Wages by Occupation in Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area

Pay and jobs by occupation in the Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area (BLS, May 2025). BLS counts about 39,080 jobs across all occupations here, with a median annual wage of $46,780 for all occupations combined. 215 occupations have a published median wage in this area.

Wages by occupation

Occupation	Jobs	Median annual wage	Mean annual wage	Jobs per 1,000 jobs here	Concentration vs. U.S.
Accountants and Auditors	320	$74,320	$78,420	8.12	0.87
Amusement and Recreation Attendants	160	$31,200	$31,390	4.06	1.59
Animal Caretakers	90	$33,920	$34,160	2.40	1.40
Architectural and Civil Drafters	30	$63,070	$64,700	0.85	1.27
Architectural and Engineering Managers	30	$128,010	$139,890	0.85	0.60
Automotive Body and Related Repairers	40	$56,510	$53,400	0.97	1.01
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics	210	$53,390	$56,900	5.48	1.21
Bakers	70	$36,510	$37,730	1.67	1.10
Bartenders	650	$27,250	$27,680	16.73	3.44
Bill and Account Collectors	40	$49,920	$53,490	1.06	1.04
Billing and Posting Clerks	140	$46,040	$46,640	3.66	1.41
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks	550	$45,760	$46,290	14.09	1.60
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists	90	$58,370	$59,260	2.21	1.19
Bus Drivers, School	130	$43,540	$44,740	3.20	1.24
Business Operations Specialists, All Other	320	$65,170	$72,320	8.15	1.17
Butchers and Meat Cutters	80	$41,600	$41,710	2.15	2.46
Buyers and Purchasing Agents	70	$58,180	$61,360	1.89	0.60
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary	60	$62,100	$63,890	1.57	2.14
Carpenters	280	$58,480	$60,840	7.06	1.64
Cashiers	1,140	$30,120	$31,710	29.20	1.47
Chefs and Head Cooks	60	$56,460	$59,600	1.66	1.29
Chief Executives	50	$201,230	$215,900	1.31	1.00
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	80	$58,570	$56,690	2.06	0.82
Civil Engineers	120	$81,590	$86,700	3.12	1.32
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment	90	$36,700	$37,680	2.35	0.96
Clergy	50	$44,410	$54,260	1.27	3.46
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	80	$79,530	$75,680	2.12	0.99
Coaches and Scouts	60	$51,700	$54,160	1.43	0.89
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other	30	$48,260	$46,950	0.85	1.23
Compliance Officers	110	$63,950	$74,410	2.91	1.09
Computer and Information Systems Managers	60	$134,800	$145,200	1.57	0.36
Computer Network Support Specialists	40	$59,290	$63,840	1.14	1.21
Computer User Support Specialists	70	$54,280	$58,570	1.79	0.39
Conservation Scientists	60	$73,920	$73,030	1.41	8.43
Construction Laborers	310	$48,540	$48,160	7.99	1.13
Construction Managers	130	$108,130	$117,580	3.31	1.35
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	260	$36,680	$38,990	6.54	2.30
Cooks, Restaurant	740	$37,460	$37,990	19.01	2.10
Correctional Officers and Jailers	310	$51,010	$51,910	8.04	3.29
Cost Estimators	70	$69,590	$74,340	1.75	1.21
Counter and Rental Clerks	100	$38,850	$42,280	2.55	0.99
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks	70	$45,140	$47,610	1.69	1.46
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	100	$60,110	$60,640	2.62	15.69
Customer Service Representatives	360	$44,130	$44,950	9.10	0.55
Dental Assistants	80	$44,090	$42,660	2.03	0.81
Dental Hygienists	50	$98,310	$96,790	1.27	0.89
Dishwashers	200	$29,200	$29,180	4.99	1.63
Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance	30	$43,440	$50,250	0.84	0.64
Driver/Sales Workers	210	$23,000	$34,700	5.46	2.08
Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary	80	$92,290	$96,230	1.99	0.94
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors	60	$60,470	$62,930	1.47	0.65
Electrical Engineers	50	$89,520	$95,110	1.40	1.10
Electricians	200	$70,200	$68,060	5.21	1.07
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education	350	$58,740	$58,280	8.91	1.00
Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs	50	$58,900	$57,270	1.27	1.28
Emergency Medical Technicians	110	$32,910	$34,540	2.90	2.50
Emergency Medicine Physicians	30	$486,350	$435,510	0.82	3.86
