- The middle half earn between $20.83 and $23.46 an hour.
- Montana ranks 38th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Montana pays more than 2 of its 4 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 130 appliance technicians on payrolls in Montana.
- At the state median wage, an appliance repair business needs to bill about $110.38 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Appliance Technician pay in Montana, bottom to top
BLS files these as home appliance repairers: the techs who repair, adjust and install electric and gas household appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers and ovens.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $16.25 | $33,810 | $17.40 |
| 25th percentile | $20.83 | $43,320 | $21.05 |
| Median | $22.66 | $47,130 | $24.51 |
| 75th percentile | $23.46 | $48,790 | $30.47 |
| 90th percentile | $25.30 | $52,630 | $38.78 |
| Average (mean) | $22.22 | $46,220 | $26.94 |
Pay is bunched up in Montana. The top tenth earn $25.30 an hour or more, about 1.6 times the $16.25 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.2 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $1.15 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $13.48 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage ($22.22) is a little under the median, so the low end of the range stretches further than the high end in Montana.
How Montana compares with other states
Over a full year, the Montana median of $47,130 is $3,860 less than the national $50,990.
In the state ranking, Montana sits 38th, between North Carolina ($22.73) and Indiana ($22.64). The range runs from $17.17 in West Virginia to $34.02 in Massachusetts.
Against its neighboring states, Montana is in the middle: North Dakota and South Dakota pay more, and Idaho and Wyoming pay less.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Montana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $22.66 | $47,130 | |
| Idaho | $21.95 | $45,650 | −$0.71 an hour |
| North Dakota | $23.42 | $48,720 | +$0.76 an hour |
| South Dakota | $22.76 | $47,340 | +$0.10 an hour |
| Wyoming | $20.98 | $43,630 | −$1.68 an hour |
How many appliance technicians work in Montana
About 130 appliance technicians work on payrolls in Montana, 0.4% of the 32,150 nationwide, the 42nd largest count among the states.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in Montana, 1.3 times the national share.
What an appliance repair business in Montana should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is an appliance repair business in Montana paying the state median of $22.66, on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $22.66 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $50,738 |
| Break-even rate | ($50,738 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $93.83 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $93.83 ÷ 0.85 | $110.38 |
That is $110.38 per billable hour, 4.9 times the wage, and $3.25 less than the $113.63 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $23.46 in Montana, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $111.79.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $20.83, the rate only drops to $107.17.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an appliance technician in Montana
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how appliance repair shops run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9031, home appliance repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: appliance technician salary by state.