Protective Service salary guide
Salary Needed for Firefighters in Montana
Firefighters in Montana: compare salary needs with estimated annual costs. Basic costs are about $51,262, while a 20% cushion is about $61,514.
Updated with BLS OEWS source metadata from May 2025; cost estimates reflect current WatchPennies county-level data.
Salary adequacy in Montana
WatchPennies compares firefighter salary context with statewide median county costs for a single adult household. The comfort target adds a 20% cushion for savings, emergencies, and month-to-month variation.
Baseline annual costs
$51,262
About $4,272 per month.
Comfort salary target
$61,514
About $5,126 per month.
OEWS median salary
$59,310
Adequacy versus comfort target: 96%.
The available salary benchmark is $2,204 below the WatchPennies comfort target for Montana.
Estimated cost mix
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Montana cost of living
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Common questions
What salary is needed for firefighters in Montana?
WatchPennies estimates baseline annual costs around $51,262 for a single adult household in Montana. A 20% comfort cushion is about $61,514.
Does this page use an official Montana wage benchmark?
Yes. The occupation wage benchmark on this page is imported from BLS OEWS.
What costs are included in the salary-needed estimate?
The estimate includes housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare where applicable, other necessities, taxes, and income context from WatchPennies cost data.
Related occupation pages
Sources
Wage benchmark fields are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025, last modified 2026-05-15). Cost estimates use WatchPennies county cost data for housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, necessities, taxes, and income context.