Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,414
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$8,946
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,841
Indiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Indiana — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$49,360
Kept after tax
$40,414
Worth in national money
$43,841
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Indiana pays this job around $49,360 at the midpoint, 31 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 293 among 493 occupations Indiana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,360 you keep $40,414, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $43,841 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $53,710, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For automotive service technicians and mechanics the Indiana median is $49,360, ranking 31 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 293 of 493 in Indiana places automotive service technicians and mechanics in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for automotive service technicians and mechanics on $49,360 is $40,414. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $43,841 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $53,710 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,580 |
| This salary | $49,360 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Indiana | $40,414 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,841 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$784 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $47,585 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$948 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Indiana earn less than $49,360. The published range is $35,800 up to $78,580, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Indiana the take-home figure of $40,414, from $49,360, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 293 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,841 uses one figure for the whole of Indiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 293.
- Reported values are medians; for automotive service technicians and mechanics in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,800 to $78,580. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Indiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $40,414 from $49,360. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 293 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,841, worked from $49,360, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Indiana address, on work sitting at 293 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $53,710, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $35,800 and the top tenth $78,580 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $43,841.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Indiana then takes its own share, leaving $40,414.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Indiana is $53,710. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($35,800) and the ninetieth ($78,580) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Indiana's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $43,841 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $40,414 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Indiana income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.