- The middle half earn between $23.15 and $36.44 an hour.
- Montana ranks 25th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Montana pays more than 2 of its 4 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 1,230 HVAC technicians on payrolls in Montana.
- At the state median wage, an HVAC business needs to bill about $121.97 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
HVAC Technician pay in Montana, bottom to top
BLS files these as heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers, which covers service techs, installers and refrigeration work.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $20.14 | $41,900 | $19.25 |
| 25th percentile | $23.15 | $48,150 | $23.25 |
| Median | $29.26 | $60,850 | $29.33 |
| 75th percentile | $36.44 | $75,790 | $37.05 |
| 90th percentile | $39.05 | $81,230 | $45.78 |
| Average (mean) | $29.94 | $62,260 | $31.14 |
Pay is bunched up in Montana. The top tenth earn $39.05 an hour or more, about 1.9 times the $20.14 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.4 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
The floor is higher than nationally ($20.14 against $19.25) but the ceiling is lower ($39.05 against $45.78), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $29.94, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Montana compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $60,850 in Montana against $61,010 nationally, $160 less.
In the state ranking, Montana sits 25th, between South Dakota ($29.51) and Iowa ($29.17). Michigan has exactly the same median, $29.26, so the two share that place. The range runs from $23.13 in Arkansas to $40.57 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, Montana is in the middle: North Dakota and South Dakota pay more, and Idaho and Wyoming pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Montana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $29.26 | $60,850 | |
| Idaho | $27.04 | $56,240 | −$2.22 an hour |
| North Dakota | $35.81 | $74,490 | +$6.55 an hour |
| South Dakota | $29.51 | $61,390 | +$0.25 an hour |
| Wyoming | $26.30 | $54,700 | −$2.96 an hour |
How many HVAC technicians work in Montana
About 1,230 HVAC technicians work on payrolls in Montana, 0.3% of the 409,670 nationwide, the 46th largest count among the states.
That is 2.4 of every 1,000 jobs in Montana, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What an HVAC business in Montana should charge
Say you run an HVAC business in Montana and pay the state median of $29.26 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on its 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 | $29.26 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $65,517 |
| Break-even rate | ($65,517 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $103.68 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $103.68 ÷ 0.85 | $121.97 |
That is $121.97 per billable hour, 4.2 times the wage, and almost the same as the $122.10 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $36.44 in Montana, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $134.58.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $23.15, the rate only drops to $111.24.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the HVAC labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an HVAC technician in Montana
- Licensing. What Montana asks for before you can work on your own: HVAC license in Montana.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how HVAC companies 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 49-9021, heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers, 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: HVAC technician salary by state.