Waiters and Waitresses in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$20,514
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$2,857
12.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$22,731
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
$23,370
Kept after tax
$20,514
Worth in national money
$22,731
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for waiters and waitresses is on the low side in Montana. The middle earner gets $23,370. That is 44 of 51 states, and about 33.66% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 475 occupations Montana publishes, waiters and waitresses lands at 475. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Montana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $23,370 the take-home is $20,514; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $22,731 would nationally. The average comes to $29,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For waiters and waitresses, Montana sits in the lower band at $23,370, ranking 44 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 33.66%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Montana, this work ranks 475 of 475 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Post-tax income for waiters and waitresses in Montana, on $23,370, is $20,514 — equivalent to $22,731 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 $29,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Waiters and Waitresses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $23,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,420 |
| This salary | $23,370 |
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 | $20,514 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $20,855 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,270 |
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 | $22,955 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,498 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Montana earn less than $23,370. The published range is $21,940 up to $45,420, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $20,514, from $23,370, 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 475 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 $22,731, the adjusted value of that $23,370 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 475 of 475 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for waiters and waitresses in Montana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $21,940 to $45,420. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $20,514 from $23,370. 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 475 of 475 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $22,731 — the adjusted value of that $23,370 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 475 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 $29,180, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $21,940 and the top tenth $45,420 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $22,731 in national terms.
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, $20,514 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $29,180. 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 ($21,940) and the ninetieth ($45,420) 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 $22,731 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 $20,514 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.