Paralegals and Legal Assistants in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,277
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$11,013
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,279
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
$57,290
Kept after tax
$46,277
Worth in national money
$51,279
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Montana. The middle earner gets $57,290. That is 40 of 51 states, and about 8.9% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 247 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $57,290 you keep $46,277 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $51,279 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $58,930, since top earners drag the number up.
- For paralegals and legal assistants, Montana sits in the lower band at $57,290, ranking 40 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 8.9%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 247 of 475 in Montana places paralegals and legal assistants 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $46,277 after the full tax stack, from $57,290. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $51,279 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $58,930 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Paralegals and Legal Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,660 |
| This salary | $57,290 |
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 | $46,277 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,213 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,665 |
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 | $54,881 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,014 |
| 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 paralegals and legal assistants in Montana earn under $57,290 and half over. The published range runs $46,140 at the tenth percentile to $76,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $46,277, from $57,290, 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 247 of 475 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $51,279, the adjusted value of that $57,290 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 247 of 475 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for paralegals and legal assistants in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,140 to $76,660; 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 $46,277 from $57,290. 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 247 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $51,279 — the adjusted value of that $57,290 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 247 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $46,140 and the top tenth $76,660, 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 $51,279 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $46,277 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($46,140 to $76,660) 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 $51,279 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 $46,277 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.