Montana

Refinery & Process Operator pay in Montana

What refinery and process operators earn in Montana: pay for the state and 1 metro area, plus job counts and no listed training programs yet.

$94,310Average across all experience levels (state)
$75,760Entry-level / bottom 10%
$98,310Median pay (state)
$108,160Top 10% earn over

550 jobs in Montana.

Pay by percentile

Refinery & Process Operator pay in Montana

Annual wages.

Annual wages by percentile.
Area	10th pct	25th pct	Median	75th pct	90th pct	Mean	Employed
Montana	$75,760	$78,900	$98,310	$103,200	$108,160	$94,310	550
United States	$57,110	$77,510	$96,710	$106,320	$115,880	$90,630	33,160

Metro areas

Metro area estimates, BLS, May 2025. Only areas BLS published are shown.
Area	10th pct	25th pct	Median	75th pct	90th pct	Mean	Employed
Billings, MT	$78,890	$90,340	$103,110	$108,160	$108,160	$98,040	380

At a glance

How Montana compares

Computed from the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates state and metro files. A location quotient above 1 means the job makes up a larger share of employment in the state than nationally.
Rank by average pay	12 of 43 states and territories with a BLS estimate
Average vs U.S. average	+4.1% ($94,310 vs $90,630)
Median vs U.S. median	+1.7% ($98,310 vs $96,710)
Median hourly wage	$47.26
Bottom 10% to top 10%	$75,760 to $108,160
Jobs per 1,000 jobs in the state	1.07
Location quotient	5.04 (more concentrated than the U.S. average of 1.00)
Metro areas with a BLS estimate	1: Billings, MT $103,110

Training

Schools and apprenticeships in Montana

We found no process operator school program or registered apprenticeship sponsor in Montana in the IPEDS 2023-24 completions file or the DOL partner file. Programs in nearby states may enroll out-of-state students. This site covers pay and careers; the school and apprenticeship directory lives on our sister site.

See process operator schools and apprenticeship sponsors in MontanaFull directory, entry requirements and how to apply · RegisteredTradeSchools.com

Veterans can compare trade schools approved for the GI Bill on VeteranTradeSchools.com.

Get training programs and tuition near you

Free. Tell us where you are and we'll point you to listed programs in Montana, with tuition where it is published.

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By the HighPayingTrades Data Team · Updated Nov 4, 2026

Sources

Figures as of BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (released 2026-05-15) and BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 (released 2026-08-27).

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released 2026-05-15 (news release USDL-26-0725; data tables). Cross-checked against the BLS Public Data API on 2026-11-04.
Occupation: O*NET OnLine, 51-8093.00 Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers, retrieved 2026-11-04 (CC BY 4.0).
Apprenticeship sponsors: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship: partner sponsors file, retrieved 2026-10-29 (Partner Finder).
Schools & graduates: U.S. Department of Education, NCES IPEDS Completions 2023-24 (C2024_A) and Institutional Characteristics (HD2024), award year 2023-24, matched by 6-digit CIP code (completions file; CIP-SOC crosswalk).
Tuition: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (Most Recent Cohorts: Institution + Field of Study), data updated 2026-10-15, matched by IPEDS unit ID (source).

Program listings are matched from public files by occupation code or organization name; they are not endorsements and we have not visited or tested any program. Confirm schedules, entry requirements and costs with the program. Compiled by the HighPayingTrades Data Team; last refreshed 2026-11-04.