How much does a Real Estate Agent make in Montana?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $56,670 for Real Estate Agents in Montana as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $43,230 and the 75th-percentile is $95,200.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Real Estate Agent salary in Montana?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 91.0 for Montana), the real-wage equivalent is $62,265 — what the $56,670 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $47,498 to $104,599.

What does the top of the Real Estate Agent pay scale look like in Montana?

The 90th percentile lands at $205,140. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $95,200.

Why is the BEA RPP for Montana different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Montana's overall index of 91.0 reflects rents 76.8, services 72.8, and goods 96.5.

What are the limits of these Real Estate Agent salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Commission split, brokerage cap, and team-lead economics in Montana?

Montana commission structures are typically 5-6% of sale price, split between buyer and seller side, then split again between brokerage and agent at ratios from 50/50 (entry-level) to 90/10 or 100% post-cap (senior agents at high-cap brokerages like Keller Williams or eXp). A Montana agent producing $5M in transaction volume at 2.5% gross side commission and a 70/30 post-cap split keeps roughly $87,500 — but must net out brokerage fees, MLS dues, E&O insurance, marketing, transaction coordinator fees, and self-employment tax. Realistic take-home is typically 50-65% of headline gross commission income. Team-lead and rainmaker agents extract a share of team-member production, which is the primary path to top-quartile earnings in Montana.

Is the Montana real estate market shift (post-2024 NAR commission settlement) affecting agent pay?

The 2024 NAR settlement on buyer-broker commission disclosure has compressed effective commissions in Montana markets where buyers now negotiate buy-side fees explicitly. Anecdotal early data shows 0.25-0.75 percentage points of buy-side commission compression in Montana's competitive metros. Combined with cyclically suppressed transaction volume in 2024-2025 high-rate environment, gross commission income for the median Montana agent has declined roughly 15-30% from the 2021-2022 peak. The BLS figure on this page reflects the most recent OEWS release date noted on the page; current-year realized earnings are likely below it for the typical commission-only agent.

How Much Do Real Estate Agents Make in Montana? $57K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Montana pays Real Estate Agents a BLS median of $56,670 — the more useful number is $62,265, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $5,595 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $34,850 · P25 $43,230 · P75 $95,200 · P90 $205,140.
Real Estate Agent ranking: #14 on the BLS table, #9 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Montana

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$34,850	$38,291
P25 (lower quartile)	$43,230	$47,498
P50 (median)	$56,670	$62,265
P75 (upper quartile)	$95,200	$104,599
P90 (top tier)	$205,140	$225,394
Mean	$82,330	$90,459
Employment	660 Real Estate Agents in Montana

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Montana index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	91.0
Goods	96.5
Services	72.8
Rents	76.8

Montana sits below the national baseline (RPP 91.0), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 76.8.

After-tax take-home — Montana (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Real Estate Agent)	$56,670	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$4,662	8.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,236	4.7–5.9% (2 brackets)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,335	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$45,436	80.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$49,922	÷ (91.0 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Montana state-tax burden means for Real Estate Agent take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $45,436 (80.2% of gross). After the 91.0 RPP, real take-home is $49,922.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $56,320 for Real Estate Agents with mean pay of $70,970 and total employment of 190,600. Montana sits at #14 on nominal pay and #9 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Montana climbs 5 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Real Estate Agent make in Montana?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $56,670 for Real Estate Agents in Montana as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $43,230 and the 75th-percentile is $95,200.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Real Estate Agent salary in Montana?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 91.0 for Montana), the real-wage equivalent is $62,265 — what the $56,670 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $47,498 to $104,599.
What does the top of the Real Estate Agent pay scale look like in Montana?: The 90th percentile lands at $205,140. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $95,200.
Why is the BEA RPP for Montana different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Montana's overall index of 91.0 reflects rents 76.8, services 72.8, and goods 96.5.
What are the limits of these Real Estate Agent salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Commission split, brokerage cap, and team-lead economics in Montana?: Montana commission structures are typically 5-6% of sale price, split between buyer and seller side, then split again between brokerage and agent at ratios from 50/50 (entry-level) to 90/10 or 100% post-cap (senior agents at high-cap brokerages like Keller Williams or eXp). A Montana agent producing $5M in transaction volume at 2.5% gross side commission and a 70/30 post-cap split keeps roughly $87,500 — but must net out brokerage fees, MLS dues, E&O insurance, marketing, transaction coordinator fees, and self-employment tax. Realistic take-home is typically 50-65% of headline gross commission income. Team-lead and rainmaker agents extract a share of team-member production, which is the primary path to top-quartile earnings in Montana.
Is the Montana real estate market shift (post-2024 NAR commission settlement) affecting agent pay?: The 2024 NAR settlement on buyer-broker commission disclosure has compressed effective commissions in Montana markets where buyers now negotiate buy-side fees explicitly. Anecdotal early data shows 0.25-0.75 percentage points of buy-side commission compression in Montana's competitive metros. Combined with cyclically suppressed transaction volume in 2024-2025 high-rate environment, gross commission income for the median Montana agent has declined roughly 15-30% from the 2021-2022 peak. The BLS figure on this page reflects the most recent OEWS release date noted on the page; current-year realized earnings are likely below it for the typical commission-only agent.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 41-9022, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-08.

Cross-comparison: see how Montana Real Estate Agent pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.