Environmental Engineers	40	$83,230	$93,380	0.97	3.95
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health	30	$76,180	$82,940	0.80	1.39
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants	50	$51,910	$55,220	1.24	0.42
Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors	90	$43,940	$50,190	2.34	1.13
Facilities Managers	30	$86,280	$93,200	0.77	0.76
Family Medicine Physicians	70	$361,480	$347,770	1.82	2.64
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse	30	$41,360	$38,500	0.83	0.49
Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals	160	$36,550	$40,890	4.18	19.79
Fast Food and Counter Workers	1,160	$28,670	$29,320	29.66	1.20
Fence Erectors	60	$46,880	$50,210	1.45	9.18
Financial Managers	90	$124,600	$128,010	2.43	0.45
Firefighters	110	$47,770	$47,000	2.93	1.32
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	270	$73,860	$76,930	6.97	1.33
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers	80	$74,630	$74,390	2.17	6.33
First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services	100	$80,350	$65,230	2.55	3.85
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers	40	$55,840	$59,010	1.13	6.29
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers	420	$41,550	$44,590	10.76	1.37
First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers	70	$46,410	$47,270	1.75	1.52
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers	50	$59,460	$59,990	1.23	1.46
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	190	$80,020	$86,060	4.76	1.20
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	40	$68,150	$75,670	0.98	0.71
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	290	$61,780	$66,020	7.32	0.79
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	50	$80,420	$83,540	1.23	1.24
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	170	$64,670	$72,260	4.25	0.98
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	440	$45,740	$49,250	11.35	1.57
First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors	110	$60,760	$64,620	2.78	0.69
Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other	50	$38,520	$34,370	1.27	2.33
Food Preparation Workers	220	$34,360	$32,890	5.52	0.96
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant	70	$29,980	$32,560	1.79	0.95
Food Service Managers	80	$73,130	$78,260	2.07	1.35
Forest and Conservation Technicians	230	$51,630	$57,210	5.76	29.44
Fundraisers	60	$50,870	$56,160	1.44	2.01
Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners	130	$21,980	$22,190	3.39	58.92
General and Operations Managers	850	$79,180	$94,440	21.76	0.97
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers	30	$83,740	$88,710	0.82	5.41
Hazardous Materials Removal Workers	30	$48,800	$50,650	0.82	2.48
Healthcare Social Workers	60	$59,820	$61,120	1.48	1.22
Healthcare Support Workers, All Other	50	$40,780	$44,650	1.39	1.97
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	710	$59,880	$58,440	18.16	1.37
Highway Maintenance Workers	140	$60,480	$59,170	3.64	3.65
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	950	$36,670	$36,960	24.25	0.88
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop	90	$27,020	$26,860	2.40	0.86
Human Resources Managers	40	$113,040	$116,590	0.96	0.68
Human Resources Specialists	140	$62,600	$70,080	3.50	0.60
Hydrologists	50	$84,300	$93,880	1.30	34.70
Industrial Machinery Mechanics	60	$60,230	$64,700	1.54	0.55
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators	60	$44,590	$46,970	1.65	0.33
Information and Record Clerks, All Other	70	$44,950	$46,400	1.70	1.96
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other	60	$44,760	$48,760	1.65	1.46
Instructional Coordinators	50	$55,560	$64,490	1.25	0.86
Insurance Sales Agents	100	$75,690	$79,770	2.46	0.80
Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan	50	$40,560	$42,210	1.36	1.43
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	570	$36,000	$36,900	14.51	1.02
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education	40	$60,650	$57,780	1.04	1.49
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	220	$41,170	$42,050	5.58	0.29
