Montana · BLS May 2025

High School Teacher Salary in Montana

Also called secondary school teacher. BLS records this occupation as Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education” (SOC 25-2031).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 3,670 secondary school teachers working in Montana. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.

Median pay · Montana

$60,990A year. BLS publishes no hourly wage for this occupation.
Take-home a month$4,090After federal, state and FICA tax at 19.5%
Worth at national prices$64,441Prices here sit at 94.6 against 100
Against the nation15.3% belowNational median $72,040
What secondary school teachers earn in Montana, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid$38,120Not published
25th percentile$47,420Not published
MedianHalf earn more, half less$60,990Not published
75th percentile$74,470Not published
90th percentileMost experienced and senior$81,270Not published
MeanThe average, pulled up by the top$61,550Not published
How we got this
  1. Median wage in MontanaBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of secondary school teachers earned more than this, half less.$60,990
  2. Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$4,090 a month at an effective rate of 19.5%.$49,076 a year
  3. Worth at national average pricesPrices in Montana sit at 94.6 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$64,441
  4. Against the national medianThe national median is $72,040.15.3% below
  5. Jobs countedA concentration of 1.05 against the nation's 1.00.3,670
What we assumed
  • Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
  • OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
  • Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
  • BLS publishes only an annual wage for this occupation, because a standard 2,080-hour year would misdescribe it.
  • Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details

Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1

What lands in the bank

A $60,990 salary in Montana, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.

  • Federal income tax. $5,139 a year.
  • State income tax. $2,110 a year.
  • Social Security and Medicare. $4,666 a year.
  • Left over. $49,076 a year, $4,090 a month, an effective rate of 19.5%.

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What $60,990 is worth in Montana

Prices in Montana sit at 94.6 against a national average of 100, so $60,990 earned here buys what $64,441 buys at national average prices.

  • Rents. 84.6 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
  • Against local households. The median household in Montana takes in $72,509, so this occupation's median is 0.84 times that, on one income.
  • How common the job is here. 5% more concentrated in Montana than in the country as a whole.

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Common questions

High School Teacher pay in Montana, answered

How much does a high school teacher make in Montana?

The median wage for high school teachers in Montana is $60,990 a year.

Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.

What is the take-home pay for a high school teacher in Montana?

On the median wage of $60,990, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $49,076 a year, or roughly $4,090 a month.

That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 19.5%.

Montana takes $2,110 of it in state income tax.

Do high school teachers earn more in Montana than in the rest of the country?

No. The median in Montana is 15.3% below the national median of $72,040.

Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Montana sit at 94.6 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.

Is $60,990 a good salary in Montana?

It is 0.84 times the median household income of $72,509. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.

Prices in Montana run at 94.6 against a national average of 100, with rents at 84.6, so $60,990 here buys about what $64,441 buys at national average prices.

What do the highest-paid high school teachers earn in Montana?

The top tenth earn $81,270 a year or more, against $38,120 at the bottom tenth.

Experience, specialism, employer and the part of Montana someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.

How many high school teachers are there in Montana?

The survey counted 3,670 of these jobs in Montana for May 2025.

That makes the occupation 5% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from