Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,844
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$11,196
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,908
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
$58,040
Kept after tax
$46,844
Worth in national money
$51,908
State rank
32
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Montana is 32 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $58,040. 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 238.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,040 you keep $46,844, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,908 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $61,570, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Montana ranks 32 of 50 for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators at $58,040. 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, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 238 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.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators on $58,040 is $46,844. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,908 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 $61,570 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,420 |
| This salary | $58,040 |
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 | $46,844 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,815 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,674 |
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 | $55,587 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,024 |
| 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 water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Montana earn under $58,040 and half over. The published range runs $37,320 at the tenth percentile to $81,420 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $46,844 take-home in Montana comes from $58,040. 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 238 of 475.
- One number stands for prices across all of Montana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $51,908, the adjusted value of that $58,040 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 238 of 475 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Montana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,320 to $81,420; 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 $46,844, from $58,040, 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 238 of 475 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Montana, so $51,908 — the adjusted value of that $58,040 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 238 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $61,570, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $37,320 at the bottom tenth to $81,420 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 $51,908 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 $46,844 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 $61,570. 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 ($37,320) and the ninetieth ($81,420) 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 $51,908 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 $46,844 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.