Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,934
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$8,006
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,927
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
$44,940
Kept after tax
$36,934
Worth in national money
$40,927
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 27 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $44,940. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Montana this is lower-paid work. Of 475 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 361. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $44,940 you keep $36,934 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $40,927 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $45,150, since top earners drag the number up.
- Montana ranks 27 of 51 for miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators at $44,940. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Montana reports, miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators ranks 361 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $36,934 after the full tax stack, from $44,940. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $40,927 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $45,150 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,940 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,340 |
| This salary | $44,940 |
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 | $36,934 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,289 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,524 |
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 | $43,253 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,843 |
| 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 miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators in Montana earn under $44,940 and half over. The published range runs $35,050 at the tenth percentile to $59,340 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 $36,934, worked from $44,940. 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 361 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $40,927 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 361.
- Figures are distribution medians for miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,050 to $59,340; 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 $36,934, on $44,940 for work ranking 361 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 361 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $40,927, worked from $44,940, 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 361 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,050 and the top tenth $59,340, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $40,927 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Montana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,934 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,050 to $59,340) 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 $40,927 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 $36,934 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.