Painters, Construction and Maintenance in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,033
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$11,257
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,118
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
$58,290
Kept after tax
$47,033
Worth in national money
$52,118
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is one of the better-paying states for painters, construction and maintenance. The middle earner takes $58,290, which ranks 12 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 18% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Painters, construction and maintenance ranks 235 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,290 you keep $47,033, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $52,118 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $54,700, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Montana ranks 12 of 51 states publishing a median for painters, construction and maintenance, at $58,290 — about 18% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 235 of 475 in Montana places painters, construction and maintenance in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for painters, construction and maintenance on $58,290 is $47,033. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $52,118 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 $54,700 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Painters, Construction and Maintenance
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,510 |
| This salary | $58,290 |
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 | $47,033 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,016 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,677 |
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 | $55,822 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,028 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $58,290 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,160 and the ninetieth is $69,510 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Montana's $47,033, worked from $58,290. 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 235 of 475.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $52,118, the adjusted value of that $58,290 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 235 of 475 in the state.
- The Montana median of $58,290 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,160 to $69,510. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Montana take-home of $47,033, on $58,290 for work ranking 235 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 235 of 475 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $52,118 — the adjusted value of that $58,290 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 235 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $54,700 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,160 and the top tenth $69,510, 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 $52,118 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 $47,033.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $54,700. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,160 to $69,510) 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 $52,118 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 $47,033 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.