850 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 257 of 475 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for legal support workers, all other in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $44,490 to $155,080; 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.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $45,187 from $55,850. 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 257 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $50,072 — the adjusted value of that $55,850 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 257 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 $73,120 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 $44,490, the highest tenth $155,080, 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 $50,072 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Montana's own levy, $45,187 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $73,120. 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 ($44,490) and the ninetieth ($155,080) 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 $50,072 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 $45,187 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.