Operations Research Analysts in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,210
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$18,190
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,935
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
$80,400
Kept after tax
$62,210
Worth in national money
$68,935
State rank
33
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for operations research analysts is on the low side in Montana. The middle earner gets $80,400. That is 33 of 47 states, and about 9.6% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Within Montana this is well-paid work. Of 475 occupations with published figures in the state, operations research analysts ranks 98 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $80,400 the take-home is $62,210; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $68,935 would nationally. The average lands at $78,530, below the middle of the range.
- For operations research analysts, Montana sits in the lower band at $80,400, ranking 33 of 47 and trailing the national median by about 9.6%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Ranked against every occupation Montana publishes a median for, operations research analysts sits 98 of 475 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for operations research analysts in Montana, on $80,400, is $62,210 — equivalent to $68,935 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 $78,530 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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: Operations Research Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,930 |
| This salary | $80,400 |
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 | $62,210 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,391 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,643 |
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 | $75,877 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,269 |
| 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 $80,400. The published range is $61,750 up to $99,930, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $62,210, worked from $80,400. 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 98 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $68,935 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 98.
- Reported values are medians; for operations research analysts in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $61,750 to $99,930. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Montana take-home of $62,210, on $80,400 for work ranking 98 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 98 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $68,935, worked from $80,400, 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 98 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $61,750 and the top tenth $99,930, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $68,935 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 $62,210.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($61,750 to $99,930) 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 $68,935 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 $62,210 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.