Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$76,153
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$25,797
25.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$84,385
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
$101,950
Kept after tax
$76,153
Worth in national money
$84,385
State rank
14
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Montana's middle earner gets $101,950, putting the state 14 of 46 — about 1.41% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Montana this is well-paid work. Of 475 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 37 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $101,950 you keep $76,153, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $84,385 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $97,050, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For medical scientists, except epidemiologists, Montana sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $101,950, ranking 14 of 46 and running about 1.41% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Montana publishes a median for, medical scientists, except epidemiologists sits 37 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.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for medical scientists, except epidemiologists on $101,950 is $76,153. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $84,385 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 $97,050 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $101,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $139,770 |
| This salary | $101,950 |
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 | $76,153 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,552 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,492 |
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 | $95,697 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,060 |
| 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 medical scientists, except epidemiologists in Montana earn under $101,950 and half over. The published range runs $63,820 at the tenth percentile to $139,770 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $76,153, from $101,950, 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 37 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 $84,385, the adjusted value of that $101,950 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 37 of 475 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical scientists, except epidemiologists in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $63,820 to $139,770; 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 $76,153 from $101,950. 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 37 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $84,385 — the adjusted value of that $101,950 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 37 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $97,050, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $63,820 and the top tenth $139,770 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $84,385 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 $76,153.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $97,050. 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 ($63,820) and the ninetieth ($139,770) 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 $84,385 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 $76,153 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.