Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,996
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$7,704
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,887
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
$43,700
Kept after tax
$35,996
Worth in national money
$39,887
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Montana pays this job a middle wage of $43,700, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 10.94% above the national middle.
- Within Montana this is lower-paid work. Of 475 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 373. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $43,700 the take-home is $35,996; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $39,887 would nationally. The average comes to $45,290, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana's median for merchandise displayers and window trimmers is $43,700, about 10.94% above the national figure and 8 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Against every occupation Montana reports, merchandise displayers and window trimmers ranks 373 of 475, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for merchandise displayers and window trimmers in Montana, on $43,700, is $35,996 — equivalent to $39,887 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 $45,290 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,280 |
| This salary | $43,700 |
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 | $35,996 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,293 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,510 |
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 | $42,086 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,826 |
| 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 merchandise displayers and window trimmers in Montana earn under $43,700 and half over. The published range runs $34,960 at the tenth percentile to $62,280 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $35,996, worked from $43,700. 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 373 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,887 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 373.
- Figures are distribution medians for merchandise displayers and window trimmers in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,960 to $62,280; 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.
- The Montana take-home of $35,996, on $43,700 for work ranking 373 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 373 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,887, worked from $43,700, 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 373 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 $45,290, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $34,960 at the tenth percentile, $62,280 at the ninetieth.
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 $39,887 in national terms.
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, $35,996 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 $45,290. 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 ($34,960 to $62,280) 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 $39,887 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 $35,996 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.