Surveyors in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,934
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$19,676
23.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,953
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
$84,610
Kept after tax
$64,934
Worth in national money
$71,953
State rank
6
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Montana pays surveyors a middle wage of $84,610, ranking 6 of 50 states and sitting about 12.16% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 475 occupations Montana reports, surveyors comes in at 78 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $84,610 you keep $64,934, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $71,953 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $87,770, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana's median for surveyors is $84,610, about 12.16% above the national figure and 6 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Surveyors ranks 78 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 surveyors on $84,610 is $64,934. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $71,953 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 $87,770 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Surveyors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $57,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $120,370 |
| This salary | $84,610 |
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 | $64,934 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,353 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,613 |
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 | $79,749 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,228 |
| 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 surveyors in Montana earn under $84,610 and half over. The published range runs $57,720 at the tenth percentile to $120,370 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $64,934, from $84,610, 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 78 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 $71,953 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 78.
- Figures are distribution medians for surveyors in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $57,720 to $120,370; 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.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $64,934 from $84,610. 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 78 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,953, worked from $84,610, 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 78 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $87,770, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $57,720 at the bottom tenth to $120,370 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $71,953 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 $64,934 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Montana is $87,770. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($57,720) and the ninetieth ($120,370) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $71,953 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 $64,934 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.