Special Education Teachers, Middle School in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,319
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$12,641
19.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,867
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
$63,960
Kept after tax
$51,319
Worth in national money
$56,867
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 24 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $63,960. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 168.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $63,960 the take-home is $51,319; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $56,867 would nationally. The average lands at $63,270, below the middle of the range.
- Montana ranks 24 of 51 for special education teachers, middle school at $63,960. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, special education teachers, middle school sits at 168 of 475 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for special education teachers, middle school in Montana, on $63,960, is $51,319 — equivalent to $56,867 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 $63,270 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Middle School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,690 |
| This salary | $63,960 |
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 | $51,319 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,572 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,738 |
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 | $61,156 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,102 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $63,960 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $42,050 and the ninetieth is $80,690 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $51,319, from $63,960, 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 168 of 475 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $56,867, the adjusted value of that $63,960 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 168 of 475 in the state.
- The Montana median of $63,960 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $42,050 to $80,690. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $51,319 from $63,960. 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 168 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $56,867 — the adjusted value of that $63,960 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 168 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $42,050 and the top tenth $80,690, so most people doing this work in Montana sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $56,867.
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, $51,319 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($42,050 to $80,690) 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 $56,867 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 $51,319 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.