How much does a mechatronics technician make in Montana?
The spread here is tight compared with the national picture. The middle 50% of Montana mechatronics technicians earn between $63,780 and $82,480, a band of under $19,000. Nationally that same middle-50% band is wider because the US pool includes both low-cost rural plants and high-cost coastal fabs. Montana's narrower spread tells you the work is clustered in a handful of similar industrial settings that pay in a similar zone.
Even the bottom of the Montana range is high. The 10th percentile is $60,390, meaning almost nobody in this job in Montana earns entry-level money by national standards (the US 10th percentile is $47,840). That floor is what a 1.41 location quotient buys you: the few employers who need these skills are refineries, lime and mineral plants, and similar operations that pay well and compete for a thin local talent pool.
The top decile at $89,530 is where you land by running control systems at a refinery or moving into a lead or instrumentation-and-controls role. It is a solid ceiling, though below the national 90th percentile of $109,890, because Montana doesn't have the semiconductor or aerospace employers that push top-end pay into six figures.
Bar = middle 50% of wages (25th to 75th percentile). Line = 10th to 90th percentile span. Tick = median.
| Percentile | Montana annual | Montana hourly | US annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $60,390 | $29.03/hr | $47,840 |
| 25th | $63,780 | $30.66/hr | $59,780 |
| 50th (median) | $77,340 | $37.19/hr | $73,900 |
| 75th | $82,480 | $39.65/hr | $88,540 |
| 90th | $89,530 | $43.04/hr | $109,890 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates for SOC 17-3024 in Montana.
Montana mechatronics salary: BLS vs Salary.com vs Indeed
The three sources disagree a lot for Montana, and the gap is worth understanding before you quote a number. BLS says $77,340 (median). Salary.com models a much lower $55,429 average as of July 2026. Indeed reports about $30.69 an hour from job postings, which annualizes to roughly $63,835. BLS is an actual employer wage survey tied to the SOC code for this occupation, so it is the most reliable anchor. Salary.com runs on modelled HR data and job-title matching, and in a state with only about 70 of these workers, its model has almost nothing local to calibrate on, which is why it drifts low.
Indeed's number reflects what postings advertise, not what people actually earn, and the site does not publish a sample size for Montana here, so treat it as a rough directional read rather than a firm figure. When you are negotiating, use the BLS median of $77,340 as your anchor and point to the $82,480 upper-quartile mark if you already hold PLC, instrumentation, or refinery-control experience.
employer-reported survey
same survey, average
as of July 01, 2026
posting-derived · hourly ×2,080
Dashed line = US median $73,900.
Job outlook for mechatronics technicians in Montana
2024 jobs
120
2034 projected
130
Growth
+6.5%
US: +0.7%
Openings / yr
10
Incl. replacement needs
Montana's own projection has this occupation growing from 120 to 130 positions between 2024 and 2034, a 6.5% increase. That badly beats the national projection of 0.7% for the same job, though on tiny absolute numbers, so a handful of new plant investments moves the whole percentage. You can check the state's data at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry projections tool.
The more useful figure is the roughly 10 average annual openings the state projects. On a base of about 120 jobs, that is mostly churn: technicians retiring, moving up to engineering, or leaving for another state, not just brand-new headcount. So even though growth is thin in raw numbers, seats do turn over every year, and the openings you compete for are as much about replacement as expansion.
How Montana compares with nearby states
Inside the West census region, Montana's $77,340 median lands in the upper-middle. It pays more than neighboring Idaho ($70,830) and more than Colorado ($74,730), but trails the higher-cost West Coast markets like Washington ($81,220) and California ($81,550), and sits well below New Mexico, which tops the region at $119,320 on the back of its national-lab and semiconductor employers.
670 employed
220 employed
1,850 employed
570 employed
120 employed
40 employed
70 employed
570 employed
120 employed
160 employed
Dashed line = US median $73,900.
Who hires mechatronics technicians in Montana
The strongest demand sits in refining and mineral processing. The Phillips 66 Billings Refinery runs distributed control and automation systems and hires process-control and controls staff to keep them running, which is exactly the kind of PLC and instrumentation work a mechatronics technician trains for. Billings is the state's biggest industrial hub, so it concentrates most of the refinery-side openings.
Outside Billings, Graymont's Indian Creek lime plant has posted for an Instrumentation and Automation Controls Technician to develop, install, and maintain control systems across plant processes. Between refining, lime and mineral operations, and food and equipment manufacturers in Bozeman, most Montana openings for this skill set live in heavy industrial settings rather than a broad factory base.
How to earn more as a mechatronics technician in Montana
Stack the controls certifications refineries pay for
Montana's top-paying seats are in refining and mineral processing, and those employers care about specific control skills. Build a cert stack around PLCs (Allen-Bradley/Rockwell), instrumentation, and process control, then aim for the $82,480 upper-quartile mark instead of the $77,340 median. See the mechatronics certifications guide for which credentials actually move pay.
Consider a Western neighbor if you can relocate
Montana pays well for the region, but if you are mobile, the coastal markets pay more. Washington's median is $81,220 and California's is $81,550, both above Montana's $77,340, and they have far deeper employer pools. New Mexico is the regional outlier at $119,320 thanks to its lab and semiconductor work. Idaho next door actually pays less ($70,830), so a move only helps if you point it the right direction.
Step up to the controls-engineer track
With Montana's technician ceiling near $89,530, the bigger jump is a role change, not just a raise. Moving from technician to a controls or automation engineer role changes the pay band entirely. Read the controls engineer path and the mechatronics salary guide to see what the step up requires and pays.
Montana mechatronics technician salary widget (2026)
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Montana mechatronics technician salary FAQ
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Sources & methodology
Figures on this page come from four independent datasets, retrieved 2026-07-14. Where they disagree, the disagreement is shown rather than averaged away; the source-comparison section explains why each number differs.
- BLS OEWS, SOC 17-3024, May 2025 national and state estimates (state file oesm25st.zip). Employer-reported, the authoritative baseline.
- Salary.com, Mechatronics Technician in Montana, as of July 01, 2026. HR-reported and modelled averages.
- Indeed, mechatronics technician salaries in Montana. Posting-derived.
- Projections Central, 2024–2034 state occupational projections produced by Montana's labor market agency (state source).
- Phillips 66 Billings Refinery careers