Mechanical Engineers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,132
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$23,058
24.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,822
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
$94,190
Kept after tax
$71,132
Worth in national money
$78,822
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Montana pays mechanical engineers a middle wage of $94,190, 45 of 51 states and about 9.53% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 475 occupations Montana reports, mechanical engineers comes in at 60 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $94,190 you keep $71,132, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $78,822 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $98,660, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana's $94,190 median for mechanical engineers places it 45 of 51 states, about 9.53% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Mechanical engineers ranks 60 of 475 occupations by median in Montana, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for mechanical engineers on $94,190 is $71,132. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $78,822 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 $98,660 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mechanical Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $94,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $133,270 |
| This salary | $94,190 |
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 | $71,132 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,093 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,546 |
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 | $88,560 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,135 |
| 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 $94,190. The published range is $65,820 up to $133,270, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $71,132, worked from $94,190. 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 60 of 475.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $78,822, the adjusted value of that $94,190 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 60 of 475 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for mechanical engineers in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $65,820 to $133,270. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Montana take-home of $71,132, on $94,190 for work ranking 60 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 60 of 475 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $78,822 — the adjusted value of that $94,190 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 60 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 $98,660 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $65,820 and the top tenth $133,270, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $78,822.
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 $71,132.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $98,660. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($65,820 to $133,270) 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 $78,822 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 $71,132 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.