Forest and Conservation Technicians Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $52K, rent takes 59% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $2,044/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,000/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new forest and conservation technicians typically earn — is $40K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,420/month.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $52K locally vs. $55K nationally, a 5% difference.

Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area pays $52K median vs. the U.S. average of $55K — that’s -5%.

The median is $51,630 a year, that works out to about $25 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $40,330, and experienced forest and conservation technicians can clear $82,560. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,465/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $2,044/month, which eats 59% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median forest and conservation technicians salary is worth about $51,630 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.