Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,951
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$10,909
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,919
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
$56,860
Kept after tax
$45,951
Worth in national money
$50,919
State rank
12
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Montana's middle earner gets $56,860, putting the state 12 of 49 — about 13.99% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 251 among 475 occupations Montana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $56,860 you keep $45,951, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $50,919 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $55,200, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners, Montana sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $56,860, ranking 12 of 49 and running about 13.99% 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 251 of 475 in Montana places septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners 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 septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners on $56,860 is $45,951. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $50,919 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 $55,200 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $56,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,170 |
| This salary | $56,860 |
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 | $45,951 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,867 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,660 |
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 | $54,476 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,008 |
| 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 septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Montana earn under $56,860 and half over. The published range runs $39,130 at the tenth percentile to $79,170 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $45,951, from $56,860, 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 251 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 $50,919 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 251.
- Figures are distribution medians for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,130 to $79,170; 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 $45,951 from $56,860. 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 251 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,919, worked from $56,860, 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 251 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,130 at the bottom tenth to $79,170 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 $50,919 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 $45,951.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,130 to $79,170) 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 $50,919 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 $45,951 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.