Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $60K, rent takes 28.3% 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 bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists typically earn — is $45K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,693/month. At HUD’s $1,129/month FMR, rent would take 42% 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 — $60K locally vs. $62K nationally, a 3% difference.

Montana pays $60K median vs. the U.S. average of $62K — that’s -3%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 97), the purchasing-power equivalent is $62K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $59,990 a year, that works out to about $29 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $44,880, and experienced bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists can clear $77,700. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,984/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,129/month, which eats 28.3% 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 bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists salary is worth about $61,845 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.