Sewing Machine Operators in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,731
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$6,009
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,053
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
$36,740
Kept after tax
$30,731
Worth in national money
$34,053
State rank
26
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Montana sits in the middle of the pack for sewing machine operators. The median is $36,740, ranking 26 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Montana, this one sits low: 434 of 475 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,740 you keep $30,731, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,053 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $36,970, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana occupies the middle band for sewing machine operators: a median of $36,740, ranking 26 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Sewing machine operators occupies position 434 of 475 in Montana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for sewing machine operators on $36,740 is $30,731. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,053 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 $36,970 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Sewing Machine Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $24,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,370 |
| This salary | $36,740 |
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 | $30,731 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,701 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,431 |
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 | $35,533 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,730 |
| 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 sewing machine operators in Montana earn under $36,740 and half over. The published range runs $24,290 at the tenth percentile to $50,370 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $30,731 take-home in Montana comes from $36,740. 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 434 of 475.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,053 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 434.
- Figures are distribution medians for sewing machine operators in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $24,290 to $50,370; 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 $30,731, from $36,740, 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 434 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 26 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,053, worked from $36,740, 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 434 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $24,290 at the bottom tenth to $50,370 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Montana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $34,053 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $30,731 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 ($24,290 to $50,370) 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 $34,053 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 $30,731 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.