Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,158
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$8,722
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,391
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
$47,880
Kept after tax
$39,158
Worth in national money
$43,391
State rank
24
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $47,880, ranking 24 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 312.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,880 the take-home is $39,158; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,391 would nationally. The average comes to $49,300, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana occupies the middle band for outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics: a median of $47,880, ranking 24 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics sits at 312 of 475 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics in Montana, on $47,880, is $39,158 — equivalent to $43,391 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 $49,300 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,020 |
| This salary | $47,880 |
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 | $39,158 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,652 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,558 |
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 | $46,021 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,884 |
| 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 outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics in Montana earn under $47,880 and half over. The published range runs $35,360 at the tenth percentile to $63,020 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $39,158 take-home in Montana comes from $47,880. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 312 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,391 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 312.
- Figures are distribution medians for outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,360 to $63,020; 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.
- Retained pay of $39,158, from $47,880, assumes a single Montana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 312 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 24 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,391, worked from $47,880, 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 312 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,360 at the bottom tenth to $63,020 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $43,391 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $39,158 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 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 ($35,360 to $63,020) 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 $43,391 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 $39,158 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.