Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,346
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$18,264
22.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,086
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
$80,610
Kept after tax
$62,346
Worth in national money
$69,086
State rank
22
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $80,610, ranking 22 of 48 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Montana this is well-paid work. Of 475 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 97 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $80,610 the take-home is $62,346; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $69,086 would nationally. The average comes to $84,960, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana occupies the middle band for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary: a median of $80,610, ranking 22 of 48. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation Montana publishes a median for, mathematical science teachers, postsecondary sits 97 of 475 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary in Montana, on $80,610, is $62,346 — equivalent to $69,086 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 $84,960 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $122,520 |
| This salary | $80,610 |
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 | $62,346 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,539 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,641 |
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 | $76,070 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,267 |
| 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 mathematical science teachers, postsecondary in Montana earn under $80,610 and half over. The published range runs $51,520 at the tenth percentile to $122,520 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $62,346, from $80,610, 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 97 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 $69,086, the adjusted value of that $80,610 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 97 of 475 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,520 to $122,520; 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 $62,346 from $80,610. 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 97 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $69,086 — the adjusted value of that $80,610 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 97 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 $84,960 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $51,520 and the top tenth $122,520 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $69,086 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 $62,346.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $84,960. 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 ($51,520) and the ninetieth ($122,520) 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 $69,086 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 $62,346 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.