Prepress Technicians and Workers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,207
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$9,703
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,769
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
$51,910
Kept after tax
$42,207
Worth in national money
$46,769
State rank
12
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for prepress technicians and workers is strong here. Montana's middle earner gets $51,910, putting the state 12 of 45 — about 6.61% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Prepress technicians and workers ranks 271 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $51,910 you keep $42,207, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $46,769 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $50,490, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For prepress technicians and workers, Montana sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $51,910, ranking 12 of 45 and running about 6.61% 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.
- Position 271 of 475 in Montana places prepress technicians and workers 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 prepress technicians and workers on $51,910 is $42,207. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $46,769 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 $50,490 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Prepress Technicians and Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,340 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,460 |
| This salary | $51,910 |
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 | $42,207 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,890 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,604 |
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 | $49,815 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,940 |
| 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 prepress technicians and workers in Montana earn under $51,910 and half over. The published range runs $38,340 at the tenth percentile to $54,460 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $42,207 take-home in Montana comes from $51,910. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 271 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,769 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 271.
- Figures are distribution medians for prepress technicians and workers in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,340 to $54,460; 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.
- Retained pay of $42,207, from $51,910, assumes a single Montana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 271 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,769, worked from $51,910, 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 271 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,340 at the tenth percentile, $54,460 at the ninetieth.
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 $46,769.
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 $42,207.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,340 to $54,460) 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 $46,769 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 $42,207 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.