Helena, MT

Across all occupations in the Helena, MT metropolitan area, the median wage is $55,040 a year ($26.46 an hour) and the mean $65,270, May 2025. That median is +8% against the US median of $50,980 and +13% against Montana's $48,740. BLS counts 44,420 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is family medicine physicians; the largest is business operations specialists, all other.

All occupations: Helena, MT vs Montana and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Helena, MT area, Montana and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Helena, MT	Hourly	$14.63	$18.37	$26.46	$38.34	$51.06	$31.38	44,420
Helena, MT	Annual	$30,420	$38,220	$55,040	$79,740	$106,200	$65,270	44,420
Montana	Hourly	$14.13	$17.89	$23.43	$34.92	$48.37	$29.27	511,580
Montana	Annual	$29,390	$37,210	$48,740	$72,640	$100,610	$60,880	511,580
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

241 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Montana. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Helena, MT

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$375,340	$180.45	40
2	Physicians, All Other	$316,530	$152.18	60
3	Chief Executives	$173,880	$83.60	90
4	Marketing Managers	$154,770	$74.41	40
5	Pharmacists	$146,400	$70.38	100
6	Sales Managers in Montana	$142,520	$68.52	60
7	Nurse Practitioners	$136,420	$65.59	110
8	Physician Assistants	$134,030	$64.44	70
9	Financial Managers in Montana	$133,360	$64.12	150
10	Industrial Production Managers	$133,010	$63.95	30
11	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Montana	$130,230	$62.61	140
12	Administrative Services Managers	$129,670	$62.34	110
13	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$126,900	$61.01	90
14	Natural Sciences Managers	$119,430	$57.42	30
15	Medical and Health Services Managers	$115,920	$55.73	210
16	Human Resources Managers	$111,780	$53.74	70
17	Lawyers in Montana	$108,410	$52.12	410
18	Computer Network Architects	$107,700	$51.78	50
19	Managers, All Other in Montana	$106,500	$51.20	280
20	Electrical Engineers	$105,050	$50.51	50

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Helena, MT

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Montana	1,420	31.90	4.56	$80,410
2	Retail Salespersons in Montana	1,130	25.41	1.01	$35,990
3	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Montana	1,060	23.75	0.96	$28,330
4	Office Clerks, General in Montana	1,010	22.70	1.43	$46,450
5	Registered Nurses in Montana	990	22.26	1.02	$98,690
6	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Montana	960	21.60	0.78	$36,570
7	General and Operations Managers in Montana	940	21.15	0.94	$101,510
7	Cashiers in Montana	940	21.18	1.07	$34,750
9	Stockers and Order Fillers in Montana	770	17.28	0.95	$39,760
10	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Montana	750	16.80	1.18	$36,990
11	Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Montana	650	14.60	1.65	$45,870
12	Accountants and Auditors in Montana	580	12.97	1.39	$76,700
13	Cooks, Restaurant in Montana	570	12.85	1.42	$38,030
14	Waiters and Waitresses in Montana	520	11.69	0.80	$23,020
15	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Montana	480	10.70	0.98	$47,670
16	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Montana	450	10.06	1.39	$49,460
17	Lawyers in Montana	410	9.31	1.92	$108,410
18	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Montana	400	9.03	0.68	$56,800
19	Bartenders in Montana	390	8.82	1.81	$26,210
19	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Montana	390	8.86	0.90	$46,430

Most concentrated occupations in Helena, MT

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Forest and Conservation Technicians	19.45	170	3.80	$54,160
2	Budget Analysts	11.46	150	3.48	$79,700
3	Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health	8.41	210	4.83	$81,940
4	Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Montana	4.56	1,420	31.90	$80,410
5	Information and Record Clerks, All Other	3.73	140	3.24	$49,140
6	Civil Engineers	3.40	360	8.06	$100,710
7	Operations Research Analysts	3.36	100	2.34	$80,400
8	Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan	3.30	140	3.15	$40,670
9	Public Relations Specialists	3.21	260	5.86	$63,230
10	Compliance Officers	3.10	370	8.32	$63,740

Occupation groups in Helena, MT

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$106,500	$119,960	2,910	65.60	0.92
Legal	$97,530	$96,650	700	15.80	1.88
Architecture and Engineering	$89,940	$92,160	1,010	22.85	1.36
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$89,710	$116,440	2,850	64.17	1.02
Computer and Mathematical	$81,080	$89,890	1,480	33.40	0.99
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$78,850	$77,230	1,190	26.90	2.84
Business and Financial Operations	$78,650	$80,980	4,980	112.08	1.65
Protective Service	$63,110	$64,710	730	16.40	0.68
Construction and Extraction	$60,620	$63,310	2,260	50.92	1.23
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$59,090	$61,840	1,810	40.76	1.04
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$55,360	$59,810	720	16.15	1.23
Community and Social Service	$54,140	$56,190	1,020	23.05	1.34
Educational Instruction and Library	$50,130	$56,550	1,990	44.69	0.76
Production	$48,900	$52,130	1,090	24.63	0.45
Office and Administrative Support	$46,930	$48,750	5,310	119.62	1.05
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$46,610	$44,850	130	2.98	1.07
Transportation and Material Moving	$44,670	$48,430	2,610	58.86	0.67
Healthcare Support	$38,420	$40,940	1,750	39.47	0.78
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$37,600	$40,620	1,460	32.90	1.12
Sales and Related	$37,410	$47,530	3,560	80.13	0.93
Personal Care and Service	$33,440	$37,230	1,080	24.34	1.16
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$29,670	$32,980	3,740	84.30	0.96

Every occupation in Montana, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 241 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Helena, MT estimates (area 25740).

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Helena, MT area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.