Civil Engineers in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,093
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$23,177
23.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$81,460
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
$98,270
Kept after tax
$75,093
Worth in national money
$81,460
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Indiana is 29 of 51 states for civil engineers, with a middle wage of $98,270. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Indiana. It ranks 58 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $98,270 you keep $75,093, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $81,460 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $100,010, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Indiana ranks 29 of 51 for civil engineers at $98,270. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Indiana, civil engineers ranks 58 of 493 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for civil engineers on $98,270 is $75,093. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $81,460 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 $100,010 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Civil Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $140,130 |
| This salary | $98,270 |
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 | $75,093 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,963 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,231 |
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 | $94,191 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,700 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $98,270 as a midpoint for Indiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $64,200 and the ninetieth is $140,130 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Indiana's $75,093, worked from $98,270. 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 58 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $81,460 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 58.
- The Indiana median of $98,270 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $64,200 to $140,130. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Indiana take-home of $75,093, on $98,270 for work ranking 58 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 58 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $81,460, worked from $98,270, 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 58 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $64,200, the highest tenth $140,130, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Indiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $81,460 in national terms.
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 $75,093.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($64,200) and the ninetieth ($140,130) 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 $81,460 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 $75,093 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.