Technical Writers in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,761
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$16,309
21.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,114
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
$75,070
Kept after tax
$58,761
Worth in national money
$65,114
State rank
36
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Montana pays technical writers a middle wage of $75,070, 36 of 45 states and about 16.95% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 134.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $75,070 the take-home is $58,761; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $65,114 would nationally. The average comes to $76,000, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Montana's $75,070 median for technical writers places it 36 of 45 states, about 16.95% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, technical writers sits at 134 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 technical writers in Montana, on $75,070, is $58,761 — equivalent to $65,114 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 $76,000 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Technical Writers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,630 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $89,280 |
| This salary | $75,070 |
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 | $58,761 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,642 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,680 |
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 | $70,975 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,320 |
| 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 technical writers in Montana earn under $75,070 and half over. The published range runs $65,630 at the tenth percentile to $89,280 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $58,761, from $75,070, 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 134 of 475 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $65,114, the adjusted value of that $75,070 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 134 of 475 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for technical writers in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $65,630 to $89,280; 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 $58,761 from $75,070. 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 134 of 475 locally.
- This $65,114 adjusted figure, worked from $75,070, 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 134 of 475 in the state. The occupation ranks 134 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $65,630 at the tenth percentile, $89,280 at the ninetieth.
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 $65,114 in national terms.
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 $58,761 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 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 ($65,630 to $89,280) 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 $65,114 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 $58,761 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.