Biological Scientists, All Other Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $92K, rent takes 19.8% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,129/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new biological scientists, all others typically earn — is $61K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,650/month. At HUD’s $1,129/month FMR, rent would take 31% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $92K locally vs. $99K nationally, a 7% difference.

Montana pays $92K median vs. the U.S. average of $99K — that’s -7%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 97), the purchasing-power equivalent is $94K — below the national median.

The median is $91,560 a year, that works out to about $44 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $60,830, and experienced biological scientists, all others can clear $113,610. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,709/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,129/month, which eats 19.8% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Montana has a Regional Price Parity of 97 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median biological scientists, all other salary is worth about $94,392 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.