Missoula, MT

Across all occupations in the Missoula, MT metropolitan area, the median wage is $47,830 a year ($23.00 an hour) and the mean $59,900, May 2025. That median is −6% against the US median of $50,980 and −2% against Montana's $48,740. BLS counts 67,070 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is physicians, all other; the largest is fast food and counter workers.

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

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Missoula, MT area, Montana and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Missoula, MT	Hourly	$14.25	$17.75	$23.00	$34.01	$47.88	$28.80	67,070
Missoula, MT	Annual	$29,630	$36,920	$47,830	$70,750	$99,580	$59,900	67,070
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.

289 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 Missoula, MT

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Physicians, All Other	$334,110	$160.63	40
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$324,810	$156.16	70
3	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$288,870	$138.88	100
4	Dentists, General	$172,690	$83.02	50
5	Chief Executives	$168,200	$80.87	60
6	Marketing Managers	$139,630	$67.13	**
7	Pharmacists	$137,220	$65.97	220
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$136,970	$65.85	70
9	Physician Assistants	$134,990	$64.90	90
10	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Montana	$133,020	$63.95	160
11	Nurse Practitioners	$131,650	$63.29	140
12	Financial Managers in Montana	$128,740	$61.89	180
13	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	$126,330	*	170
14	Human Resources Managers	$123,660	$59.45	60
15	Natural Sciences Managers	$122,930	$59.10	100
16	Sales Managers in Montana	$121,680	$58.50	170
17	Medical and Health Services Managers	$121,040	$58.19	240
18	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$113,990	$54.80	50
19	Managers, All Other in Montana	$111,860	$53.78	120
20	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers	$107,000	$51.44	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 Missoula, MT

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Montana	2,160	32.19	1.30	$30,510
2	Retail Salespersons in Montana	1,990	29.64	1.18	$35,430
3	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Montana	1,950	29.06	1.05	$38,050
4	General and Operations Managers in Montana	1,690	25.26	1.12	$81,120
5	Cashiers in Montana	1,630	24.37	1.23	$35,610
6	Registered Nurses in Montana	1,570	23.34	1.07	$82,160
7	Stockers and Order Fillers in Montana	1,320	19.62	1.08	$36,960
8	Office Clerks, General in Montana	1,240	18.54	1.17	$45,600
9	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Montana	1,170	17.38	1.22	$37,730
10	Cooks, Restaurant in Montana	1,020	15.21	1.68	$38,080
11	Waiters and Waitresses in Montana	930	13.88	0.95	$23,210
12	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Montana	920	13.67	1.03	$58,500
13	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Montana	810	12.14	1.68	$49,190
14	Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Montana	760	11.36	1.29	$47,420
15	Customer Service Representatives in Montana	700	10.45	0.63	$44,690
16	Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Montana	650	9.62	1.74	$36,060
16	Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Montana	650	9.69	1.57	$44,310
18	Bartenders in Montana	630	9.37	1.93	$25,990
19	Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Montana	600	8.92	1.28	$78,370
19	Accountants and Auditors in Montana	600	8.90	0.95	$72,920

Most concentrated occupations in Missoula, 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	Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners	30.29	120	1.75	$22,580
2	Forest and Conservation Technicians	24.89	330	4.87	$58,990
3	Biological Scientists, All Other	5.21	130	1.87	$82,140
4	Social Workers, All Other	4.02	110	1.63	$47,240
5	Surveying and Mapping Technicians	3.90	100	1.45	$58,080
6	Information and Record Clerks, All Other	3.37	200	2.92	$46,550
7	Fundraisers	3.36	160	2.40	$61,720
8	General Internal Medicine Physicians	3.35	100	1.45	$288,870
9	Ophthalmic Medical Technicians	3.32	100	1.52	$49,430
10	Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks	2.90	330	4.87	$35,380

Occupation groups in Missoula, MT

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$96,080	$109,780	4,250	63.31	0.88
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$82,160	$100,090	4,600	68.64	1.09
Architecture and Engineering	$79,640	$84,050	1,040	15.53	0.92
Legal	$79,510	$90,390	880	13.17	1.57
Computer and Mathematical	$78,460	$94,980	1,430	21.28	0.63
Business and Financial Operations	$67,330	$75,180	4,080	60.86	0.90
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$66,830	$74,130	1,530	22.85	2.41
Protective Service	$66,000	$65,710	1,050	15.67	0.65
Construction and Extraction	$61,030	$62,870	3,250	48.47	1.17
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$55,600	$59,190	2,520	37.58	0.96
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$51,970	$58,950	1,380	20.61	1.57
Educational Instruction and Library	$48,680	$62,830	3,900	58.11	0.99
Community and Social Service	$47,380	$53,230	1,610	23.99	1.40
Production	$45,660	$48,180	1,890	28.13	0.51
Office and Administrative Support	$45,590	$47,520	7,420	110.70	0.97
Transportation and Material Moving	$44,570	$47,160	4,710	70.26	0.80
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$43,420	$45,270	190	2.84	1.02
Healthcare Support	$41,300	$41,330	3,330	49.62	0.98
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$38,090	$40,880	2,630	39.15	1.34
Sales and Related	$37,650	$47,940	6,290	93.83	1.09
Personal Care and Service	$33,990	$37,840	2,050	30.56	1.46
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$31,200	$33,280	7,030	104.82	1.19

Every occupation in Montana, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 289 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 Missoula, MT estimates (area 33540).

*: Wage estimate not available.
**: Employment estimate not available.

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 Missoula, 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.