Library Assistants, Clerical in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,493
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$6,577
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,006
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
$39,070
Kept after tax
$32,493
Worth in national money
$36,006
State rank
13
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for library assistants, clerical is strong here. Montana's middle earner gets $39,070, putting the state 13 of 50 — about 5.85% ahead of the national figure.
- Against 475 occupations Montana publishes, library assistants, clerical lands at 408. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $39,070 you keep $32,493 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $36,006 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $38,010.
- For library assistants, clerical, Montana sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $39,070, ranking 13 of 50 and running about 5.85% 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 408 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $32,493 after the full tax stack, from $39,070. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,006 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $38,010 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Library Assistants, Clerical
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,010 |
| This salary | $39,070 |
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 | $32,493 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,573 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,457 |
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 | $37,726 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,762 |
| 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 library assistants, clerical in Montana earn under $39,070 and half over. The published range runs $27,190 at the tenth percentile to $45,010 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $32,493, worked from $39,070. 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 408 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,006 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 408.
- Figures are distribution medians for library assistants, clerical in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $27,190 to $45,010; 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.
- The Montana take-home of $32,493, on $39,070 for work ranking 408 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 408 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,006, worked from $39,070, 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 408 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $27,190 and the top tenth $45,010, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Montana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $36,006 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $32,493.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($27,190 to $45,010) 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 $36,006 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 $32,493 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.