Montana Minimum Wage After Tax 2026

Montana Minimum Wage After Tax in 2026

A full-time Montana worker at $10.85 an hour grosses $22,568 a year. After $647 in federal income tax, $1,726 in FICA and $305 in state income tax, take-home pay is about $19,890 a year, or $1,658 a month and $383 a week.

Montana's CPI-indexed minimum wage is $10.85/hr as of January 1, 2026. Montana has NO tip credit -- tipped workers get full minimum wage. Calculate your exact take-home pay below.

Montana Minimum Wage 2026: Big Sky Country's CPI-Indexed Wage Floor

Montana is one of the most sparsely populated states in the country, covering nearly 150,000 square miles with fewer than 1.1 million residents. The state's minimum wage of $10.85 per hour in 2026 is set by a CPI indexing formula that has been law since Montana voters passed it in 2006. While this rate is below the national conversation about $15 minimum wages, Montana's lower cost of living in many communities, combined with a no-tip-credit rule that protects all workers, creates a different economic context than the nominal wage alone suggests.

CPI Indexing: Montana's Annual Adjustment

Montana adjusts its minimum wage each January 1 based on the change in the CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers) for the preceding year. The Montana Department of Labor and Industry calculates and announces the new rate each fall. Since the indexing law passed in 2006, Montana's minimum wage has increased from $6.15 to $10.85, a cumulative increase of $4.40 per hour (71.5%) driven entirely by automatic CPI adjustments. No legislative action has been required for any individual increase.

Montana is among the states -- including Oregon, Minnesota, Alaska, and California -- that prohibit tip credits entirely. Every worker in Montana, regardless of occupation, must receive the full $10.85 per hour minimum wage directly from their employer. Tips received by tipped workers are 100% additional income on top of the minimum wage floor. A bartender in Missoula working a busy Saturday night at a popular establishment can earn the $10.85 base plus tips of $20 to $30 per hour -- but even on a slow Tuesday, the $10.85 floor is guaranteed.

Montana has significant agricultural exemptions to its minimum wage law. Workers employed in agriculture who are employed by a family member, or workers on small farms that meet certain definitional criteria under Montana law, may not be covered by the standard minimum wage. The Montana Department of Labor and Industry publishes guidance on which agricultural workers are covered. Seasonal agricultural packing and processing workers who work at commercial operations generally do fall under the standard rate, but workers on small family-operated ranches and farms may have different coverage.

No City Minimum Wages in Montana

Montana preempts local minimum wage ordinances. No Montana city or county may establish a minimum wage above or below the state rate. Missoula, Billings, Great Falls, Helena, and Bozeman all operate under the same $10.85 per hour floor despite having significantly different costs of living. Bozeman in particular has experienced dramatic population growth and cost-of-living increases driven by remote workers relocating from higher-cost metro areas, yet minimum wage workers there earn the same rate as those in lower-cost rural communities.

Missoula and Billings: Cost of Living Reality

Missoula, home to the University of Montana and a growing outdoor recreation economy, has become one of the more expensive smaller cities in the Mountain West. One-bedroom apartment rents in Missoula regularly exceed $1,200 per month and in some areas approach $1,600. For a minimum wage worker taking home approximately $18,800 annually ($1,567 monthly), the math on independent housing in Missoula is extremely tight.

Billings, Montana's largest city and its commercial hub, has a somewhat more affordable rental market than Missoula, with median one-bedroom rents closer to $1,000 to $1,100 per month. The city's economy is anchored by healthcare, energy (oil refining), agriculture, and transportation, with minimum wage employment concentrated in retail, food service, and healthcare support roles.

Tourism, National Parks, and Seasonal Work

Montana is home to Glacier National Park and borders Yellowstone, making seasonal tourism a significant employer of minimum wage workers. The communities surrounding Glacier -- Whitefish, Kalispell, Columbia Falls -- see dramatic summer employment spikes in hotels, restaurants, outfitters, and visitor services. Most of these positions pay minimum wage or just above. The seasonal nature creates income instability, with many workers employed only from May through September and facing off-season income gaps.

Montana State Income Tax at Minimum Wage

Montana uses a progressive income tax system. Recent legislative changes have simplified the structure, and at the $21,944 gross income level of a full-time minimum wage worker, after Montana's standard deduction, most single filers face an effective state tax rate of approximately 5.65%. Montana's income tax is somewhat high for a rural state, which somewhat offsets the lower cost of living advantage in the state's more affordable communities.

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