How much does an RN make in Montana?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $81,560 for RNs in Montana as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $77,800 and the 75th-percentile is $100,510.

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.

How wide is the wage spread in Montana?

P10 to P90 spans $67,720 to $109,450. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

What are the limits of these RN 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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Montana?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Montana.

How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Montana?

BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Montana typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.

Travel RN vs staff RN in Montana — which earns more on a real basis?

Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Montana, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

How Much Do Registered Nurses Make in Montana? $82K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Registered Nurses in Montana earn a BLS median of $81,560, with real take-home of $89,613 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $8,053 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
Quartile range $77,800 (bottom 25%) to $100,510 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $67,720 to $109,450.
NLC compact membership in Montana means RNs can take assignments in any other compact state on a single license.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #28 of 51; nominal rank is #34.

Wage breakdown — Montana

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$67,720	$74,406
P25 (lower quartile)	$77,800	$85,481
P50 (median)	$81,560	$89,613
P75 (upper quartile)	$100,510	$110,434
P90 (top tier)	$109,450	$120,256
Mean	$88,480	$97,216
Employment	10,540 RNs 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 (RN)	$81,560	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$9,190	11.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,705	4.7–5.9% (2 brackets)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,239	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$62,426	76.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$68,589	÷ (91.0 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Montana state-tax burden means for RN take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.5% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $62,426 (76.5% of gross). After the 91.0 RPP, real take-home is $68,589.

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 $93,600 for RNs with mean pay of $98,430 and total employment of 3,282,010. Montana sits at #34 on nominal pay and #28 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Montana climbs 6 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Licensure — Montana (NLC)

Montana participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2018. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in Montana without applying for a separate Montana license. Montana-issued multistate licenses are reciprocally recognized in 36 other Compact states (37 jurisdictions total in 2026), eliminating the per-state endorsement workflow ($100–$500 + 4–16 week processing) for travel and per-diem RN work.

Montana has been a Compact participant for 8 years as of 2026, putting it among the long-tenured members where the Compact pathway is the established norm at most employers and travel agencies.

Source: NCSBN compact implementation tracker — re-synced quarterly. See NLC reciprocity hub for the cross-state matrix and changelog for status changes.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an RN make in Montana?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $81,560 for RNs in Montana as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $77,800 and the 75th-percentile is $100,510.
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.
How wide is the wage spread in Montana?: P10 to P90 spans $67,720 to $109,450. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
What are the limits of these RN 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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Montana?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Montana.
How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Montana?: BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Montana typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.
Travel RN vs staff RN in Montana — which earns more on a real basis?: Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Montana, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1141, 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 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Montana RN 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.