Paramedics in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,435
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$9,455
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,914
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
$50,890
Kept after tax
$41,435
Worth in national money
$45,914
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is among the lower-paying states for paramedics. The middle earner takes $50,890, ranking 45 of 51 states — about 16.02% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Paramedics ranks 280 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $50,890 you keep $41,435, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $45,914 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $52,130, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana ranks 45 of 51 for paramedics, with a median of $50,890 — about 16.02% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 280 of 475 in Montana places paramedics 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 paramedics on $50,890 is $41,435. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $45,914 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 $52,130 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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: Paramedics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $70,190 |
| This salary | $50,890 |
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 | $41,435 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,070 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,592 |
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 | $48,855 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,926 |
| 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 $50,890. The published range is $35,590 up to $70,190, 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 $41,435, worked from $50,890. 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 280 of 475.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $45,914, the adjusted value of that $50,890 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 280 of 475 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for paramedics in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,590 to $70,190. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Montana take-home of $41,435, on $50,890 for work ranking 280 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 280 of 475 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $45,914 — the adjusted value of that $50,890 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 280 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,590 and the top tenth $70,190, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $45,914.
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, $41,435 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 ($35,590 to $70,190) 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 $45,914 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 $41,435 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.