Accountant salary in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area

Pay in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area against Montana and the US

Accountants at the 90th percentile earn $119,990, 2.5 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.6. The middle half of accountants in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area earns $60,280–$90,840. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $30,560 wide, against $35,630 across Montana and $42,790 nationally: employers in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an accountant here

An offer at the 75th percentile instead of the median adds $16,520 a year in pay and about $21,316 in employer cost. Going down to the 25th percentile saves $14,040 in pay. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $83,680 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area, and the Montana statewide median of $75,810 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area

Pay is only part of it. Benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², which adds about $21,577 to the $74,320 median and brings it to $95,897 a year. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for accountants we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area

Of the 14 roles we track in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area, this one ranks #3 by median pay, between marketing specialists ($75,870) and recruiters ($62,600). Project Coordinator is the highest at $102,060.

Measured against the US median, accountants rank #11 of the 14 roles we track in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area (-11.2%), between office managers (-11.1%) and sales development representatives (-16.2%). The typical role here is at -6.4%, so, measured against the US, accountants cost less in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area than the area's general pay level would suggest. Accountants hold 11.1% of the jobs in these 14 roles in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area, 11.4% across Montana and 9.3% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Montana

Across the 8 areas of Montana with data for this job, the median runs from $72,510 in Great Falls to $77,400 in Bozeman, a gap of $4,890 a year. Of the 6 areas in Montana with more accountants than the Southwest Montana nonmetro area, 2 pay less: the West Montana nonmetro area ($73,000) and Missoula, MT ($72,920).

the Southwest Montana nonmetro area against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, the Southwest Montana nonmetro area is #453 of 521 US areas for this job. The market is small, and its pay sits near the middle of the US range. Outside Montana, Sandusky and Ocala pay just above the Southwest Montana nonmetro area and Victoria and Lebanon just below. All four are within $130 a year of the median in the Southwest Montana nonmetro area. Of the three markets with about as many accountants, one pays more.

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Sources

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.