Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,925
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$18,035
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,620
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
$79,960
Kept after tax
$61,925
Worth in national money
$68,620
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Montana's middle earner gets $79,960, putting the state 10 of 51 — about 25.33% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Montana this is well-paid work. Of 475 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 103 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $79,960 the take-home is $61,925; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $68,620 would nationally. The average lands at $78,190, below the middle of the range.
- For plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, Montana sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $79,960, ranking 10 of 51 and running about 25.33% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation Montana publishes a median for, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters sits 103 of 475 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in Montana, on $79,960, is $61,925 — equivalent to $68,620 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 $78,190 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,860 |
| This salary | $79,960 |
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 | $61,925 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,082 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,646 |
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 | $75,473 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,273 |
| 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 $79,960. The published range is $48,250 up to $100,860, 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 $61,925, worked from $79,960. 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 103 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $68,620 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 103.
- Reported values are medians; for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,250 to $100,860. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Montana take-home of $61,925, on $79,960 for work ranking 103 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 103 of 475 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $68,620, worked from $79,960, 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 103 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $48,250 at the bottom tenth to $100,860 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $68,620.
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, $61,925 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 ($48,250 to $100,860) 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 $68,620 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 $61,925 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.