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers	250	$38,670	$42,650	6.33	1.03
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers	80	$36,320	$35,770	1.97	1.55
Lawyers	130	$102,540	$111,680	3.31	0.68
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	—	$42,460	$45,440	—	—
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists	40	$64,660	$65,890	1.04	1.21
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	140	$62,800	$63,670	3.67	0.88
Light Truck Drivers	190	$37,380	$44,970	4.94	0.78
Loan Interviewers and Clerks	30	$46,890	$50,240	0.89	0.84
Loan Officers	70	$68,250	$74,110	1.78	1.01
Logging Equipment Operators	60	$53,420	$54,050	1.51	11.13
Machinists	50	$60,920	$58,640	1.22	0.66
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	630	$33,560	$34,390	16.09	2.91
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General	500	$45,870	$47,420	12.76	1.30
Management Analysts	110	$48,890	$69,780	2.89	0.50
Managers, All Other	90	$85,750	$99,210	2.28	0.57
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	80	$75,870	$74,320	1.96	0.34
Marketing Managers	50	$132,210	$152,030	1.25	0.49
Medical and Health Services Managers	170	$103,560	$112,930	4.26	1.11
Medical Assistants	140	$46,470	$45,020	3.59	0.68
Medical Records Specialists	70	$49,710	$50,490	1.72	1.37
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	300	$42,840	$42,670	7.75	1.25
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	50	$47,120	$50,340	1.36	1.60
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	140	$62,330	$60,620	3.67	0.92
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	80	$38,040	$41,080	2.10	0.23
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines	140	$64,020	$68,780	3.56	3.13
Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other	30	$31,270	$35,970	0.80	2.66
Network and Computer Systems Administrators	40	$76,540	$78,690	1.13	0.56
New Accounts Clerks	40	$43,660	$43,620	1.00	4.21
Nurse Practitioners	110	$136,310	$134,410	2.80	1.35
Nursing Assistants	430	$45,850	$43,470	10.95	1.17
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	70	$78,620	$87,560	1.69	1.86
Occupational Therapists	40	$91,480	$94,590	0.96	0.92
Office Clerks, General	680	$45,870	$46,280	17.40	1.10
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	440	$59,370	$61,560	11.34	3.69
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	40	$42,690	$43,010	0.92	0.38
Packers and Packagers, Hand	80	$31,740	$31,540	2.14	0.59
Painters, Construction and Maintenance	50	$57,260	$50,890	1.26	0.87
Paralegals and Legal Assistants	40	$59,070	$59,080	0.90	0.36
Paramedics	40	$45,760	$46,440	0.99	1.53
Parts Salespersons	140	$39,510	$41,660	3.69	2.12
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks	30	$59,530	$63,030	0.85	0.87
Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation	30	$43,600	$40,370	0.88	5.07
Pharmacists	80	$143,280	$140,490	2.16	1.04
Pharmacy Technicians	90	$50,120	$50,370	2.34	0.77
Phlebotomists	30	$45,000	$44,010	0.87	0.94
Physical Therapists	100	$97,980	$95,190	2.50	1.45
Physician Assistants	40	$146,770	$149,950	1.15	1.10
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	130	$79,890	$80,630	3.32	1.11
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers	130	$62,620	$63,090	3.31	0.77
Postal Service Clerks	60	$57,090	$54,590	1.53	3.24
Postal Service Mail Carriers	90	$57,700	$58,880	2.20	1.04
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education	90	$35,330	$36,430	2.43	0.79
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists	70	$57,690	$56,670	1.82	3.16
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks	50	$46,850	$50,090	1.29	0.51
Project Management Specialists	160	$102,060	$101,870	4.14	0.60
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers	70	$59,340	$57,970	1.67	0.84
Psychiatric Aides	250	$46,340	$48,560	6.39	27.96
Public Relations Specialists	70	$60,240	$67,760	1.70	0.94
Public Safety Telecommunicators	60	$47,480	$47,990	1.48	2.25
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians	70	$73,880	$71,350	1.91	1.29
