Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,349
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$6,531
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,847
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
$38,880
Kept after tax
$32,349
Worth in national money
$35,847
State rank
21
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $38,880, ranking 21 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Montana, this one sits low: 411 of 475 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $38,880 the take-home is $32,349; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $35,847 would nationally. The average comes to $39,060, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana occupies the middle band for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service: a median of $38,880, ranking 21 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service occupies position 411 of 475 in Montana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in Montana, on $38,880, is $32,349 — equivalent to $35,847 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 $39,060 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,110 |
| This salary | $38,880 |
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 | $32,349 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,420 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,455 |
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 | $37,548 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,760 |
| 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 mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in Montana earn under $38,880 and half over. The published range runs $31,200 at the tenth percentile to $46,110 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $32,349 take-home in Montana comes from $38,880. 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 411 of 475.
- Two cautions on $35,847, the adjusted value of that $38,880 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 411 of 475 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,200 to $46,110; 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 $32,349, from $38,880, 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 411 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 21 of 50 for it.
- This $35,847 adjusted figure, worked from $38,880, 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 411 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 411 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,200 at the bottom tenth to $46,110 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $35,847.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Montana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $32,349 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $46,110) 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 $35,847 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 $32,349 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.