Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,100
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$8,060
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,111
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
$45,160
Kept after tax
$37,100
Worth in national money
$41,111
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $45,160, ranking 46 of 51 states — about 25.08% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Montana, this one sits low: 358 of 475 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $45,160 the take-home is $37,100; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $41,111 would nationally. The average comes to $52,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana ranks 46 of 51 for mental health and substance abuse social workers, with a median of $45,160 — about 25.08% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Mental health and substance abuse social workers occupies position 358 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 mental health and substance abuse social workers in Montana, on $45,160, is $37,100 — equivalent to $41,111 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 $52,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,390 |
| This salary | $45,160 |
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 | $37,100 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,466 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,527 |
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 | $43,460 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,846 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,160 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,960 and the ninetieth is $82,390 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $37,100, worked from $45,160. 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 358 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,111 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 358.
- The Montana median of $45,160 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,960 to $82,390. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Montana take-home of $37,100, on $45,160 for work ranking 358 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 358 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,111, worked from $45,160, 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 358 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 $52,180 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 $37,960 and the top tenth $82,390 — 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 $41,111 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Montana's own levy, $37,100 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $52,180. 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 ($37,960) and the ninetieth ($82,390) 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 $41,111 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 $37,100 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.