Real Estate Sales Agents	—	$73,940	$73,590	—	—
Receptionists and Information Clerks	80	$36,130	$36,980	2.17	0.37
Recreation Workers	80	$37,810	$43,100	2.04	0.96
Registered Nurses	770	$86,470	$90,760	19.59	0.90
Rehabilitation Counselors	30	$42,670	$46,110	0.79	1.30
Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks	40	$39,180	$34,880	1.08	1.42
Residential Advisors	60	$46,130	$48,980	1.54	2.84
Retail Salespersons	670	$35,790	$37,290	17.06	0.68
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel	70	$58,640	$64,500	1.83	0.23
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products	170	$61,640	$76,870	4.38	0.55
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products	30	$88,860	$98,140	0.81	0.44
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	330	$61,190	$60,050	8.44	1.23
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive	420	$46,060	$44,140	10.64	0.97
Security Guards	180	$48,230	$53,700	4.69	0.57
Self-Enrichment Teachers	70	$46,730	$51,750	1.68	0.79
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	30	$55,460	$55,920	0.88	2.27
Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks	90	$42,840	$44,380	2.40	0.46
Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs	70	$34,740	$36,130	1.84	1.15
Social and Community Service Managers	80	$72,440	$71,920	2.01	1.49
Social and Human Service Assistants	160	$38,950	$41,220	4.13	1.47
Social Workers, All Other	60	$51,120	$51,160	1.46	3.62
Software Developers	80	$118,110	$129,640	2.06	0.19
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	50	$62,750	$64,770	1.26	0.75
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School	40	$60,530	$61,770	1.03	0.98
Speech-Language Pathologists	30	$74,480	$79,410	0.89	0.75
Stockers and Order Fillers	590	$40,410	$39,380	15.19	0.83
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors	160	$60,350	$60,140	4.14	1.31
Substitute Teachers, Short-Term	250	$28,050	$28,730	6.42	1.90
Surgical Technologists	40	$60,360	$59,710	0.90	1.19
Surveyors	30	$104,050	$88,990	0.82	2.50
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary	270	$32,920	$33,720	6.78	0.74
Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers	50	$78,240	$72,030	1.27	1.40
Tellers	160	$37,550	$38,460	3.97	1.88
Tire Repairers and Changers	50	$45,990	$43,210	1.38	1.98
Tour and Travel Guides	90	$38,620	$37,110	2.42	7.04
Training and Development Specialists	60	$63,070	$63,560	1.47	0.50
Veterinarians	40	$73,590	$92,530	1.12	2.07
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	40	$37,780	$41,480	0.98	1.19
Waiters and Waitresses	750	$22,760	$27,980	19.25	1.32
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	80	$55,810	$57,090	2.00	2.42
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	100	$48,700	$52,890	2.60	0.97
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing	40	$48,850	$47,260	1.08	2.75
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists	30	$81,980	$88,650	0.83	7.16

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, metropolitan area estimates (cross-industry, all ownerships). Wages are pay for all workers in an occupation in this area, not any one person or employer; a dash means BLS does not publish the figure (often to protect privacy or because the estimate is unreliable), and “or more” marks a wage at or above BLS’s top reporting limit. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of jobs in this area divided by its share nationally (1.00 = the same share as the U.S.; above 1.00 = a larger share); it says nothing about pay or openings. Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's jobs per 1,000 jobs of all kinds in this area. Occupations that BLS reports only as hourly wages are not listed, and BLS shows some wages above its top limit as plain numbers while others read “or more”. Occupations are listed alphabetically; click a heading to sort. MajorPays does not rank places or occupations. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation. MajorPays does not provide advice. See Data sources.

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