- The middle half earn between $21.92 and $31.60 an hour.
- Montana ranks 17th of the 48 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Montana pays more than both neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 110 locksmiths on payrolls in Montana.
- At the state median wage, a locksmith business needs to bill about $118.04 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Locksmith pay in Montana, bottom to top
BLS files these as locksmiths and safe repairers: the people who open and repair locks, make keys, change locks and combinations, and install and repair safes.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $19.10 | $39,730 | $17.08 |
| 25th percentile | $21.92 | $45,590 | $20.75 |
| Median | $27.02 | $56,200 | $24.68 |
| 75th percentile | $31.60 | $65,730 | $31.04 |
| 90th percentile | $36.05 | $74,990 | $38.17 |
| Average (mean) | $26.89 | $55,920 | $26.67 |
Pay is bunched up in Montana. The top tenth earn $36.05 an hour or more, about 1.9 times the $19.10 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.
The floor is higher than nationally ($19.10 against $17.08) but the ceiling is lower ($36.05 against $38.17), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $26.89, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Montana compares with other states
Over a full year, the Montana median of $56,200 is $4,880 more than the national $51,320.
In the state ranking, Montana sits 17th, between New Hampshire ($27.17) and Utah ($26.69). The range runs from $17.20 in Arkansas to $36.89 in the District of Columbia.
Montana pays locksmiths more than any of its neighboring states, Idaho and North Dakota. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Montana. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Montana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $27.02 | $56,200 | |
| Idaho | $20.90 | $43,460 | −$6.12 an hour |
| North Dakota | $21.30 | $44,310 | −$5.72 an hour |
How many locksmiths work in Montana
About 110 locksmiths work on payrolls in Montana, 0.7% of the 15,040 nationwide, the 37th largest count among the states.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in Montana, 2.2 times the national share.
What a locksmith business in Montana should charge
Higher wages in Montana go straight into the price. Take a locksmith business in Montana paying the state median of $27.02 and run it through the labor rate calculator with 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 | $27.02 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $60,501 |
| Break-even rate | ($60,501 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $100.33 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $100.33 ÷ 0.85 | $118.04 |
That is $118.04 per billable hour, 4.4 times the wage, and $4.11 more than the $113.93 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $31.60 in Montana, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $126.08.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $21.92, the rate only drops to $109.08.
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 labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a locksmith in Montana
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how locksmiths 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 49-9094, locksmiths and safe 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: locksmith salary by state.