Tree Trimmers and Pruners in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,009
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$11,571
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,199
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
$59,580
Kept after tax
$48,009
Worth in national money
$53,199
State rank
13
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for tree trimmers and pruners is strong here. Montana's middle earner gets $59,580, putting the state 13 of 49 — about 16.92% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 475 occupations Montana reports figures for, this is number 216.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $59,580 you keep $48,009 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $53,199 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $58,520.
- For tree trimmers and pruners, Montana sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $59,580, ranking 13 of 49 and running about 16.92% 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.
- In Montana's occupational distribution, tree trimmers and pruners sits at 216 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.
- Retained pay in Montana is $48,009 after the full tax stack, from $59,580. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $53,199 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $58,520 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Tree Trimmers and Pruners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,760 |
| This salary | $59,580 |
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 | $48,009 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,053 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,691 |
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 | $57,037 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,046 |
| 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 tree trimmers and pruners in Montana earn under $59,580 and half over. The published range runs $46,950 at the tenth percentile to $69,760 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $48,009 take-home in Montana comes from $59,580. 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 216 of 475.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $53,199, the adjusted value of that $59,580 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 216 of 475 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for tree trimmers and pruners in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,950 to $69,760; 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 $48,009, from $59,580, 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 216 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 13 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $53,199 — the adjusted value of that $59,580 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 216 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $46,950 at the bottom tenth to $69,760 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $53,199.
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 $48,009 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($46,950 to $69,760) 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 $53,199 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 $48,009 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.