Physical Therapists in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$69,359
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$22,091
24.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,857
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
$91,450
Kept after tax
$69,359
Worth in national money
$76,857
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana is among the lower-paying states for physical therapists. The middle earner takes $91,450, ranking 50 of 51 states — about 11.01% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 475 occupations Montana reports, physical therapists comes in at 65 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $91,450 you keep $69,359, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $76,857 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $93,440, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana ranks 50 of 51 for physical therapists, with a median of $91,450 — about 11.01% 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.
- Physical therapists ranks 65 of 475 occupations by median in Montana, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for physical therapists on $91,450 is $69,359. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $76,857 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 $93,440 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physical Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $78,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $91,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $115,540 |
| This salary | $91,450 |
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 | $69,359 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $73,165 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,565 |
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 | $86,040 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,162 |
| 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 physical therapists in Montana earn under $91,450 and half over. The published range runs $78,490 at the tenth percentile to $115,540 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $69,359, from $91,450, 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 65 of 475 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $76,857 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 65.
- Figures are distribution medians for physical therapists in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $78,490 to $115,540; 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 $69,359 from $91,450. 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 65 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $76,857, worked from $91,450, 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 65 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $78,490 at the bottom tenth to $115,540 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Montana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $76,857 in national terms.
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 $69,359 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($78,490 to $115,540) 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 $76,857 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 $69,359 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.