Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,981
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$7,699
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,870
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
$43,680
Kept after tax
$35,981
Worth in national money
$39,870
State rank
43
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $43,680, ranking 43 of 48 states — about 20.6% 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: 374 of 475 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $43,680 you keep $35,981 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $39,870 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $52,050, since top earners drag the number up.
- Montana ranks 43 of 48 for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers, with a median of $43,680 — about 20.6% 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.
- Morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers occupies position 374 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $35,981 after the full tax stack, from $43,680. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,870 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $52,050 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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: Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,450 |
| This salary | $43,680 |
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 | $35,981 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,277 |
| 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 | $42,067 |
|---|---|
| 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
- Half the people doing this work in Montana earn less than $43,680. The published range is $35,040 up to $79,450, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $35,981, from $43,680, 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 374 of 475 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,870 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 374.
- Reported values are medians; for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,040 to $79,450. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $35,981 from $43,680. 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 374 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,870, worked from $43,680, 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 374 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $52,050, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $35,040 at the bottom tenth to $79,450 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $39,870.
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, $35,981 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 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 $52,050. 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 ($35,040) and the ninetieth ($79,450) 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 $39,870 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 $35,981 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.