School Psychologists in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,957
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$18,053
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,655
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
$80,010
Kept after tax
$61,957
Worth in national money
$68,655
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 32 of 51 states for school psychologists, with a middle wage of $80,010. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 475 occupations Montana reports, school psychologists comes in at 101 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $80,010 you keep $61,957, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $68,655 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $80,090, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana ranks 32 of 51 for school psychologists at $80,010. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- School psychologists ranks 101 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 school psychologists on $80,010 is $61,957. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $68,655 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 $80,090 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: School Psychologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $101,380 |
| This salary | $80,010 |
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 | $61,957 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,117 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,645 |
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 | $75,519 |
|---|---|
| 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 $80,010. The published range is $59,520 up to $101,380, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $61,957, from $80,010, 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 101 of 475 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $68,655, the adjusted value of that $80,010 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Montana. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 101 of 475 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for school psychologists in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $59,520 to $101,380. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $61,957 from $80,010. 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 101 of 475 locally.
- This $68,655 adjusted figure, worked from $80,010, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 101 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 101 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $59,520 and the top tenth $101,380, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $68,655 in national terms.
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 $61,957.
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 ($59,520 to $101,380) 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 $68,655 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 $61,957 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.