Biological Scientists, All Other in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,860
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$18,710
22.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,444
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
$84,570
Kept after tax
$65,860
Worth in national money
$71,444
State rank
29
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Indiana is 29 of 50 states for biological scientists, all other, with a middle wage of $84,570. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Indiana reports, biological scientists, all other comes in at 87 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $84,570 you keep $65,860, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $71,444 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $105,200, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Indiana ranks 29 of 50 for biological scientists, all other at $84,570. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Biological scientists, all other ranks 87 of 493 occupations by median in Indiana, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for biological scientists, all other on $84,570 is $65,860. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $71,444 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 $105,200 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Biological Scientists, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $55,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $173,010 |
| This salary | $84,570 |
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 | $65,860 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,325 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,132 |
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 | $81,066 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,564 |
| 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 $84,570. The published range is $55,240 up to $173,010, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Indiana's $65,860, worked from $84,570. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 87 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $71,444 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 87.
- Reported values are medians; for biological scientists, all other in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $55,240 to $173,010. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Indiana take-home of $65,860, on $84,570 for work ranking 87 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 87 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,444, worked from $84,570, 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 87 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 $105,200, 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $55,240 at the bottom tenth to $173,010 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Indiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $71,444 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $65,860.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $105,200. 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 ($55,240) and the ninetieth ($173,010) 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 $71,444 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 $65,860 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.