Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,522
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$12,058
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,876
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
$61,580
Kept after tax
$49,522
Worth in national money
$54,876
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Montana pays this job around $61,580 at the midpoint, 24 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against other work in Montana, this sits in the middle: 191 of 475 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $61,580 you keep $49,522, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,876 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $63,350, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators the Montana median is $61,580, ranking 24 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators ranks 191 of 475 occupations in Montana by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators on $61,580 is $49,522. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,876 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 $63,350 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,880 |
| This salary | $61,580 |
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 | $49,522 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,660 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,714 |
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 | $58,920 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,073 |
| 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 operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Montana earn under $61,580 and half over. The published range runs $48,130 at the tenth percentile to $79,880 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $49,522, from $61,580, 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 191 of 475 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $54,876, the adjusted value of that $61,580 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Montana. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 191 of 475 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,130 to $79,880; 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 $49,522 from $61,580. 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 191 of 475 locally.
- This $54,876 adjusted figure, worked from $61,580, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 191 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 191 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $48,130 at the tenth percentile, $79,880 at the ninetieth.
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 $54,876 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 $49,522.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,130 to $79,880) 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 $54,876 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 $49,522 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.